ipl-logo

What Is The Quest Motif In Shooting An Elephant

970 Words4 Pages

In the short story Shooting An Elephant By George Orwell a Police Officer who is not from Burma is forced to go out and kill a wild elephant. Orwell whom is the main character is not from Burma and when he goes about his quest to hunt down and kill the elephant he goes about the actual killing of the elephant. The local people begin to dislike him because of the way he went about putting the animal down. This story is often interpreted as an interpretation of how orwell viewed the Indian Imperial police. This story Follows the quest motif to the letter; every aspect of this story seems to fit in with the motif. The first aspect of the quest motif is to identify who the quester is(Foster, Thomas C. "How to Read Place in Literature with the …show more content…

In this breakout the elephant destroys property, and kills a cow, and man. With that happening Orwell is forced to put down the elephant weather he likes the idea of it or not, to do so he must track the elephant and hunt it down in order to kill it. This is an example of the second step in the quest motif which is having to travel in order to succeed in the quest(Foster, Thomas C. "How to Read Place in Literature with the Body."Literature’s Sensuous Geographies (2015): 6-8. Web). In the Story Orwell had to go to the Bazzar to start his tracking of the elephant. “...I got on to a pony and started out. I took my rifle, an old .44 Winchester and much too small to kill an elephant, but I thought the noise might be useful in terrorem.” (Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant (1936): n. pag. …show more content…

"How to Read Place in Literature with the Body."Literature’s Sensuous Geographies (2015): 6-8. Web). In shooting an elephant the wild elephant has destroyed huts, killed a cow and killed a man which means that the elephant must be killed. The Elephant had run his tusk through the man and then trampled him it was a very brutish death the man’s skin was enem pulled up from where the elephant trampled him. “ As soon as I saw the dead man I sent an orderly to a friend’s house nearby to borrow an elephant rifle. I had already sent back the pony, not wanting it to go mad with fright and throw me if it smelled the elephant.”(Orwell, George. Shooting an Elephant (1936): n. pag.

Show More
Related

  • British Imperialism In Andrea Levy's Back To My Own Country

    446 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell, “The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lockups, the gray, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been flogged with bamboo.” This specific piece of evidence represents the abusive part of the authority in horrid ways to keep convicts. According to George Orwell, “ In a job like that, you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters.” George Orwell's story elaborates on how imperialism resulted in the abuse of authority. Consequentially, all of this leading the lasting factor of forced

    Read More

  • Shooting An Elephant Ethos Pathos Logos

    1021 Words  | 5 Pages

    Zachary Conners SUNY – Eng. 12 Mrs. O’Malley December 15, 2014 “Shooting an Elephant” is a persuasive rhetorical piece written by George Orwell used to describe Orwell’s feelings about imperialism. Orwell uses pathos, logos, and ethos to convey his feelings towards imperialism and how destructive it can be. Born 1903, George Orwell, novelist, essayist, and critic, was best known for his novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty- Four. Son of a British servant, Orwell spent most of his days in India, where his father had been stationed.

    Read More

  • Ethos In Shooting An Elephant

    629 Words  | 3 Pages

    Even though Orwell did commit the crime of shooting an elephant, throughout the story he used ethos, pathos, and figurative language to convince the audience if given the opportunity he would never shoot an elephant again because the elephant represents the innocence of people.     First and foremost, Orwell establishes his ethos. As stated in Everything’s an Argument, ethos is described as the author's credibility. He establishes his ethos right from the beginning of the story when he states he works for the British but he despises them.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant

    990 Words  | 4 Pages

    Rhetorical Analysis: “Shooting an Elephant” Contrary to popular belief, the oppressors of imperialism lack freedom. Imperialists are usually powerful and maintain control over the native people of the land they are taking over. It is expected for someone with great power to have choices and freedoms, however, that is not necessarily the case. Sometimes power can limit or restrict the choices one makes.

