What argument is Orwell making in - Shooting an Elephant, eNotes, shooting an elephant essay.3/29/2017 I had halted on the road. As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought not to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shoot a working elephant — it is comparable to destroying a huge and costly piece of machinery — and obviously one ought not to do it if it can possibly be avoided. And at that distance, peacefully eating, the elephant looked no more dangerous than a cow. I thought then and I think now that his attack of ‘must’ was already passing off; in which case he would merely wander harmlessly about until the mahout came back and caught him. Moreover, I did not in the least want to shoot him. I decided that I would watch him for a little while to make sure that he did not turn savage again, and then go home. The orderly came back in a few minutes with a rifle and five cartridges, and meanwhile some Burmans had arrived and told us that the elephant was in the paddy fields below, only a few hundred yards away. As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant. They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot. It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat. It made me vaguely uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant — I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary — and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you. I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people jostling at my heels. At the bottom, when you got away from the huts, there was a metalled road and beyond that a miry waste of paddy fields a thousand yards across, not yet ploughed but soggy from the first rains and dotted with coarse grass. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road, his left side towards us. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd's approach. He was tearing up bunches of grass, beating them against his knees to clean them and stuffing them into his mouth. I got up. The Burmans were already racing past me across the mud. It was obvious that the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead. He was breathing very rhythmically with long rattling gasps, his great mound of a side painfully rising and falling. His mouth was wide open — I could see far down into caverns of pale pink throat. I waited a long time for him to die, but his breathing did not weaken. Finally I fired my two remaining shots into the spot where I thought his heart must be. The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but still he did not die. His body did not even jerk when the shots hit him, the tortured breathing continued without a pause. He was dying, very slowly and in great agony, but in some world remote from me where not even a bullet could damage him further. I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast Lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him. I sent back for my small rifle and poured shot after shot into his heart and down his throat. They seemed to make no impression. The tortured gasps continued as steadily as the ticking of a clock. But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd thesis on environment, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. It blocked the road for a long distance on either side. I looked at the sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes-faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot. They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching. And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly. And it was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man's dominion in the East. Here was I, the white man with his gun, standing in front of the unarmed native crowd — seemingly the leading actor of the piece; but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind. I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys. He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of a sahib. For it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the ‘natives’, and so in every crisis he has got to do what the ‘natives’ expect of him. He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it. I had got to shoot the elephant. I had committed myself to doing it when I sent for the rifle. A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things. To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing — no, that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at. 2217 words Another Day, Another Mass Shooting in America - As shootings begin to happen more frequently, Congress feels like throwing up more laws is going to fix it; when in reality that will not help. It is human nature for the majority of people in the world to want to break rules, or in this case laws, solely just because they are there to break. Therefore, Congress should not create more gun control for it is unconstitutional. In the event that Congress makes more laws, they should expect more crime than without them. Does taking guns away solve the problem; well not exactly. [tags: mass shouting, shouter, control] 1756 words The Elephant as a Symbol for Imperialism in "Shooting an Elephant” - In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell retold an occasion where he was struggling to come to a final decision of whether to shoot the elephant or not. With his final decision, the elephant finally lay dying in front of