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Trace elements of irony in 'Shooting an Elephant'.
Ans. Irony is a figure of speech in which something is told but the opposite is meant. It is the use of words, the natural meaning of which is very opposite of what is actually intended to be expressed. Irony lies in the incongruity of speech, behaviour of certain character or in some abnormal situation. Shooting an Elephant' by George Orwell mainly contains irony of situation or behaviour.
The situation in which Orwell was to render his services, was the irony of his fate. What he desired, did not happen, but what he did not desire, happened. He was a police officer but he had a sympathetic mind to realize the sufferings human life. So it was ironical for him to be a police officer and become an agent of the imperial rule.George Orwell always suffered from mental conflicts. He had no fascination for the job of a police but ironically he had to perform unpleasant duties. He had a soft corner of his heart for the natives but ironically he served the white rulers who suppressed their rights cruelly.
Again it was an irony of the relationship between the ruler and the ruled. The white rulers oppressed the natives who dared not to resist or revolt. But the rulers were not at ease with themselves; they always tried to be on their guard to avoid being teased and humiliated by the natives. This has been clearly stated by the author: "I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible."
Irony becomes very pungent when we know that the writer shoots the elephant against his will. In fact, the writer found the elephant to be mild and tame and so he had no intention to kill it. But the natives created a great psychological pressure upon him. He acted like a puppet in their hands. The will of the natives forced him to kill the elephant to avoid looking a fool. At that moment he realised that the white man's life in the East was "one long struggle not to be laughed at." His will power had no value. He was a part of the imperial rule but ironically, he was robbed of his own freedom. So he killed the elephant under public pressure, and this was the bitterest irony of situation.
To sum up, the essay 'Shooting an Elephant' is replete with ironies. George Orwell has successfully and effectively used ironies in order to expose the evil and futility of imperialism. The imperialistic rulers curtails the rights and freedom of the natives but ironically they loses their hold over the ruled and also limit their own freedom. Thus a misunderstanding is bound to grow between the rulers and the ruled.
Bring out the autobiographical elements in George Orwell's essay, "Shooting an Elephant".
Ans. 'Shooting an Elephant' is one of the best and most popular autobiographical essays of George Orwell. It deals with his experience as a police officer in Burma. After completing his education, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police, and served in Burma from 1922 to 1927 as an Asst. Superintendent of Police. His experiences as Police Officer in Burma were bitter. He was often a victim of the hostility and injustice in the hands of his colleagues and officers, because he could not grow a liking for the oppressive British colonial rule in Burma, and felt ashamed of being an agent of it.
George Orwell was always disturbed by the conflict of loyalties going on in his heart because he was opposed to the dirty work of imperialism. Although he had anti-imperialistic feelings, he could not express them openly. He hated the tyrannous and oppressive rule of a handful of Britishers on a large number of native Burmese people. He belonged to the class of oppressors but had sympathy for the natives and this made his job difficult. Ultimately, Orwell gave up. his job in Burma and left for England in August, 1927.
Orwell's experiences in Burma were later recorded in a fictional form in his novel 'Burmese Days published in 1934. These experiences were also recounted earlier in his essay, "A Hanging" published in August, 1931 in the journal, 'Adephi', and were later described in another essay, 'Shooting an Elephan written at the request of John Lehmann in 1936, and published in his Journal 'New Writing' (No. 2) in the Autumn of 1936. "
'Shooting an Elephant' is an autobiographical essay dealing with Orwell's experiences in Burma. It depicts the psychological conflict in the mind of Orwell and his sense of divided loyalties. Orwell's anti imperialistic feelings also form the main subject of this essay. As its title indicates, the essay gives an account of the incident of the shooting of an elephant that had gone 'must' Orwell has not only narrated this incident objectively but also presented an analysis of the motives for killing the elephant.
Once Orwell was informed by a Burmese sub-inspector of police that an elephant had gone 'must', and was killing people and destroying property. The inspector requested him to do something about it. Orwell went with his rifle to kill the animal. Seeing him, a big crowd of people assembled out of curiosity to witness the shooting of the elephant. When Orwell came near the elephant, he found that the attack of 'must had passed, and the animal was now calm and gentle. The native people also told him that it would not harm anybody now unless it was disturbed. Orwell felt like sparing the life of the elephant and letting it go away unharmed. But the curious eyes of all the natives were focussed on him. He had no alternative but to act as "Sahib" and rise up to the expectations of the natives.
Thus the incidents of the shooting of the elephant were connected with Orwell's experiences of shooting an elephant in Burma during his tenure of service there as a sub-divisional police officer. Therefore the essay, "Shooting an Elephant" is certainly autobiographical.
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