One interpretation of George Orwell's "On Shooting an
Elephant" may well be that the elephant is symbolic and its dying a metaphor for
imperialism.
When the elephant is shot by Orwell, a British
colonial policeman, there is "a devilish roar of glee," the roar of conquering. The
elephant looks "suddenly striken," as despots might be as they realize that control of
the subjects is lessening:
He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely
old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralyzed him wihout knocking him
down.
In this state, the
elephant--the great beast that it is--climbs "with desperate slowness" to his feet and
is able to stand again, albeit weakly. In his essay, Orwell describes how the Burmese
have intentionally hurt him at a soccer game, yet he must do what the "natives" expect
of him, wearing "a mask, and his face grows to fit it." He must show the strength of
the British conqueror. So, he acts his role and tries to "tower upward...trumpeted, for
the first and only time." Yet, this final show of strength does not serve him, for he
crashes and shakes the earth just as the failure of imperialistic power causes the
British defeat. By the time of Orwell's tenure in Burma, the country had become
economically successful and felt that it should be
independent.
Born in India, George Orwell came to Burma as
a time when Burmese interests began to assert themselves. This nationalism of Burma is
what Orwell records in his essay "On Shooting an Elephant." As Orwell doubts the
legitimacy of the colonial government, so, too, does he doubt the legitimacy of his
shooting the elephant, and states at the end that he "was very glad that the coolie had
been killed; it put me legally in the right...."
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