This paper deals with Orwell’s text ‘Shooting an Elephant’. I use the term text deliberately since my topic says “George Orwell: ‘Shooting an Elephant’ - Short Story or Essay on the Essence of Colonialism”. The question of genre has been debated for decades and there have been several quarrels about allocating it to a certain genre. Most experts, however, call the text an essay but there are also those who insist on the text belonging to the group of the short stories.
In my paper I will work out features of both genres and at the end of my study I will sum up the findings and draw a conclusion.
First, I will give a short definition of the terms ‘Short Story’ and ‘Essay’. This is to show the characteristics of the two genres that I will pick up again in the course of this paper. After a brief summary I will start the analysis of the text working out topics like parallels to Orwell’s life, the meaning of the elephant or the construction of the text. In the final part I will sum up my results and draw a conclusion.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Definitions
2.1. Definition ‘Essay’
2.2. Definition “Short Story”
3. Plot Summary
4. Analysis
4.1. Arguments for the Essay
4.1.1. Parallels to Orwell’s Biography
4.1.2. Parallels between Orwell and the Narrator
4.2. The narrator’s conflict
4.3. The Symbol of the Elephant
4.4. Roll-Call
5. Arguments for the Short Story
5.1. Construction
5.1.1. Title, Beginning and Ending
6. Conclusion
Objectives and Topics
This paper examines George Orwell’s text "Shooting an Elephant" to determine its generic classification by analyzing whether it functions primarily as a short story or an essay, specifically exploring how both forms manifest through thematic content and structural composition.
- The intersection of biography and literary narrative in Orwell's work.
- Generic definitions of the essay versus the short story.
- The symbolic function of the elephant within colonial power dynamics.
- Analysis of narrative structure, including title, beginning, and ending.
- The concept of the "narrative essay" as a hybrid genre.
Excerpt from the Book
4.1.1. Parallels to Orwell’s Biography
There are striking parallels between the story and Orwell’s own life that support the argument for ‘Shooting an Elephant’ being an essay. The most striking and obvious parallel is the fact that Orwell himself served as a police officer in Burma from 1922 to 1927. He was educated at Eton and then volunteered to serve in India. His father had also worked as a police officer in Moulmein which can be seen as another striking parallel between the writer’s family background and the setting of the story. Orwell definitely had a personal relation to Moulmein. His grandmother and his aunt Nora lived there and Orwell had come to visit them several times before his service for the Imperial Police started in 1922. Later, when Orwell served in Burma, he played football in the Moulmein Police Team. Regarding this fact, there is a reference in the text when he writes about “a nimble Burman tripping him on the football field” (Orwell 1). In this case, there is not only a personal relation to the place but also to personal interests and activities. He may even refer to his own experience as a British football player during his time in Burma.
While Moulmein is an obvious hint to a place Orwell knew, there is another hint to a place that had a remarkable impact on Orwell’s thinking. In the text he writes about the terrible circumstances Burmese prisoners have to bear. In September 1925, he went to Insein, the city with the second-largest jail in Burma. This visit obviously touched Orwell’s mind. He mentions “the wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups [...] the men who had been flogged with bamboos – all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt” (Orwell 1) in the text. This quote reveals the narrator as an Englishman who sympathises with the native population and who despises their brutal oppression.
Summary of Chapters
1. Introduction: Outlines the debate surrounding the genre of "Shooting an Elephant" and the author's intention to analyze both short story and essay characteristics.
2. Definitions: Establishes theoretical definitions for both the 'Essay' and the 'Short Story' to serve as a foundation for the subsequent analysis.
3. Plot Summary: Provides a brief overview of the narrative, focusing on the narrator’s conflict as a British police officer in Burma forced to shoot an elephant against his will.
4. Analysis: Investigates arguments supporting the essay classification, specifically focusing on biographical parallels, the narrator's internal conflict, and the symbolic meaning of the elephant.
5. Arguments for the Short Story: Examines evidence for the short story genre, focusing on the text's construction, unity, and the significance of its opening and closing.
6. Conclusion: Summarizes the findings and proposes that the text represents a hybrid form, best defined as a "narrative essay."
Keywords
George Orwell, Shooting an Elephant, Colonialism, Genre Analysis, Short Story, Essay, Burma, British Empire, Imperialism, Narrative Structure, Biography, Symbolism, Narrative Essay
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the fundamental focus of this paper?
The paper investigates the generic classification of George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant," debating whether it is more accurately categorized as a short story or an essay.
What are the central themes discussed in the text?
The primary themes include the nature of colonialism, the conflict between individual morality and duty, the influence of personal biography on literary work, and the structural differences between prose genres.
What is the primary objective or research question?
The objective is to work out the features of both genres present in the text to determine how they contribute to the narrative and whether the text functions as an essay, a short story, or a blend of both.
Which scientific method is applied in this analysis?
The author uses a comparative literary analysis, evaluating the text against established definitions of literary genres and examining biographical context alongside structural elements.
What topics are covered in the main section?
The main section covers the parallels between Orwell’s life and the story, the narrator's moral conflict, the symbolic function of the elephant, and an examination of the text's construction (title, beginning, and ending).
Which keywords best characterize the work?
The work is characterized by terms such as colonialism, narrative structure, imperialism, literary genre, and Orwellian biography.
Why does the author argue that the elephant serves as a symbol?
The author suggests the elephant acts as a victim of the struggle between the ruling British and the oppressed natives, highlighting the cruelty of the narrator's forced action.
What does the author conclude about the genre of "Shooting an Elephant"?
The author concludes that the text is a hybrid, possessing the construction of a short story but the content and reflective nature of an essay, ultimately calling it a "narrative essay."
- Arbeit zitieren
- Swantje We (Autor:in), 2010, "Shooting an Elephant" of George Orwell - Short Story or Essay on the Essence of Colonialism?, München, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/170862