thousands of people. He said that he was forced to shoot it because the Burmese people were expecting him to do that. In addition, he also explained that he had to do it “to avoid looking like a fool” in front of the crowd (14). At first glance, one would think that it makes sense for him to kill the elephant to save his face application essay writing for college, but that was not the case. [tags: Symbolism, British, Orwell] The Shooting - Personal Narrative - The Shooting - Personal Narrative It started off as a normal school day. I arrived late to school, at 8:50 am, and was shouted at by Mrs Robinson. It was 23rd June 2000. I was in Year 8 at the time. First two lessons finished as usual, and then it was first break which was about fifteen minutes long. Boys normally mess about during this time. On this particular day as I went into the form room to find virtually the whole class gathered around John Smith, a fellow pupil in my form. [tags: Papers] Free Will in Shooting an Elephant and Antigone - Free Will in Shooting an Elephant and Antigone Free will can be defined as: “The right, given to humans by God, to make their own decisions.” A mans free will cannot be destroyed by any power other than God. Humans can always exercise their free will when making decisions. However, when their decisions come in conflict with the laws set by a higher power, they might face consequences based on how they choose to use their free will. The more restrictions imposed upon someone’s free will the more restricted their ability to make decisions become. [tags: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays] George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant as an Attack on Colonialism and Imperialism - George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant as an Attack on Colonialism and Imperialism The glorious days of the imperial giants have passed, marking the death of the infamous and grandiose era of imperialism. George Orwell's essay, Shooting an Elephant, deals with the evils of imperialism. The unjust shooting of an elephant in Orwell's story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters, the elephant and its executioner. The British officer, the executioner, acts as a symbol of the imperial country, while the elephant symbolizes the victim of imperialism. [tags: Shooting Elephant Essays Orwell ] 1136 words 1148 words 1424 words Dylan Klebold's Motives in the Columbine High School Shooting - “People are so unaware. well, Ignorance is bliss I guess… that would explain my depression.” (Klebold, Dylan). With that sentence, I divulged myself into the most horrendous, sad journal I have ever read, hoping to gain some insight into a disturbed young man’s mind. On April 20th, 1999, Dylan Klebold accompanied his friend, Eric Harris, in one of the most publicized and shocking school shootings of the modern day--The Columbine Massacre. With their sawed-off shotguns and godlike dispositions, the boys exacted their revenge not only on their peers, but on themselves. [tags: Mass Shooting, Gun Crime example of application letter of business management, School Shooting] 508 words George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant - A Moral Dilemma - A Moral Dilemma in Orwell's Shooting an Elephant Unanticipated choices one is forced to make can have long-lasting effects. In "Shooting an Elephant," by George Orwell, the author recounts an event from his life when he was about twenty years old during which he had to choose the lesser of two evils. Many years later, the episode seems to still haunt him. The story takes place at some time during the five unhappy years Orwell spends as a British police officer in Burma. He detests his situation in life, and when he is faced with a moral dilemma, a valuable work animal has to die to save his pride. [tags: Shooting Elephant Essays] 377 words Colonialism and Imperialism Exposed in Shooting an Elephant and Heart of Darkness - Destructive Colonization Exposed in Shooting an Elephant and Heart of Darkness As a man is captured, his first instinct is to try and break free from his shackles and chains. Primal urges such as this often accompany humans when they are forced, as in capture, to rely on their most basic instincts to survive. In this manner, natives in Africa acted upon instinct when the Europeans arrived to take their land and freedom. The short story Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell and the novel Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad revolve around the time when colonialism had a foothold in many parts of the world. [tags: comparison compare contrast essays] The Columbine High School Shootings - On April 20, 1999 in a suburban town called Littleton, Colorado one high school was about to have one of the most tragic and deadly days in US history. Columbine High School was in the forefront of this tragedy. Two students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, opened fire on their fellow classmates and teacher. These two students cut the lives short of thirteen students and one teacher. They then turned their guns onto themselves leaving the nation with no answers as to why. They did leave videotape. [tags: School Shooting Psychology Essays Acceptance] The Effect of Respect on Morality Depicted in The Guest and Shooting an Elephant - The prevailing theme in The Guest and Shooting an Elephant is the effect