What destructive act does the elephant commit?

In “Shooting an Elephant,” the elephant damages the town by ravaging a bazaar, destroying a hut, raiding fruit stands, killing a cow, overturning a garbage truck, and trampling an Indian man to death.

How is Orwell affected by the death of the elephant?

Despite Orwell’s aversion to shooting the elephant, he becomes suddenly aware that he will lose face and be humiliated if he does not shoot it. He therefore shoots the elephant. The death itself is sustained in excruciating detail. After three shots, the elephant still does not die.

What is the plot of how do you shoot an elephant?

“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell is a narrative essay about Orwell’s time as a police officer for the British Raj in colonial Burma. The essay delves into an inner conflict that Orwell experiences in his role of representing the British Empire and upholding the law.

What does shooting the elephant symbolize?

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.

Why do the locals hate the narrator in shooting an elephant?

The Burmese hate Orwell in “Shooting an Elephant” primarily because he’s a member of the colonial police force. Orwell’s presence is a reminder to the Burmese people of their continued oppression, which naturally causes them to feel great bitterness towards him.

What is the essay’s thesis in shooting an elephant?

Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” is an essay, so it does contain a thesis. Orwell’s thesis is that when a white man becomes a tyrant, it is his own freedom that he loses. In the essay, Orwell demonstrates how he loses his freedom to behave intelligently and morally.

What does he wears a mask and his face grows to fit it mean?

In “Shooting an Elephant,” when Orwell says “He wears a mask and his face grows to fit it,” he means that the more a person puts on a “mask” by acting how they are expected to act, the more they gradually transform into the image they present and the more their behavior permanently changes.

Why does the narrator decide he must kill the elephant?

Why does the narrator decide he must kill the elephant? He can’t risk the elephant hurting anyone else. He feels pressured by the crowd’s expectations. He wants to prove to himself that he’s brave.

How does Orwell’s ultimate decision show that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys?

“I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” Orwell is referring to himself with the gun, performing his authority, when he refers to “turning tyrant.” When this happens, he says, he becomes the puppet of those who he’s performing for.