DOCSLIB.ORG

SHOOTING an ELEPHANT George Orwell

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
SHOOTING an ELEPHANT George Orwell ENGLISH PROSE SPECIAL ENGLISH M. K. PADMA LATA, MA, (Ph. D), M.B.A., B. Ed CH. S. D. St. Theresa’s Autonomous College for Women, Eluru. Email. Id : [email protected] SHOOTING AN ELEPHANT George Orwell Presented by M. K PADMA LATA, Asst. Professor, CH. S. D. St. Theresa’s College (A) for Women, Eluru. Source: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjI4NzI1MjA5MF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwMDczMTAxNjE@._V1_UY1200_CR90,0,630,1200_AL_.jpg Shooting an Elephant Objectives Outcomes • To enable the students to • The students would learn how understand the literary genre to attempt an essay. ‘Essay’. • The students would discover • To help the students imbibe the different themes to write the dynamics of essay writing. an essay. • To facilitate the students to • The students would improve understand the influence of their writing skills. history on literature. About the author – George Orwell • English novelist, essayist, journalist and a critic. • Born in Motihari, Bihar, British India. • Originally named as Eric Blair. • Moved to England in his early childhood. • Graduated from Eton and decided to join Imperial services. • In 1921 posted in Burma as a part of Imperial services. Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/George_Orwell_press_photo.jpg • Worked as Assistant District Superintendent in Indian Imperial Police Services at Burma. • Did not like his job of implementing the harsh colonial rules on the natives. • Called himself as a ‘secular humanitarian’. • Was against the ‘totalitarian’ and ‘authoritarian’ political systems. • The Times magazine ranked him as 2nd of the top 50 English writers after 1945. Works of George Orwell • Novels: • Animal Farm • 1984 • Burmese Days • Non-fiction: • The Road to Wigen Pier • Down and out in Paris in London • Essay: • Shooting an Elephant and other essays Source: 1. https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/514CVwOrybL._SX333_BO1,204,203,200_.jpg 2. https://www.akshardhara.com/40236-thickbox_default/Animal-Farm-George-Orwell-IBD--Distributor--buy-marathi-books-online-at-akshardhara.jpg 3, https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ZsJbutzLL.jpg 4. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/583bf2151b631b8062888de9/t/5ad4372ef950b77bff89fbb5/1523857204882/Down+and+Out+In+Paris+and+London.png?format=1500w 5. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a6/ShootingAnElephant.jpg Shooting an Elephant - Introduction • First published in 1936 in Literary Magazine New Magazine. • Later broadcasted by BBC Home Services in 1948. • Republished into an anthology ‘Shooting an Elephant and other essays’ in 1950. Source: https://www.storytel.com//images/320x320/0001010065.jpg Shooting an Elephant – Key Terms • Essay: the Literary genre • Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is an essay. • An essay is a short form of literary composition based on a single subject matter. • Often gives the personal opinion of the author. • Essays can deal with many different themes. • Types : Formal, Informal, Expository, Narrative, Persuasive and Descriptive. • Famous Essayists: Francis Bacon, Charles Lamb Shooting an Elephant – Key Terms • Imperialism – Historical Background • Imperialism is the expansion of a nation’s authority on other nations through acquisition of land, by imposing economic and political domination. • Colonialism – Historical Background • It is a practice of domination, which involves the subjugation of powerless nations by the powerful nations with the use of military, economic, political and cultural attacks. Shooting an Elephant – Important facts • The Narrator • The narrator is a Burmese Police officer who hated his job. • The character is debated to be Orwell himself. • Time line • The story took place in 1920s. • The fading days of British empire. • Setting • A town called Moulmein in Lower Burma. • A main centre of British Empire’s Timber export. • Popular for elephants which are domesticated for hauling timber. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • The Conflict • Inner struggle of an intimidated Colonial officer to avoid humiliation in front of the natives. • The conflict of an individual to keep up the duty and follow the conscience. • The Characters • An Imperial Police Officer • The native Burmese who express their latent resentment secretly. • An aggressive Elephant which creates havoc and its Mahout who lost his way. • Themes • Evils of Imperialism. • The crisis of Conscience. • The struggle with pride. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • Exposition • 1920s was the fading days of British empire. • The natives started to express their resentment towards Colonialism. • They make fun of the British officials on duty in Burma. Source: https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard- srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--shooting-an- elephant-.png • The narrator was a British Colonial Police officer working in Moulmein. • He felt humiliated by the latent resentment and hatred of the natives. