Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell is a powerful essay exploring the moral dilemmas of colonial rule in Burma. The narrator, a British police officer, grapples with his role as an unwilling instrument of imperialism.
- Orwell vividly depicts the tensions between colonizers and the colonized
- The shooting of an elephant becomes a metaphor for the destructive nature of imperialism
- Themes include the abuse of power, conflict between conscience and duty, and the dehumanizing effects of colonialism
- Orwell's crisp prose and keen observations provide biting commentary on British imperial rule