nywhere unless it has enough solid, specific, concrete detail for the reader to re-live the experience like Orwell does. Unlike some other essays, which state their thesis in the first paragraph, this essay puts the thesis at the point where the narrator actually realizes the significance of the experience. He clearly signals that he's about to present his thesis when he says, "It was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness....", Then comes the thesis: "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom that he destroys." (165).The style of this essay is generally very simple, but it is strong enough to merit numerous interpretations. Orwell uses metaphors to do this: They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick (165).Oppression is shown by Orwell through the burden of servitude placed upon him by England: All I knew was that I was struck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beast [the Burmese] who tried to make my job impossible (163). Though Orwells handling of his subject is detailed, in the end, he subtly condemns imperialism. Orwell finds himself in a moral predicament no different than the ones placed on the white men in the East. Orwell justifies his actions, solely to avoid looking a fool, driven by the instigation of the Burmese (165). Orwell himself, against his will, has oppressed many Burmese. In Orwells case, the coolie killed by the elephant represents the invasion of Burma by the British. Just as no one can predict the next victim of the elephant, also no one can predict the next victim of the British. The murder of coolie gives Orwell a justifiable reason to kill the elephant. Orwell does not want himself to be considered as British, but he does not want to be thought the fool either. George Orwell makes his decision to shoot the elephant appear t...
