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  • Wink: An Online Journal Literature Analysis Essay: Taylor Finn

    Instructor: Amery Bodelson


    Through the Eyes of an Elephant

    by Taylor Finn

    The elephant is in the room, an appropriate idiom for explaining that an obvious and difficult

    issue is at hand, but yet avoids being discussed. The avoidance acts as an unspoken rule, one

    that is there to keep away controversy, and to maintain a small level of comfort in an

    uncomfortable situation. George Orwells short story Shooting an Elephant uses this example

    as a central theme while attempting to explain the sacrifices that take place when personal

    integrity is tested. The elephant of Orwells story acts as a focal point symbolizing multiple

    points of interest that include the narrators internal struggle, British imperialism in relationship

    to the Burmese natives, and to some account, human impact on the natural world. Which of

    these hold the most tangible impact on readers today? Each point is neither more exclusive nor

    more meaningful than the other, but should be considered for its symbolism and

    interdependence created from the decisions people make.

    In the beginning of the story, the narrator clearly feels out of place with his position as a British

    police officer amongst the natives in Moulmein, Burma. Unable to find where he belongs he

    starts to create a contradictory and abstract state of mind. Orwell explains how he thought

    imperialism to be evil while still sticking to the job he hated; but secretly, he sides with the

    oppressed Burmese yet he desires to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest (620). This early on

    in the story it is safe to say that the narrator is filled with chaos inside. The internal struggle he

    suffers foreshadows that he will be faced with a tough decision. When he realizes he did not

  • Wink: An Online Journal Literature Analysis Essay: Taylor Finn

    Instructor: Amery Bodelson


    want to shoot the previously unstable elephant, the situation comes into the light. Orwell

    claims he went against his own will solely to avoid looking a fool (625). Being stuck in the

    middle of two undesirable places can make a person sacrifice his or her own integrity in order

    to avoid humiliation. The narrator knew he was about to kick his job and get out of the

    situation. He didnt want to make matters any worse for himself by standing up for what was

    right at the cost of creating unnecessary discomfort for himself. The elephants rampage acts as

    a symbol for the inner madness the narrator was suffering from. Along with the elephants slow

    and painful death, the narrators sense of morals seems to die as well.

    Following the point of view that the elephant reflects the narrators state of mind, the animal

    also shows a double-edged relationship between the British and the Burmese. After catching up

    with the creature, Orwell says It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant-it is

    comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery (622). This implication shows

    how the elephant represents the Burmese people. Under British rule, the Burmese were the

    working elephant. The natives had to be maintained and kept in good working order in order to

    produce for the British, however they wouldnt be worth anything if they couldnt work. On the

    other hand, it can also be noted how the elephant is also a representation of the British to the

    Burmese. At the moment of the coolies death, The people said that the elephant had come


    back and ground him into the earth (Orwell 621). In this context the elephant is the British

    Empire while the Indian who died represents the native people. The Burmese were suffering

    under the British tyranny that invited itself to their native land. The elephants drawn-out death

  • Wink: An Online Journal Literature Analysis Essay: Taylor Finn

    Instructor: Amery Bodelson


    that became very anticipated by the Burmese, exemplifies a symbol to the end of the

    oppressing imperialists. History parallels the event as the Indian revolution soon came and the

    native people freed themselves from British colonialism.

    Whether Orwell intended for the symbolism in his story to carry meaningful messages further

    into the future cannot be determined. If it was his intention or not, it is clear that the words

    written in Shooting an Elephant still live on today. After analyzing the elephants purpose in

    the story, couldnt it be said that the elephant represents itself as a living organism to the

    natural world? As Orwell pondered whether the elephant was still a threat, he claimed it would

    be homicidal to kill the creature while it ate, content in its grandmotherly aura (623). Here a

    creature regarded highly on the chain of life becomes a helpless victim to mans protective ego.

    A consequence like this is an example being acknowledged more presently as people become

    aware of the destructive powers shared as an individual and as a society. Not only were the

    Burmese unable to defend themselves against the elephant, but the elephants must was a

    normal-expected occurrence, and yet the natives were ready to reap the animal before it had

    even died (Orwell 625). Without the conflicting quest for control and power by British

    imperialism, the elephants rampage may have been seen as a natural phenomenon so the

    elephant may have never been put down. Instead, a counterproductive scenario is created

    where the people who wont kill an animal, sign up to eat meat. Orwells story creates an

    undesirable cycle of events. In the end, these events are still symbolic, and can be understood

    in new ways as they are caused by disregarding the sense of right and wrong in order to fit in.

  • Wink: An Online Journal Literature Analysis Essay: Taylor Finn

    Instructor: Amery Bodelson


    In conclusion, the symbols the elephant stands for include many different ways of interpreting

    events that take place in the story as well in present day. It is a work of art when writing can be

    comprehended, remaining to some degree alive, years after it is written. Orwell accomplished

    this by choosing a subject such as an elephant to represent multiple forms of conflict that often

    appear to be cyclic. These conflicts continue to take on new faces and are often avoided by

    people in order to keep a level of comfort in an uncomfortable situation. Issues of this

    resemblance often rely on each other and when a person doesnt value his or her integrity,

    nothing changes. The elephant can be seen as the ego within a mind, the destructive power of a

    certain civilization, or an icon in nature that stands at the end of a rifle barrel simply for being

    there. By pointing out how complicated it is for a person to do the right thing against a mass,

    Orwell exposes a fundamental principle for future readers to understand.

  • Wink: An Online Journal Literature Analysis Essay: Taylor Finn

    Instructor: Amery Bodelson


    Work Cited

    Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant The Bedford Reader. Ed. X.J. Kennedy et al. Boston:

    Bedford/St. Martins, 2014. 619-625. Print.

    April 18, 2016


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