Like many of George Orwell’s other essays, “Shooting an Elephant” reads like a story, and so keep in mind that this is an essay-that is, this is based on actual events in Orwell’s life. In “Notes on Dali,” Orwell writes that “[a]uto biography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats.” In his essay “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell definitely “reveals something disgraceful” about himself and about the system he was born into and worked as a policeman to uphold. What is Orwell’s purpose in writing so honestly about his own disgrace? This essay is about more than it appears: to comment upon colonialism Orwell writes a narrative essay about a day he felt obliged to shoot an elephant. He blends his criticism with his narrative and eventually turns the narrative itself into a critique. He probes an event in his life to gain insight into his decisions, thoughts, motivations, and emotions.
He also writes about his own experiences in an attempt to educate others. In his essay “Why I Write” Orwell explains: “I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing. But I could not do the work of writing a book, or even a long magazine article, if it were not also an aesthetic experience.” Orwell employs a number of rhetorical strategies to make the essay worth reading and to keep the reader engaged, both intellectually and emotionally, with his work. The opening sentence signals Orwell’s sardonic wit. He captures the reader’s attention with his statement, “I was hated by large numbers of people-the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me” (538).
Adult Learning Skills Stress Life Work
Do you feel stress in your life? Does this affect the way you live and work? Many things currently going on in one's life, such as work, health, family and finances, can cause stress. It is how we individually identify the root cause and begin working on managing them effectively. As adult learners, there are various aspects of our work life that cause each of us some form of stress. We discovered ...
He then goes on to provide general information about his life as a sub-divisional police officer.
After briefly outlining life for the colonizers, he provides an outline of life for the colonized Burmese people interspersed with admissions of his growing disillusion with his job and imperialism in general. Taken from web web.
