Posted by Prince on April 15, 2001 at 22:28:02:
In Reply to: Shooting an elephant posted by Shirley Diniz on April 08, 2001 at 09:46:49:
George Orwell is the pen name for Eric Blair, who was born in Bengal (India) in 1903 to British parents. British have ruled over India for hundreds of years until the year 1947. This story was written during the British imperial rule over India.
In this story, George Orwell, the author uses an elephant as a metaphor, comparing it to the British imperial rule in India. George stated in the beginning of the story that the local Burmese people hated the British and the imperial empire was getting weak. The same way the elephant was hated by the locals and grew weak after being shot by the author.
The elephant is a huge powerful beast and is very useful to the local Burmese people, but once it goes “must” it becomes dangerous and is hated by everyone. It deserves to be killed. The same way the British imperial empire was useful and accepted by the country, but once it became “must” or starts to enforce it’s “unbreakable tyranny on the will of the prostrate people”, it deserves to die.
Overall the author, George Orwell is implying that British Raj, with its bigheaded officials, holding great power, is nothing but like an elephant. Useful when serving the people, but an annoyance and danger when starts to terrorize the locals.
The elephant got shot by the author, but did not die instantaneously, same way the British Empire was falling apart, but it would take it painfully long to die. Also, when a government becomes corrupt, its officials, who hold some moral code and ethics, do not support it anymore. This is implied in the beginning of the story. The author hated the British rule himself. Same way, the elephant, which was such a useful “piece of machinery” to the locals, needs to die when it becomes mad.
No matter how strong the elephant was, he had to die. Same way, British Empire had to fall, as its time had come.