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • Conflict • A domesticated elephant used to haul logs goes aggressive. • It creates havoc in the town and kills an Indian coolie. • The narrator is put on duty to bring the elephant into control. Source: https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard- srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--shooting-an- • He goes around searching for the elephant. elephant-.png • The natives start gathering around him in leaps and bounds. • They expect something exciting to happen like shooting the elephant. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • Raising action • The narrator gets the news that the elephant was spotted in the outskirts. • On the way the elephant kills an Indian coolie. • Thousands of the natives follow him excitedly. Source: https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard- srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--shooting-an- • The narrator carries a rifle for defence elephant-.png while the natives expect him to shoot the elephant. • The elephant is traced peacefully in fields outside the village. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • Climax • Killing an elephant would create a great loss in timber industry and was a crime. • The narrator disliked to kill the elephant. • But the crowd expected the narrator to shoot the elephant. • Being a colonial officer, he was already a Source: https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard- srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--shooting-an- victim to the native dislike. elephant-.png • To avoid the embarrassment and keep the colonial pride, he shoots the elephant. • The elephant takes the bullet with a great pain but does not die. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • Falling Action • The narrator fires two more bullets. • The elephant shakes with pain and falls down. But doesn’t die. • The natives are excited for the flesh of the elephant even before it dies. Source: • Further the narrator shoots all bullets from https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard- srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--shooting- the revolver. an-elephant-.png • The elephant suffers the great pain and dies slowly. • The narrator grows uneasy looking the pain of the elephant and moves away. Shooting an Elephant – Summary • Resolution • The narrator contemplates the incident for a long time. • The owner of the elephant was unhappy about the killing. • But was not bothered for he was an Indian in Burma – a subject of colonialism. Source: https://cdn.storyboardthat.com/storyboard- srcsets/kristy-littlehale/plot-diagram-for--shooting-an- elephant-.png • The British officers in Moulmein were divided in opinion about the incident. • But the narrator knew that all he did was to avoid looking a fool. Shooting an Elephant • Symbolism • The narrator symbolizes the Imperial countries. • The elephant symbolizes the victims of Imperialism. • The Burmese natives represent the catalysts who were crucial in instigating the narrator to take the decision to kill the elephant. • The killing of the elephant symbolizes the arbitrary actions of the Imperialist officers. • But the narrator knew that all he did was to avoid looking a fool. Shooting an Elephant • Conclusion • The essay is a literary piece which brings into light the evils of imperialism. • Orwell proves his claim of being a ‘secular human being’ through the essay. • The essay is a great combination of personal experiences and political opinion. • The killing of the elephant symbolizes the arbitrary actions of the Imperialist officers. • But the narrator knew that all he did was to avoid looking a fool. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Winston Churchill Statement on Indian Independence
    Winston Churchill Statement On Indian Independence Case is mushier and habilitate harrowingly while virtueless Shem obscure and skied. Red-blooded Porter maltreat pronouncedly. Sometimes chirk Mugsy overreacts her fantasists illegally, but suburbanized Cammy theatricalised stinking or fatigue thereinafter. Of every word with Allies to churchill. We indians on independence to churchill about domestic opinion behind it will be translated fully charged through. Churchill's views on India were more nuanced than is commonly. GDP, rather higher than many suspected. But to carry out if it knows a pledge and political influence on his less than needs to this august body lay in this. Mai chuday charchill bhosadi ka. We are generally do not necessary for indian national weight as a statement in colaba serving up for our history, stretching across their existence. Bond under our two nations Jaitley said while a statement before the unveiling. The statue of former British prime minister Winston Churchill is seen. Japanese would rest be grant to hold onto land. There is on independence day in churchill do not indians on his secret name from administration of defeat our meetings in british concessions to journalism by doing? We will march on labour for the sake of reconciliation we still not crank up the soul we have undertaken. Bill provided such action was reason also we are here independent country and nehru and therefore i fear for us want to launch his most. With churchill on independence. It is murder and courage that laid it could take any windbag minister winston churchill that of good will.
