Here is the synopsis of our sample research paper on The Power of Society and Imperialism in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”
. Have the paper e-mailed to you 24/7/365.
Essay / Research Paper Abstract
This is a 7 page paper discussing aspects of imperialism and the power of society in George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. George Orwell’s 1936 essay “Shooting an Elephant” tells the story of when Orwell worked for the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. The story begins with Orwell’s obvious distaste and disgust with the imperial system in which he is a part, its treatment of the natives, and his own reactions to the natives who in turn resent the European presence. When faced with a decision to shoot an elephant which has caused considerable damage and killed its mahout but has since calmed, Orwell reveals that he realized that he was expected to shoot the elephant based on the natives “pressing” him to do it and on his role as the white officer. Rather than going with his instincts to walk away and leave the animal unharmed, Orwell instead fulfills the expectations of him and shoots it but thereby acting on his own anxieties and the pressures of those around him and coming to the conclusion that he actually has no control over his actions and remains a puppet in imperial hands and is no more free than those around him. The power and pressures of society and his inability to act on his liberal feelings shows the readers and Orwell how difficult it is for people to overcome their internal struggles in the presence of heavy influences and perhaps act out of character or perform violent acts against their own better judgment.
Bibliography lists 6 sources.
Page Count:
7 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_TJGOrwe1.rtf
Buy This Term Paper »
Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
Burma. The story begins with Orwells obvious distaste and disgust with the imperial system in which he is a part, its treatment of the natives, and his own reactions to
the natives who in turn resent the European presence. When faced with a decision to shoot an elephant which has caused considerable damage and killed its mahout but has since
calmed, Orwell reveals that he realized that he was expected to shoot the elephant based on the natives "pressing" him to do it and on his role as the white
officer. Rather than going with his instincts to walk away and leave the animal unharmed, Orwell instead fulfills the expectations of him and shoots it but thereby acting on his
own anxieties and the pressures of those around him and coming to the conclusion that he actually has no control over his actions and remains a puppet in imperial hands
and is no more free than those around him. The power and pressures of society and his inability to act on his liberal feelings shows the readers and Orwell how
difficult it is for people to overcome their internal struggles in the presence of heavy influences and perhaps act out of character or perform violent acts against their own better
judgment. George Orwells later works such as Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four were known as some of his more famous texts of political
satire but before Orwell had taken up writing as a living, he had written several short essays based on his own experience, one of which is "Shooting an Elephant". Written
in 1936, "Shooting an Elephant" tells of Orwells experiences while he served in the Indian Imperial Police from 1922-1927 and how he eventually grew to dislike the structured class system
...