Imperialism and Imagery in Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant"

Introduction: Imperialism and Its Human Cost

Imperialism proved to be one of the worst institutions since the end of slavery in Western civilization. In many cases, it resembled slavery in that the native people had no choice but to go along with their conquerors — and neither did the soldiers on the front line. Thousands of British soldiers were forced into foreign lands for no reason other than to benefit the government at home. What resulted was heavy resentment from both sides, as seen in George Orwell's short story "Shooting an Elephant." Orwell uses imagery to represent this idea, along with derogatory slang contrasted against a Western eloquence of speech, in order to further convey the hopelessness of imperialism.

First-Person Narration and Individual Responsibility

The use of first person places a sense of individual responsibility within the larger context of imperialism. It lends authority to the actual feelings and sentiments of real soldiers in the field. In many cases, the world did not conceive of imperialism as a collaborative effort of many individuals, but rather as the project of a single nation. However, by adopting a first-person point of view, Orwell restores a sense of immediacy and agency to the individuals caught up in imperialism: "I was hated by large numbers of people — the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen" (Orwell, 646).

It was, in fact, the individual Europeans in the region whom many of the local colonized people blamed for the misery of imperialism. Orwell's use of first person also allows the reader to imagine what it would have been like to serve as a mere infantryman in a foreign nation, hated by the locals. This dimension deepens later in the story when the narrator is permitted to voice his own resentment toward the institution itself.

Shared Resentment on Both Sides

This first-person exploration of imperialism reveals that most of those on the front lines actively hated the institution. It was not only the local population who felt resentful; the foreign soldiers resented it too, having been compelled to live in a foreign country for reasons that offered them no personal benefit: "All this was perplexing and upsetting. For at that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked up my job and got out of it the better" (Orwell, 647).

The narrator's retrospective view on the failure of imperialism is further evident in his admission that he did not even realize he was stationed at the outpost of a dying empire — his own country had been deceiving him. Naturally, this would breed hostility toward the entire world around him. Yet when his assistance is needed by the townspeople, the two very different populations display remarkably similar responses to the bloody scene of shooting an elephant: "It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat" (Orwell, 649). This moment of unexpected common ground underscores the broader human cost imperialism imposed on all involved.

Conclusion: The Hopelessness of Imperialism

Through the intimate nature of the first-person recollection of this event, Orwell draws on the concept of the hopelessness and uselessness of the institution of imperialism. Although we are all alike, imperialism enforced derogatory conceptions of who is inferior and who is superior. Along with this, imperialism isolated not only those who were conquered, but also those who were made to enforce such oppressive governmental practices. Orwell's carefully constructed imagery, his contrasting language registers, and his unflinching first-person voice work together to leave the reader with an enduring portrait of an institution that diminished everyone it touched.