The Destruction of Freedom Essay About George Orwell's Short Story "shooting an Elephant"

The Destruction of Freedom

The history of the world draws a picture of the rise and fall of great empires, civilizations that flourished and dominated in their own times. Some were ruled by the descendant of the sun, others by a living god, still others were chosen by God in order to save the world. All of these enormous, powerful nations were somehow given the right to rule by higher powers. The British Empire was no different; they were given the right to dominate and control other people by God and, more importantly, by through their bending of the laws of morality. Yet, as children are taught, with more rights and privileges, comes responsibility, and as the privileges the British granted themselves increased, so their freedom decreased. One man, George Orwell, tells the story that led to his realization of the stupidity of a nation’s attempts to civilize and control another country.

Orwell served in the Imperial Police force in Burma from 1922 to 1927. In his short story Shooting an Elephant, he recounts an incident that showed him “the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East” (7). He begins by recounting the experience of being a sub divisional police officer. The natives hate the police force; to them the police are constant reminders that, in the eyes of white people, they, the Burmese, are considered inferior, and that the British are the only ones reaping rewards from the growing Burmese economy. Though no one dares protest publicly or riot, the Burmese show their hatred through small acts, like spiting at a lone English woman, baiting a police officer when it is safe, tripping a white man during a football game, and other minor acts of protest. The Burmese sneer, laugh at, and insult George Orwell, yet through all of this, he secretly sympathizes with the Burmese as they try to loosen the shackles of oppression. This is the reader’s first hint at how much Orwell has changed his exterior in order to play the part of the police officer. Orwell hates his job; through it he has learned the dirty secrets of the British Empire. While sparkling with the virtues of helping the natives on the outside, the British Empire enforced its help by punishing those who did not want the help they provided. Orwell sees the “wretched…, cowed” prisoners, the wounds of those who have been punished by flogging and is filled “with an intolerable sense of guilt” (2). Yet he does nothing, instead of trying to help, he seeks only to quit his job. A police officer does not help the natives and thus the idea never even crosses Orwell’s mind, so cemented is he in the character of the police officer. Through this confusion, Orwell becomes the enemy of all: the open suppresser of the Burmese and the secret traitor of the Empire. Orwell cannot express himself and thus is not himself but a puppet