SOAPSTone of “Shooting an Elephant”

                The subject of Gorge Orwell’ “shooting an Elephant” is that sometimes doing the right thing is hard for the one doing so. This difficulty is illustrated by Orwell not wanting to shoot the elephant, but being forced to by the large group that had assembled. Orwell believed that the elephant was peaceful when he found in eating grass on the side of a road. At first he just wanted to walk near the elephant and see if it charged, if it did he then would shoot it. However, he noticed that he may miss, and could possibly die himself. He eventually decided that he had to shoot the elephant, he felt the “two thousand wills [of the assembled group] pressing [him] forward.” 

                The time period of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is the mid to early 1900s. This time period is illustrated through the point that the British Empire in Burma fell in 1948. The article says that the narrator “didn’t even know that the British Empire was dying.”

                The place of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is lower Burma. Burma is illustrated by the first sentence, where Orwell says, “in Moulmein, in lower Burma.” This supports that the story took place in Burma because it is directly stated so.  

                George Orwell’s specific audience in “Shooting an Elephant” is both the English and the Burmese. The author’s target audience is exhibited by his beginning hatred for imperialism. This helps to point out the audience because both of these groups can relate to how he feels. The two groups may be able to relate to Orwell’s feelings because both were involved in the imperialism of the time.

                The author’s general audience for the essay is everyone or anyone who feels as if they are being forced into something. The author’s general audience is shown through the narrator being forced into shooting the elephant, the regretting it. The narrator was forced by the crowd to shoot the elephant, however he is clearly unhappy because he had to walk away. The narrator may also have been frustrated since it took multiple shots to kill the elephant, which didn’t even die until he had been gone for thirty minutes.

                Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is that if one feels as if they are being forced into an activity they should leave, or not do the act, for they may dislike the outcome. The need for the strength against pressure is revealed by “I couldn’t stand it any longer and went away.” This quote shows how after the narrator was forced into shooting the elephant he was saddened by the elephant’s suffering. The purpose is further articulated by “I did not want to shoot the elephant… It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him.” This shows that the narrator truly didn’t want to shoot the elephant, instead he felt as if it were murder.

                Orwell, considered the twentieth century's best chronicler of English culture, believes that imperialism is an “evil thing.” This value is illustrated by his hate towards his job as a police officer. Imperialism is expanding an empire, this creates a slight irony. The narrator hates his job as a police officer, however as an officer he works for the government, which he hates.

                Orwell, best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and the satirical novella Animal Farm, also believed that one could be forced by a crowd. This value is illustrated by the fact that the narrator shoots the elephant because he believes he was forced to by the crowd. If Orwell didn’t believe that one could be forced to do an activity the narrator of this paper may not have killed the elephant. This value is included to show that one can be forced into something they don’t wish to take part in.

                Orwell shows an apologetic and disgustful attitude towards being forced into shooting the elephant. These attitudes are expressed with a sense of hatred towards his act. The narrator is so disgusted by the fact that he caused the elephant to suffer, that he was forced to leave the site. He also shows an apologetic attitude because he killed another man’s elephant.