Camarena 1

Diego Camarena

Miss Williams-Arnold

English Language Arts II (Gr 10) Honors

24 October 2020

Color Key:

Light Blue - Compound Sentence

Light Pink - Complex Sentence

Yellow - Compound-Complex Sentence

Conjunctive Adverb - (bold, and underlined)

Abyss of People

When one is in the position of power they have the freedom to do as they please, but

what happens when that power slowly starts to fade away? In “Shooting An Elephant” George

Orwell states, “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys,” and “He

wears a mask, and his face grows to fit”. These two statements can be open for interpretation, but

they are both connected to the same concept of imperialism. George Orwell has always had

strong views on imperialism and the effects that come from it, so throughout the story Orwell

talks about his thoughts and gives examples of hidden imperialism in action. My interpretation of

Orwell’s quotes is that when someone decides to follow the flow of their surroundings they take

away their freedom to make their own decisions, so by fitting in with the majority you effectively

disappear into the ocean of others. I agree with Orwell and his ideology on imperialism because

the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. When you are talking by yourself in an

empty room your voice is amplified and you can hear yourself clearly, but as you start adding
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more people into that room your voice disappears. I agree with Orwells thinking because, when a

person decides to go against their beliefs and notions they lose their freedom as they are losing

themselves, and humans can be very dependent on others' opinions and thoughts.

One's beliefs and thoughts make up who they are as a person, so by going against the

foundation of who you are as a person you deprive yourself of freedom. Despite Orwells hatred

for imperialism, he still put on a mask for the British, “Theoretically – and secretly, of course – I

was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British” (Paragraph 2) . This

statement highlights the fact that Orwells freedom was being taken away as a British officer. He

hated his job, but he had to put on an act to keep his position. If you didn't conform to society's

norms and expectations you wouldn’t be able to survive in the environment where imperialism is

present. Imperialism effectively takes away people’s power and freedom, so if you don’t sacrifice

your power and freedom you end up in a situation where the oppressors and the oppressed are

against you, and this is an area where no one wants to be in. Orwell had to choose the side of the

British for society, since he was a British officer, even if his actual views countered that. As soon

as he received the call of an elephant “ravaging” the bazaar, Orwell knew the Burmese were

exaggerating and he had already made up his mind that he would not shoot the elephant;

however, the large crowd made him rethink his plan. With the crowd growing bigger as he

walked to the elephant, Orwell had to go against his will and shoot the elephant. When under

pressure, it is easy to make a wrong decision in the heat of the moment, so with an ever growing

crowd Orwell panicked and made a decision making him go against his own morals. If he

would’ve decided to not shoot the elephant it would give the Burmese another reason to hate

him, and Orwell thought it to be “impossible” to “ come all that way, rifle in hand, with two
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thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away”. So by going against his

will and shooting the elephant, Orwell becomes a puppet of the people and effectively destroys

his own freedom. The Burmese took his power and now controlled him like a puppet, If he didn't

hold to their expectations they would make a fool out of him, and that was the last thing Orwell

wanted.

Another factor that pins people to the wall is their dependency on the opinion of the

general public and society's expectations. It can be inferred that Orwell cared about the public's

opinion a lot considering he shot the elephant “solely to avoid looking a fool.” (Paragraph 14).

After the crowd started growing he felt the pressure of the crowd, and rather than sticking to his

initial plan, he succumbed to the expectations of the crowd. When he decides to shoot the

elephant, he wears a mask and soon starts to fit it. He is no longer himself, but rather the

majority. Some may think that when you turn tyrant that is the point where you get your freedom

by showing your true character, but truthfully that is the point where you lose yourself. You went

from being a leader to following others orders without a choice. The crowd got under his skin

and made him their puppet, which takes away his power and freedom instantly. In this situation

Orwell represents imperialism, while the elephant represents the victims of imperialism, and the

crowd was a representation of the general public. Orwell becomes the imperialist and shoots the

innocent victim for the general public. He cared too much about the opinion of others that he had

to shoot the elephant, in order to fit in with the general public. He had to shoot the elephant, for

he wanted to avoid looking foolish. Europeans were arguing whether it was the right decision to

shoot the elephant for killing a coolie, but none of them realized that the only reason why he did

it was to avoid looking foolish. Everyone is so deep into the concept of imperialism that they

don’t view the situation from differing points of views. Some Burmese might’ve not agreed with
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a lot of the Burmeses' thoughts but they couldn’t say anything because as established before,

imperialism causes people to lose their voice. Some Burmese may not like the way other

Burmese think, but they cannot say anything due to the driving force of coercion.

Overall, when one decides to go against their will and yield to the majority they lose their

power and freedom. They no longer make their own decisions because they joined everyone else.

The freedom they once had vanished, simply because they wanted to “put on a mask” and please

the general public. So when Orwell decided to shoot the elephant to please the Burmese he

destroyed his freedom. If he had not shot the elephant, yes he would’ve looked foolish, but he

would’ve still had his freedom and power. This led Orwell to take part in what he hated most:

imperialism. All in all, I agree with what Orwell said because when you go against your beliefs

and succumb to the expectations of others, you are no longer in charge because you let others

influence and control how you think, like a puppet. After a while of wearing that mask, you get

used to it and soon adapt to fit the mask. It is no longer a mask but it is who you are as a person.