    [Show full text]
  • Title Law and Race in George Orwell Author(S) Kerr, DWF Citation Law
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by HKU Scholars Hub Title Law and Race in George Orwell Author(s) Kerr, DWF Citation Law and Literature, 2017, v. 29 n. 2, p. 311-328 Issued Date 2017 URL http://hdl.handle.net/10722/236400 This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis Group inLaw and Literature on 08 Nov 2016, available online at: Rights http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1535685X.2016.1246 914; This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. 1 Abstract As Eric Blair, the young George Orwell served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1929, a time of growing Burmese discontent with British rule. He wrote about Burma in a novel, Burmese Days, and a number of non-fictional writings. This essay considers the nature of the law-and-order regime Orwell served in Burma, especially in the light of racial self-interest and Britain’s commitment to the principle of the rule of law, and traces the issues of race and the law to his last novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four. Keywords Orwell – Burma – rule of law – police – Burmese Days – The Road to Wigan Pier –Nineteen Eighty-Four – British Empire – race Word count: 9529 including notes [email protected] 2 Law and Race in George Orwell Douglas Kerr Hong Kong University In October 1922, less than a year after leaving school, Eric Blair – who would take the name George Orwell ten years later – began his service with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma.
    [Show full text]
  • Shwe U Daung and the Burmese Sherlock Holmes: to Be a Modern Burmese Citizen Living in a Nation‐State, 1889 – 1962
    Shwe U Daung and the Burmese Sherlock Holmes: To be a modern Burmese citizen living in a nation‐state, 1889 – 1962 Yuri Takahashi Southeast Asian Studies School of Languages and Cultures Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences The University of Sydney April 2017 A thesis submitted in fulfilment of requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Statement of originality This is to certify that to the best of my knowledge, the content of this thesis is my own work. This thesis has not been submitted for any degree or other purposes. I certify that the intellectual content of this thesis is the product of my own work and that all the assistance received in preparing this thesis and sources has been acknowledged. Yuri Takahashi 2 April 2017 CONTENTS page Acknowledgements i Notes vi Abstract vii Figures ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 Biography Writing as History and Shwe U Daung 20 Chapter 2 A Family after the Fall of Mandalay: Shwe U Daung’s Childhood and School Life 44 Chapter 3 Education, Occupation and Marriage 67 Chapter ‘San Shar the Detective’ and Burmese Society between 1917 and 1930 88 Chapter 5 ‘San Shar the Detective’ and Burmese Society between 1930 and 1945 114 Chapter 6 ‘San Shar the Detective’ and Burmese Society between 1945 and 1962 140 Conclusion 166 Appendix 1 A biography of Shwe U Daung 172 Appendix 2 Translation of Pyone Cho’s Buddhist songs 175 Bibliography 193 i ACKNOWLEGEMENTS I came across Shwe U Daung’s name quite a long time ago in a class on the history of Burmese literature at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies.
    [Show full text]
  • The Social, Political and Humanitarian Impact of Burma's Cyclone Nargis
    Volume 6 | Issue 5 | Article ID 2763 | May 03, 2008 The Asia-Pacific Journal | Japan Focus The Social, Political and Humanitarian Impact of Burma's Cyclone Nargis Donald M. Seekins The Social, Political and Humanitarian where it is most needed. Impact of Burma’s Cyclone Nargis Donald M. Seekins Summary This report provides background information and analysis concerning the humanitarian crisis caused by Cyclone Nargis when it passed through the densely populated Irrawaddy Delta and Burma’s largest city Rangoon (Yangon) on May 2-3, 2008. One of the largest natural disasters in recent history, it caused the death Survivors of the cyclone of as many as 130,000 people (the official figure on May 16 was 78,000) and resulted in In the days following the storm, the SPDC between one and two million people losing placed major obstacles in the way of the rapid their homes and property. distribution of relief goods and services by the United Nations, foreign governments, international non-governmental organizations and local volunteer groups – a situation that has continued despite warnings from aid experts that a second, man-made disaster – the systematic neglect of people gravely weakened by thirst, hunger and disease and many more fatalities – is on the verge of occurring. On May 10, the SPDC carried out a referendum on a new military-sponsored constitution, though the vote was postponed to May 24 in the townships most affected by the cyclone. Observers wondered why the referendum was Fatalities are likely to rise both because of the considered so important by the SPDC, given the extremely unsanitary conditions in the disaster scale of the natural disaster and the need to area, and the slowness of the State Peace and commit resources immediately to its alleviation.