of respect on morality. In the former, the main character Daru exhibits a great deal of respect and hospitality to the Arab, especially considering the circumstances. In the latter best written essays, the Burmans exhibit no respect to the police officer in the event of the elephant display, or in his day to day life. These opposite scenarios have a distinct effect on the morality of the main characters. Respect has a distinct effect on morality which differs depending on if respect is being strived for or shown. [tags: The Guest and Shooting an Elephant] Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell - Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell Few supervisors experience lack of respect and denunciation from workers because of their positions in a company. Supervisors take actions to preserve the image of authority before subordinates and from being ridiculed by their workers, even if the supervisors object these types of actions. The essay "Shooting an Elephant" relates to this situation. The author of this essay is George Orwell. The author talks about his work and personal experience that emphasizes the impact of imperialism at the sociological and psychological stage. [tags: Orwell Elephant Shooting Analysis] The Columbine Shooting - The Columbine Shooting A little over two years ago, one of the worst tragedies concerning our nation’s children was playing out in a small rural town in Colorado. The date was April 20, 1999; the anniversary of Adolf Hitler’s Birthday, for any history buffs. But for everyone else the day started out like any other. In Jefferson County (often mistakenly reported as being in Littleton), Colorado, children went to school and parents went off to work. Neither was overly concerned about the other, or about how the day would go, but in a few hours an a essay, that would all change. [tags: Papers] 1229 words 1409 words Video Games: The Real Cause of Mass School Shootings? - Whether violent media content leads to real-life violence is always debatable. And in recent years, school shootings have made video games a new focus of public concern and scientific research. In public opinion help on persuasive essay, video games cause more aggression in comparison to traditional violent media contents because video games have more features of interactivity, "due to the active engagement and participation of players" (Hummer and Wang et al. 137). But more and more reports tell us that video games are not the main cause of school shooting issues; rather it is the negligence of parents, schools, and communities. [tags: Mass Shootings, School Shootings Essays] Mass School Shootings in America - School shootings have been occurring all over the country. All of these school incidents are leading to one or more deaths. Many people think that it will never happen to them, but it could. After a school shooting occurs it may seem like everything is different, and has changed. This is the reason why many students are afraid to go to school and is so concerned about their safety. Many of these schools shooting are happening in suburban areas where many people think it is safe but while the school districts are focusing on keeping the violates out of city schools they forgot about the rest. [tags: Mass Shootings, School Shootings Essays] Mass School Shootings in the U.S. - In the United States of America the right to bear arms gave birth to a phenomenon called the “gun culture,” the term coined in 1970 by a historian Richard Hofstadter, which describes America’s heritage and affection for weapons(1). Not only did gun culture become an inseparable part of American democracy, but also it is considered to be synonymous with independence and freedom, the most important values for American society. Even though the crime rate and murder rate in the U.S. is higher than in any other developed country, U.S. [tags: Mass Shootings, School Shootings Essays] 1589 words 1393 words History of School Shootings in US - As the world recovers from recent school shootings, people wondered why these events have occurred. They are focused on drug use, violent society, video games, bullying, and mental issues to try and explain an unexplainable event. The idea that a person would shoot others for little or no reason gave little relief to the survivors. History of School Shootings School shootings seemed like a new phenomenon, but they occurred for the majority of American history. The first school shooting occurred On July 26, 1764, when a Lenape Indian shot and killed nine children and the school master of the Greencastle, Pennsylvania school (Galvin): as noted in Appendix A. [tags: Mass Shootings, School Shootings Essays] 608 words Society's Influence on People Depicted in George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant and Lucy Grealy's Mirrors - Throughout the ages, people have at times been influenced by society to do things they would not normally do. There are people who have been influenced to do things they did not desire to do at the behest of others, simply to be accepted by their peers. The choices that are made in life affect you either way even if they were made by you or someone else. Each choice made has a consequence which will affect the individual and in return the decision will produce a particular outcome. Influence is a hard thing to calculate into someone’s life and seeing how it changes