Greenwood   Jessica Greenwood Ms. Hemann APLAC Period 6 20 September 2007 Shooting an Elephant Analysis         George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant” is a well-written retelling of an event that took place in Orwell’s younger years.  However, it is more than just a story.  When Orwell wrote this essay, he wanted to do more than simply recount an event.  Orwell’s essay discusses his view on politics and morals, and through his writing he was able to go through a personal catharsis.         Throughout “Shooting and Elephant,” Orwell talks about the evils of imperialism.  He was a European
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policeman in Burma, and the Burmese feeling toward all Europeans was extremely negative.  Orwell was aware that the Burmese people hated him, and for this he was resentful towards them.  On one hand he was furious with the Burmese people who jeered at him, but on the other hand he knew they had a good reason to be doing so.  Secretly, though, he agreed with them, and he knew that the government he was working for was unfairly oppressing the Burmese.  As he says in his essay, “imperialism was an evil thing,” and he was “all for the Burmese and ...

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