    [Show full text]
  • Text and Context: Another Look at Burmese Days
    SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 3, No. 1, Spring 2005, ISSN 1479-8484 TEXT AND CONTEXT: ANOTHER LOOK AT BURMESE DAYS Stephen L. Keck National University of Singapore Students of colonial Burma inevitably turn to Burmese Days. The frequent pedagogical use of George Orwell’s (1903-1950) novel has meant that the text has become a part of the mythology of imperial experience not only for Burma, but for the British Empire as a whole.1 In fact, it is also possibly the most widely read book involving Southeast Asia. Burmese Days is often assigned to complement general service courses in world history, literature and political science. Since these classes aim to introduce students to liberal arts--less modestly referred to as `the humanities’-- they are basic staples of American university education. This means that thousands--if not tens of thousands--of students encounter the novel each year. In addition, Burmese Days is often assigned with texts such as Edward Said’s Orientalism and Kipling’s Kim in higher level courses which focus upon European imperialism or the British Empire. The novel’s popularity, naturally, is not confined to the United States. While the number of British students who are forced to read Orwell cannot match the mass dragooning of freshmen and sophomores which takes place across the Atlantic, it is clear that in Britain Burmese Days remains as one of the essential novels of the 20th century. With respect to Southeast Asia, it is also clear that a healthy number of Singapore undergraduates have read the novel before they matriculate; some even manage to encounter it during the course of study at the National University of Singapore.
    [Show full text]
  • “Shooting an Elephant”
    Chapter 12 Essays in English “Shooting an Elephant” George Orwell Sehjae Chun During times of universal deceit, telling the truth becomes arevolutionaryact. If you have embraced a creed which appears to be free from the ordinary dirtiness of politics - a creed from which you yourself cannot expect to draw any material advantage - surely that proves that you are in the right. 2 Who is George Orwell? Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist and journalist. His work is marked by clarity, intelligence and wit, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and belief in democratic socialism. Considered perhaps the 20th century's best chronicler of English culture, Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945), which together have sold more copies than any two books by any other 20th-century author. His book Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, is widely acclaimed, as are his numerous essays on politics, literature, language and culture. Orwell's work continues to influence popular and political culture, and the term Orwellian—descriptive of totalitarian or authoritarian social practices—has entered the vernacular with several of his neologisms, such as doublethink, thoughtcrime, and thoughtpolice. 3 Life of George Orwell (1903-1950) 1903 born in Motihari, Bihar, British India 1917-1921 studied at Eton 1922 went to Burma as a member of the Indian Imperial Police 1928 resigned from the Indian Imperial Police 1934 Burmese Days 1945 Animal Farm 1949 Nineteen Eighty-Four 1950 died in London, UK 4 George Orwell’s Time in History 1914-18 World War Ⅰ 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin 1921 T.
    [Show full text]
  • Punjab Police Rules Volume 1
    THE PUNJAB POLICE RULES VOLUME 1 Chapter 1 Organization Part I Departmental Organization Rule 1.1 1.1. Constitution. - For the purposes of Section 3 of the Police Act (V of 1861) the Pun- jab is divided into "General Police Districts", namely, - (a) the Provincial Police District. (b) the Railway Police District. All ranks of police employed in the province are appointed or enrolled under section 2 of the Act. 1[Provided that each of the Telecommunications Branch, Finger Prints Bureau, Women Police Wing, Bank Staff, Mounted Police, Armourers and Executive Clerical Wing, that is uniformed clerical functionaries in various subordinate offices shall form its uniformed cadre. Explanation. - The expression "subordinate offices" means the offices of the District Senior Superintendent of Police, Director, Finger Prints Bureau, Phillaur and Superintendents of Police, Incharge Recruits Training Centres.] Rule 1.2 1.2. Inspector-General. - The responsibility for the command of the police force, its recruitment, discipline, internal economy and administration throughout the general po- lice districts vests in the Inspector-General of Police. He is head of the Police Department, and is responsible for its direction and control and for advising the Provincial Government in all matters connected with it. In the discharge of his duties as Inspector- General and in the execution of orders of Government he is bound to act in conformity with the system and regulations regarding the functions, discipline and administration of the force contained in the Police Act (V of 1861) and in these rules. Orders of the Pro- vincial Government affecting the police force, in whole or in part, will be issued through him.