lives for better or for worst is very difficult. [tags: shooting an elephant, mirrors] 483 words 2645 words 1070 words Shooting in Football - Shooting in Football How to shoot Kicking is the basis of football (soccer). There are two types of shots - ground and air. Ground shots · On ground shots the supporting (non-kicking) leg is more important than the kicking leg. In order to produce a good shot you'll need balance. The right way to keep your balance is to place your supporting foot in line with the ball. By stepping a little behind you will produce a high kick (most young players that are not taught how to shoot do not know about keeping the leg in line with the ball and when they try to kick hard the ball always rises). [tags: Papers] Media's Role in Mass School Shootings - The United States will not soon forget the rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut that came just two weeks before Christmas last year. This tragic event resulted in the death of twenty students and eight adults. Although the event shocked the nation, rampage shootings are nothing new. Over the years, many families have lost loved ones to these horrific events. As a result, these mass shootings such as the one that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary caught public attention leading to a push to find the cause of these events. [tags: Mass Shootings, School Shootings Essays] 958 words 986 words Pride and Power in George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" and "A Hanging" - Every writer has that one special quirk that keeps readers coming back for more. Whether it is the humor or the characters, most authors carry their quirks from story to story. In “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell describes his experience of shooting an elephant. In “A Hanging,” he describes the emotions that run through him as he watches the hanging of a prisoner. Both essays have similar key ideas that identify Orwell as a writer. The results of pride and power contribute to the themes that connect his essays and identify Orwell as a descriptive writer. [tags: shooting an elephant, a hanging] 1588 words 582 words 422 words George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant - George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" In 'Shooting an Elephant,' George Orwell finds himself in a difficult situation involving an elephant. The fate of the elephant lies in his hands. Only he can make the final decision. In the end how to write a research essay thesis, due to Orwell's decision, the elephant lay dying in a pool of blood. Orwell wins the sympathy of readers by expressing the pressure he feels as an Anglo-Indian in Burma, struggling with his morals, and showing a sense of compassion for the dying animal. Readers sympathize with Orwell because they can relate to his emotions in the moments before the shooting. [tags: George Orwell Shooting Elephant] We Must Work to Prevent Mass School Shootings - There have been many horror stories in the news about mass shootings at schools. The public, and even the president of the United States, is asking if anything can be done to prevent these tragedies. There are many theories on why students kill their peers at schools; these range from increased violence in video games and movies to bullying troubles at school. Almost always, the perpetrator suffers from some form of mental illness (Khadaroo). Because of this, motives for these crimes are extremely difficult to discern. [tags: Mass Shootings, School Shootings Essays] 1479 words 1361 words The Elephant Man - The Elephant Man John Merrick, a man so pathetic and helpless because of the curse of his extremely disfigured body he carries around with him. Lots of people are born with some deformity or another, but none such as the case of John Merrick, in other words, ‘The Elephant Man’ who was given this name because he was so deformed he resembled an extremely ugly elephant. The movie shows how John Merrick is marginalized not only by the general public, but also the poorest of people to such an extent that his life was a misery. [tags: Elephant Man Essays] 945 words Bernard Pomerance and the Elephant Man - Bernard Pomerance and the Elephant Man Bernard Pomerance was born in 1940 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended college at the University of Chicago, where he received a degree in English. In the 1970's Pomerance moved to London, England to become a novelist. He was unsuccessful and then decided to try his hand as a dramatist. He quickly got involved with several left-wing fringe groups, which where at the time thriving in England. Then, along with director Ronald Rees, he founded the Foco Nove Theater group. [tags: Elephant Man Essays] The Parents' Role in School Shootings - When children commit a horrible act such as a school shooting their parents often look for someone or something to blame rather than looking at what role they, as parents, may have had in the tragedy. The often targeted entertainers, video game developers, teachers, drug companies, and writers are rarely, if ever, responsible for such tragic outcomes and, unfortunately, often become victims as a result of lawsuits filed in an attempt to place blame on them. The parents of dangerous children must be scrutinized and sued alongside every other entity being blamed for the heinous crimes that children commit. [tags: Blame The Parents for Mass Shootings] 848 words The Finale of Evil in Orwell's Shooting an Elephant - In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell faces a dilemma: whether or not to kill the elephant. With his final decision, the elephant finally lays dead in front of thousands of people. He explains that he was forced to shoot it because the Burmese people were expecting him to do that. In addition, he has to do it “to avoid looking like a fool” (14) in front of the crowd. At first glance, one would think that it makes sense for him to kill the elephant to save his face, but that was not the case. He effectively uses this incident to demonstrate the “real nature of imperialism” (3) dissertation in business and management, where the elephant represents the British Empire. [tags: Imperialism, Analytical Essay] 990 words Bullying and Mass School Shootings - Cho poked his head in the room a couple of times and looked around before exiting and entering a different room. The first shots were heard across the hall, in the hydrology class. It sounded like a nail gun or hammer hitting concrete blocks. Suddenly one could hear a pin drop. Abruptly the classroom door burst open and Cho walked in and raised a Glock 9mm handgun. (Friedman) “Once I got teased paper to write on online free, I could see where the anger came from and what can make someone want to kill,” said Stefan Barone, a fourteen year old. [tags: Mass Shootings in America] Come Shouting to Zion and the development of African-American Religious Culture - Come Shouting to Zion and the development of African-American Religious Culture Missing Works Cited In detailing the long process by which African-Americans came to embrace Protestant Christianity and shape their own unique form of it, Frey and Wood emphasize African agency throughout. Their case is better supported by evidence in the 19th century than in the 18th, during which time Christianity had little effect on slave society through the efforts of Anglicans, not so much because Africans rejected the gospel as because whites withheld Christian brotherhood from blacks. [tags: Religion Shouting Zion Essays] When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick--one I had halted on the road. As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with In the end I could not stand it any longer and went away. I heard later But I did not want to shoot the elephant. I watched him beating his bunch To the townspeople the elephant also symbolizes the British Empire but in an immediate way it symbolizes their hunger and the elephant was food but also a symbol of their hunger to have freedom, freedom that the elephant in the room symbolized - the British Empire. The attitudes of accepting what is seems prevalent of the townspeople in an ambivalence as to where the elephant went, where he was, and where he was going, and what he did, and yet, once the elephant rifle was sent for, a new sense of importance and destiny and change took over the townspeople as they followed the narrator and crowds grew to see the shooting of the elephant as seen in paragraph five: "They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot. It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meet." In paragraph 11 when the first shot is fired at the elephant, "head the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd". In paragraph twelve "it was obvious that the elephant would never rise again, but he was not dead." Yet the Burmans were already racing past the narrator across the mud to the elephant and in paragraph 13 it state "Burmans were bringing dash and baskets even before I left, and I was told they had stripped his body almost to the bones by the afternoon." Showing the hunger of the people, the restlessness, the interest when the empire is toppled. So the immediate symbolism of the elephant to the people is food and hunger but the real symbolism is power and self determination and that makes the elephant the British Empire. What appears interesting is that no one is given a name so it is a timeless tale of any man and anyone's reaction. The only one given a name was Francis who is the head jailer whom the superintendent of the jail prodding gravel with a stick, the army doctor telling Francis that the prisoner "ought to have been dead by this time" and complain that not ready yet. Overcoming a sense of helplessness while following what is believed a preset of ideas and codes of conduct and seeing that no decision is a decision. Things do not merely happen on their own. We are all players in the play that is our life and that of all people. The greatest irony of Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is that the many have no control or that there is control. It is the collapse of truth, a collapse of justification, and a self examination of motivation that will overcome the irony of the entire sad sad situation. Several religious leaders throughout time were quoted and several presidents reinforcing King's statements that justice too long delayed is justice denied. And the truth that individuals may see the moral light and give up unjust posture but as Reinhold Niebuhr reminded us, groups are more immoral than individuals and the only way to fight injustice is with love and passive resistance. The condescending views of the middle of the roaders with shallow acceptance of people of good will is almost