A semi-autobiographical work, this essay by George Orwell recounts the excruciating moment his duties as a police officer serving in Myanmar (formally Burma) required him to shoot an out-of-control elephant.
First published in 1936, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ is regarded as an influential metaphor for British imperialism. When his time serving as a police officer in British-Burma results in the narrator, presumed to be Orwell, having to shoot an out-of-control elephant, he is forced into torment as he witnesses the animal’s painfully slow death. The essay is an allegorical representation of Orwell’s belief that ‘when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.’ This new edition of the classic essay features an introductory piece by the author, ‘Why I Write’.
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Eric Arthur Blair (1903–1950) was an English novelist, essay writer, critic and journalist born in Bengal, British India. Better known by his pen name, George Orwell, the writer’s most famous works include the novels Animal Farm, 1945, and Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949. His work boldly expresses his opposition to totalitarianism, and he is well-known for weaving social and political commentary into his texts. His influence is still widely seen today, for example, the adjective ‘Orwellian’ is commonly used to describe an authoritarian idea or social practise.
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