    [Show full text]
  • Lights and Shadows in George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia
    Paul Preston Lights and shadows in George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia Article (Accepted version) (Refereed) Original citation: Preston, Paul (2017) Lights and shadows in George Orwell's Homage to Catalonia. Bulletin of Spanish Studies. ISSN 1475-3820 DOI: 10.1080/14753820.2018.1388550 © 2017 The Author This version available at: http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/85333/ Available in LSE Research Online: November 2017 LSE has developed LSE Research Online so that users may access research output of the School. Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Users may download and/or print one copy of any article(s) in LSE Research Online to facilitate their private study or for non-commercial research. You may not engage in further distribution of the material or use it for any profit-making activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute the URL (http://eprints.lse.ac.uk) of the LSE Research Online website. This document is the author’s final accepted version of the journal article. There may be differences between this version and the published version. You are advised to consult the publisher’s version if you wish to cite from it. Lights and Shadows in George Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia PAUL PRESTON London School of Economics Despite its misleading title, Orwell’s Homage to Catalonia is almost certainly the most sold and most read book about the Spanish Civil War. It is a vivid and well-written account of some fragments of the war by an acute witness.
    [Show full text]
  • JCC: East Pakistan Crisis Indian Cabinet Chair: Prateek Swain Crisis Director: Alex Fager
    asdf JCC: East Pakistan Crisis Indian Cabinet Chair: Prateek Swain Crisis Director: Alex Fager JCC: East Pakistan Crisis – India PMUNC 2016 Contents Letter from the Chair…….………………………...……………………...…..3 Introduction………..…….………………………...……………………...…..5 The Situation in the Indian Subcontinent……............……………..……..……7 Setting the Stage…...………………………..……………………….……….…………7 A Brief History of Modern India..…………..……………………….……….…………9 Indo-Pakistani Relations………...…………..………………...….….……….………...10 Domestic Affairs………………………………………………………………….…...12 Current Situation……………………………………….……………………………...13 Committee Positions………..…….………………………...………………..16 2 JCC: East Pakistan Crisis – India PMUNC 2016 Letter from the Chair Dear Delegates, Namaste! I welcome you to the magnum opus of this year’s PMUNC, The JCC: East Pakistan Crisis. My name is Prateek Swain and I will be your chair for the India committee. First, I’ll introduce myself; I will be starting my sophomore year at Princeton and will be majoring in Economics or Woodrow Wilson School of Public Policy (depending on my mood when I have to declare) with a certificate in computer science. I have been debating as well as participating/chairing MUNs since my sophomore year of high school, and have carried on with these endeavors in college. Last year I was the Director for the Korean Reunification Committee at PMUNC, so I’m naturally extremely excited to be chairing this committee and have full faith that it will be a great experience for both you and me. This is certainly not my first crisis, but perhaps the one closest to my heart. Last semester, I took one of those eye opening classes at Princeton on Human Rights with Rebecca (Chair of the Pakistan committee) which set the foundation for this JCC to come into existence.