worse for their lukewarm acceptance only lacks conviction in a shallow way. Socrates search for truth and saying what was right and early Christians and Jews in their trials for truth and acceptance allies his work with those of early prophets. All three essays are civil injustices of oppressed people of a people with a master who were objectified and treated second best or unimportant and of a people not content to be served injustice any more. Orwell saw his part in their oppression and felt tremendous guilt and lack of control as a puppet on a string who does the will of the people and he even states how tyranny of the white man does nothing but lose freedom. The iron fist is so rigid it has no choice and the fear of a united uprising made those in power there to do the will of what the native people wanted to keep the peace. The guilt Orwell felt is clear and murky at the same time - a conflicting of memory and remembered feelings of the time and the hindsight that maturity can give that you realize you did not really know things as clearly as you thought you did and the sadness that the dying elephant is the sadness of the dying British empire and the order and infrastructure was quite high with British control and now he can see perhaps they were not initially better off, but still he knew the people of Burma needed to be self determined, needed freedom. In "The Hanging" the issue is more of does anyone have the right to take the life of another, does anyone have the right to take the waters of life of a man and make him a puddle cut short his life in his prime and that argument could be applicable to many times and places. In this essay Orwell allows himself to question more clearly and to allow emotion which he transfers upon the dog in the essay as the dog is full of life and sees all people as people, prisoner and guard alike as men and perhaps what Orwell really wants is to have all men be equal and not be in place to judge another or pass the judgment of others for something he had no information about any wrong. Again a very grey argument but clearly more black and white than "Shooting an Elephant " The first sentence of the story opens with a vivid picture of the morning, "It was Burma, a sodden morning of the rains. A sickly light like yellow tin foil, was slanting over the high walls into the jail yard." This foreshadows "sickly" human condition of the second sentence, "We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages." And continuing on to give dimensions and sparse furnishing of plank bed and pot of drinking water of death row. The totality of the picture of degradation like a zoo with prisoners on display out in the open stripped down of their humanity and treated like animals. As the narrator approaches the elephant his feelings vacillates between feeling he should not shoot the elephant and that he has to shoot the elephant and is really shown by the weather of the day for weather is always symbolic in a story. The muddy land that takes over and the "cloud, stuffy morning at the beginning of the rains" which also symbolizes the elephant - apparently content and silent eating the grasses yet caught in the mud beneath his feet. The narrator believing he does not need to kill the elephant and the mud making his choice or blaming his choice on the mud and the will of the mob. It is as if stepping in mud where you step to go forward and are pulled in as if by no choice and you break free as you step forward and yet are drawn right back into the mud. It is the mud that is the narrator's reason for not going closer to elephant and testing its temperament. It is the mud that the native townsperson sunk into a hole of mud. After the execution the dog "sobered and conscious of having misbehaved itself, slipped after them." And the prisoners ate their breakfast like any other morning. And a Eurasian boy approaches the narrator stating "do you know, sir, our friend, when he heard his appeal had been dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his cell. From fright." As an opening line to make people laugh followed by the statement "take one of my cigarettes persuasive essay writer, sir, do you not admire my new silver case" and states its price as if beauty and enjoyment of life can be sold. The townspeople believe they are manipulating the narrator but the narrators sees that he is being manipulated and yet allows it to happen anyway being carried away with mob rule. The townspeople feel a lack of control of their own destiny similar to the fate of the elephant and yet also feed upon the elephant which is the British control in a enabling situation for all. But is it not really the police officer who manipulates them by asking for elephant rifle knowing that they will assume he wishes to shoot the elephant. So the police officer narrator has created his own conflict by lack of control of a situation because he feels he has no control. Thus it is that he realises the cental paradox that lies behind colonialism, that "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys." The narrator feels that people expect powerful action from him as he is the all-powerful white man who rules them. He cannot free himself from the role in which he has been cast and thus actually destroys his own freedom. It is this point that this essay so powerfully makes.
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