An important point of George Orwell’s “On Shooting an Elephant” is that colonial rule is ultimately evil. In Orwell’s opinion piece, it becomes apparent that he recognizes what he calls “the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East” and the problematic nature of imperialism.

The unjust shooting of an elephant in Orwell’s story is the central focus from which Orwell builds his argument through the two dominant characters, the elephant and its executioner. The British officer, the executioner, acts as a symbol of the imperial country, while the elephant symbolizes the victim of imperialism.

Orwell abandons his morals and kills the elephant to garner the approval of the Burmese. Orwell speaks of himself when he says, “it is the condition of rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the natives.” And so in every crisis he has got to do what the natives expect of him.

The main themes of “Shooting an Elephant” include conscience, culture clash, and order and disorder. Conscience: In the essay, colonial law contrasts with the conscience of the narrator both in his killing of the elephant and his treatment of the Burmese.

‘Shooting an Elephant’ is a 1936 essay by George Orwell (1903-50), about his time as a young policeman in Burma, which was then part of the British empire. The essay explores an apparent paradox about the behaviour of Europeans, who supposedly have the power over their colonial subjects.

Rhetorical devices used in “Shooting an Elephant” include imagery, simile, and irony, all of which emphasize the many injustices done by the British Empire. For example, Orwell uses powerful similes to describe the prolonged death of the elephant, likening its trunk to a tree, before it trumpets for the last time.

The tone of “Shooting an Elephant” is conflicted, irritated, and resigned.

Because the locals expect him to do the job, he does so against his better judgment, his anguish increased by the elephant’s slow and painful death. The story is regarded as a metaphor for colonialism as a whole, and for Orwell’s view that “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.”

The most obvious conflict in “Shooting an Elephant ” is the narrator’s unwillingness to shoot the elephant that went on a rampage. This conflicts with the perceived need for him to do so as a display of colonial strength and resolution.

British imperialism

The climax of “Shooting an Elephant” occurs when George Orwell takes the first shot at the elephant, wounding it but not killing it.

Orwell details his internal conflict as one in which he wishes the Empire to fail just as much, if not more, than the Burmese. Yet, he needs a job and this is the job he has. For Orwell, it is a self- hating internal conflict that requires him to don a uniform that embodies the very worst for him.

George Orwell did not see the elephant as a potential threat when he first encountered him as he was calmly eating grass. Orwell naturally shied away from the idea of murdering a harmless animal. Ultimately, he shot the elephant and it became clear he felt remorse.

But beyond both practical reasons—to shoot the elephant is to destroy a valuable piece of property—and humane reasons (the thick-hided elephant would die slowly and painfully) the narrator doesn’t want to shoot the elephant because in doing so he is acknowledging his powerlessness.

In 1936 these were followed by what he called a “sketch” describing how, and more importantly why, he had killed a runaway elephant during his time in Moulmein, today known as Mawlamyine. By this time Orwell was highly regarded, and many were reluctant to accept that he had indeed killed an elephant.

Conclusion. Shooting the elephant is a clear depiction of the imperialist powers that wok to the detriment of the subjects. In his metaphoric epresentations, Orwell manages to demonstrate in clear terms the immense negative images portrayed by the inhibiting powers of the colonial masters.

An estimated 100 African elephants are killed each day by poachers seeking ivory, meat and body parts, leaving only 400,000 remaining. An insatiable lust for ivory products in the Asian market makes the illegal ivory trade extremely profitable, and has led to the slaughter of tens of thousands of African elephants.

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The chances of an adult elephant surviving in the wild without its trunk are slim. An adult needs to eat between 200-600 pounds of food a day and drink up to 50 gallons of water a day. Without a trunk it would be near-impossible for the animal to consume that much food or water.

The trunk is crucial for an elephant to survive, which is used for eating food, drinking water and breathing. It is nearly impossible for an elephant to have enough food or water without the use of its trunk.

He’ll Beat You With His Trunk It’s also an incredibly strong muscle. Separate from the rest of the body the nose alone weighs 400 pounds, and when that hits you, you know it. An elephant’s trunk is stronger than any man you’d come up against.

Elephants can use them to protect their trunks, dig for water, lift objects, strip bark from trees, gather food and defend themselves, according to “Poached: Inside the Dark World of Wildlife Trafficking” (Da Capo Press, 2018), by science journalist Rachel Nuwer. But once removed, these tusks don’t grow back.

The bottom third of each elephant tusk is embedded within the skull of the animal. This part is actually a pulpy cavity that contains nerves, tissue and blood vessels. However, it too is ivory. The only way a tusk can be removed without killing the animal is if the animal sheds the tooth on its own.

There is a nerve that runs well down the length of an elephant’s tusk. Cutting the tusk off would be painful, similar to you breaking a tooth. Remember that an elephant tusk is a modified incisor. Cutting beyond the nerve would still leave a third of the tusk in place.

Dung Beetle

For many humans to beat a mountain gorilla, that would need your strength combined into one person which is even impossible. Mountain gorillas have been killed by humans using weapons but there’s no single record of any human ever killing a mountain gorilla using bear hands.