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SHOOTING an ELEPHANT George Orwell

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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. .
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