Summary Of Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell

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Orwell’s experience in Burma gave him insight on the effects imperialism: revealing the true nature of human cruelty. In Orwell short piece Shooting an Elephant, Orwell succumbs to the pressure around him and shoots the elephant in front of a crowd. Orwell’s afterthoughts about the situation were bitter and he claims to have only shot the elephant to save his face. The faceoff between Orwell and the elephant is similar to the climax in Nineteen Eighty-Four where O’Brien taunts Winston with his fear of rats in Room 101 of the Ministry of Love. O’Brien’s cruelty exemplifies the power that humans crave to hold on to religiously. The elephant of this case is Winston. Winston naturally retaliates with pleads filled with fear and panics. He begs