Shooting an Elephant

Orwell uses both external and internal conflict as he details the narrator’s struggles with his position as a British officer and his disgust for the ruling power he must satisfy. He is internally vocal about his rage against imperialism, and yet he can’t externalize it for fear of looking foolish in front of the natives. He believes in the Burmese and would rather support their efforts, but he is trapped in a job he is hoping to soon quit. For now, he remains conflicted and must play his part in the imperial system. An elephant that has gone “must” propels him to satisfy both the British Raj and the Burmese. Yet his internal conflict persists until he walks away from the crowd, the elephant, and, in the end, his conscience.

Authors often use repetition to emphasize something they want readers to pay attention to. For example, the narrator of “Shooting an Elephant” repeatedly says he does not want to shoot the elephant. In some cases, we read it as a declaration, and in others as a question since he is conflicted throughout the essay.