Death of Imperialism in George Orwell's ‘Shooting an Elephant

Abstract

Generally known for his politically concerned literary pieces, Eric Arthur Blaire, who uses the pen name George Orwell during his short-lived literary career, is the author of various novels, short stories, essays and a small number of poems; placing him among the luminaries of the 20^th century literature. Orwell's political writings shed light upon popular political issues of his time, ranging from colonialism and imperialism to authoritarian regimes and socialism. Besides his artistic career, Orwell has always been subject to critical dispute upon his commissions as a police officer in the British colony of Burma, during which he conceived the ideas for his critical essay, "Shooting an Elephant”.

The aim of this article is to discuss Orwell's political essay "Shooting an Elephant” in the light of post-colonial literary criticism, emphasizing the possible interpretations that the elephant in the narrative allegorically stands for imperialism and the reactions of the officer, who gives voice to Orwell's own critical stance towards British colonial rule over the Burmese, reinforce the self-depreciating nature of colonialism on a much broader universal scale. Consequently, the present study concludes that Orwell's experiences in the British colony foreshadows the forthcoming end of British imperialism, not only in Burma, but in other colonies throughout the world as well.