Shooting An Elephant Symbolism Essay

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Symbolically, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ by English novelist George Orwell, can come about a person's heart in many ways. When reading this story, many fail to realize Orwell's use of symbols through his experience contributed by the evils of imperialism. The elephant, the Burmese people, Orwell himself were three major symbols in ‘Shooting An Elephant’ used in order for readers to understand his veil message.
When the elephant was first introduced, he symbolized a large power. As Orwell stated, “The Burmese population had no weapons and were quite helpless against it.”(324), with the elephant being as big as it is, the elephant powered through the quarter destroying a bamboo hut, mauled a cow, and raided some of the Burmese food stalls. Orwell …show more content…
As a police officer, Orwell’s symbol of guilt ran through him. As he stated, “the wretched prisoners huddling in the sinking cages of the lock ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboos.”(323). From experiencing it from hand, Orwell's symbol of guilt is an example for anybody whose job involves doing and seeing things the mind knows isn't right. This also brought a symbol of rage Orwell portrayed. From being treated wrong and discriminated by the Burmese, to being aggregated with the British empire, Orwell's symbol of rage ended up being a major factor in his decision to shoot the elephant.
George Orwell’s message symbolically through ‘Shooting An Elephant’ can very easily go unseen. The elephant, Burmese people, and the author George Orwell, were three major symbols throughout ‘Shooting An Elephant’ readers could not only feel and understand, but learn from his experiences as well. Orwell knew many people's hearts could be touched and affected symbolically in ‘Shooting An
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