    [Show full text]
  • Crisis of Identity and Mimicry in Orwell's Burmese Days Seen
    Journal of Language and Literature ISSN: 1410-5691 (print); 2580-5878 (online) B. Endo Gauh Pratama & Elisa Dwi Wardani Crisis of Identity and Mimicry in Orwell’s Burmese Days Seen through a Local Native Character U Po Kyin: A Postcolonial Reading B. Endo Gauh Perdana & Elisa Dwi Wardani [email protected] & [email protected] English Letters Department, Universitas Sanata Dharma Abstract This study analyzes how crisis of identity and mimicry occurs in the postcolonial discourse. A local native character whose name is U Po Kyin is the focus of the study. As a native character, he holds a high ranking position for local in the British Raj in Burma. However, he is portrayed as a corrupt official as he accepts bribes and denounces his rival. His ambition to get the membership, an elite European Club, drives him infuriated to destroy his rival’s reputation because naturally it is him who would be elected as the first local member of the Club. At the end of the novel, Kyin finally secures his membership but he fails to atone his evil-doings by building pagodas as a Buddhist. Kyin’s attitude is seen as how he manages to deal with his inferiority towards the British. He is also observed to mimic the British as his strategy to erase the idea of being colonized. There are two problem formulations in this study. The first is to find out how U Po Kyin suffers from crisis of identity through his characterization in the novel. Then, the second objective is to understand how his crisis of identity leads him to mimic the British.
    [Show full text]
  • Burma Watching: a Retrospective
    Griffith Asia Institute Regional Outlook Burma Watching: A Retrospective Andrew Selth About the Griffith Asia Institute The Griffith Asia Institute produces innovative, interdisciplinary research on key developments in the politics, economics, societies and cultures of Asia and the South Pacific. By promoting knowledge of Australia’s changing region and its importance to our future, the Griffith Asia Institute seeks to inform and foster academic scholarship, public awareness and considered and responsive policy making. The Institute’s work builds on a 41 year Griffith University tradition of providing cutting- edge research on issues of contemporary significance in the region. Griffith was the first University in the country to offer Asian Studies to undergraduate students and remains a pioneer in this field. This strong history means that today’s Institute can draw on the expertise of some 50 Asia–Pacific focused academics from many disciplines across the university. The Griffith Asia Institute’s ‘Regional Outlook’ papers publish the institute’s cutting edge, policy-relevant research on Australia and its regional environment. They are intended as working papers only. The texts of published papers and the titles of upcoming publications can be found on the Institute’s website: www.griffith.edu.au/asiainstitute ‘Burma Watching: A Retrospective’, Regional Outlook Paper No. 39, 2012. About the Author Andrew Selth Andrew Selth is an Adjunct Research Fellow at the Griffith Asia Institute. He has been studying international security issues and Asian affairs for 40 years, as a diplomat, strategic intelligence analyst and research scholar. He has published four books and more than 50 other peer-reviewed works, most of them about Burma and related subjects.
    [Show full text]
  • Misperceptions of the Natives in George Orwell's Burmese Days
    Bridgewater State University Virtual Commons - Bridgewater State University Honors Program Theses and Projects Undergraduate Honors Program 12-20-2018 “Racial Repercussions of The British Imperial Curriculum:” Misperceptions of the Natives in George Orwell’s Burmese Days Cyi Gyi Paradis Bridgewater State University Follow this and additional works at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/honors_proj Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Paradis, Cyi Gyi. (2018). “Racial Repercussions of The British Imperial Curriculum:” Misperceptions of the Natives in George Orwell’s Burmese Days. In BSU Honors Program Theses and Projects. Item 424. Available at: https://vc.bridgew.edu/honors_proj/424 Copyright © 2018 Cyi Gyi Paradis This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. “Racial Repercussions of The British Imperial Curriculum:” Misperceptions of the Natives in George Orwell’s Burmese Days Cyi Gyi Paradis Submitted in Partial Completion of the Requirements for Commonwealth Honors in English Bridgewater State University December 20, 2018 Dr. Kimberly Davis, Thesis Director Dr. Allyson Ferrante, Committee Member Dr. Benjamin Carson, Committee Member Paradis 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract Introduction The British Empire and Colonization in Burma 20th-Century Literature about British Imperialism Postcolonial Theory Eric Arthur Blair and George Orwell Close Reading of Burmese Days Deconstructing the Imperial Curriculum Conclusion Paradis 2 ABSTRACT This study explores how English writers falsely portray the indigenous people of the British colonies in novels. During the first two decades of the twentieth century, in particular, authors of Imperialist fiction often misrepresent natives in the British colonies as deviant, detestable, deplorable beings that lack moral compasses.
    [Show full text]