Shooting an Elephant

SOAPSTone- Shooting an Elephant

Meredith Scroggin

Subject

The subject of George Orwell’s Shooting an Elephant is a man trying to make a decision. The conflicted man is illustrated through him making up his mind to shoot the elephant. He’s a man in a foreign country trying to make a decision of what to do with the wild elephant.

Occasion

Shooting an Elephant was written during a time of imperial power in Britain. The essay’s time of creation is illustrated when he explains that “[he] did not even know that the British empire [was] dying”. During this time period was when he wrote it and imperialism was rising. The probable place of the essay’s creation is in Burma. Orwell explains the Burmese and the people of Burma in his essay.

The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay by how effective the piece was. The very first sentence sets off the occasion of when and where he was writing it. He wrote this piece to explain his emotions for imperialism, and the fact that imperialism was happening where and when he was when he wrote this played a large role in how he wrote it.

Audience

George Orwell’s specific audience for Shooting an Elephant is people living in Britain at the time. The author’s target audience is identified by him explaining the thoughts and emotions of the people living there at the time. This support explains how the political issues affected his decisions and thoughts at the time to write for this audience that would be influenced by his writing.

The author’s general audience for the essay is the people that understand the political messages underlying in the piece. The author’s general audience is expressed by Orwell explaining how people didn’t like him because of his job. This support reveals the audience because everyone can relate to it.

Purpose

George Orwell’s purpose in Shooting an Elephant is to express his opinions about imperialism. His wanting to share his opinions is illustrated by “there were endless discussions about the shooting of the elephant.” The quote explains the controversy and abundance of opinions at the time. There were so many ideas and opinions at the time, and the shooting of the elephant was just one example.

Speaker

George Orwell, an English journalist, doesn’t believe in imperialism. This value is illustrated by him hating his job. His job was provided by an imperialist society and he hated it.

Orwell, one for social awareness, didn’t believe it was his job to shoot the elephant. This value is illustrated by him hesitating to shoot it. It explained his hatred of imperialism.

Tone

Orwell shows a strong and opinionated attitude about imperialism in Shooting an Elephant. These attitudes are expressed by his many symbols and feelings and emotions. They help explain his feelings toward these political subjects.