    Read More

  • Imagery And Figurative Language In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

    849 Words  | 4 Pages

    Well known author and journalist, George Orwell, in his essay, Shooting an Elephant, describes his experiences as a Policeman in Moulmein, Burma during European Imperialism. Orwell’s purpose is to convey the ideal that what is right and what is accepted don’t always align. He adopts a remorseful tone in order to convey to the reader the weight of his actions. By looking at George Orwell’s use of imagery and figurative language, one can see his strongly conflicting opinions on Imperialism. Orwell begins his essay, Shooting an Elephant, by explaining the actions of the Burmese people and by expressing his contempt for imperialism.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Shooting And Elephant

    328 Words  | 2 Pages

    The purpose of “Shooting an Elephant” was to show that sometimes people do things they know aren’t the right decision just to impress everyone else. The officer felt that,“It seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him” (Orwell 4). As he shot the elephant he

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Devices In Shooting An Elephant

    716 Words  | 3 Pages

    A Critical Analysis of the Rhetorical Strategies Used in Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”. In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, the author begins with a definite statement about his views toward British Imperialism. Orwell uses pathos to appeal to the readers emotions about his situation and also uses logos when trying to decide on shooting the elephant. His powerful technique of illustrating the message, “Imperialism was an evil thing” and that it affects both the oppressor and the oppressed is effective with the use of description, classical appeals, extended metaphors, and rhetorical devices.

    Read More

  • Peer Pressure In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

    537 Words  | 3 Pages

    The audience could tell he regretted it by the way he described the pain and agony of the elephant. "I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd... He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralysed him without knocking him down." (Orwell). He chose the words "devilish roar" on purpose to represent the darkness and fear.

    Read More

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of Shooting An Elephant

    836 Words  | 4 Pages

    In the beginning of the essay, the elephant manifests an unbending tantrum. The rampage kills a local man and destroys much of the village. Orwell, by using a tumultuous elephant destroying the village, is a reference to imperialism and its disastrous effects. Orwell writes, “He was lying on his belly with arms crucified and head sharply twisted to one side… (Most of the corpses I have seen looked devilish.)” to show how imperialism’s devastation was the opposite of the initial extension of Britain 's influence through colonization. You can see in Orwell 's writing the diction he uses such as “crucified” and “devilish” in the essay show that the religious influence of imperialism takes a large toll on the culture of the Burmese people and British officers there.

    Read More

  • Comparing The Painted Door, And Shooting An Elephant, By Oscar Wilde

    1621 Words  | 7 Pages

    (Orwell 3). The ideas learned from this quote is that shooting the elephant would embrace the people, it would make the people support the officer and give him the respect he deserves. This is

    Read More

  • Internal And External Conflict In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

    1926 Words  | 8 Pages

    When the narrator heard the news about an elephant going wild and destroying most of the Burmese homes, he rushed to find the elephant and shoot it. During his journey, he told himself that he would not shoot the elephant. But when he arrived face to face with the large mammal, with thousands of people watching, he shot it multiple times until the elephant fell. Minutes later, he came back with a different weapon brutally killing the elephant.

    Read More

  • The Power Of Peer Pressure In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

    1480 Words  | 6 Pages

    In George Orwell 's short story titled “Shooting an Elephant” presented an event that changed a countries civilization. George’s life in Burma, and the prejudice placed by the people he oppressed inspired his writing through the uses of setting, style, and theme. In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell no specific event influenced this piece rather it was an accumulation of many small events of prejudice and hate by an opposing group of

    Read More

  • Analysis Of George Orwell's Essay 'Shooting An Elephant'

    393 Words  | 2 Pages

    In his essay, “Shooting an Elephant” George Orwell describes his experience of killing an elephants when he was an officer in Burma. He explains how the local Burmese hated him and saw him as the authority of the repressive white British. He mentions that he also had the same feeling about the local Burmese. Even though he hated the Thyestean imperialism but he also hated what he called the yellow-faced and evil-spirted Burmese people. One day, he was told that an elephant was destroying the bazaar and killing people.

    Read More

  • Rite Of Passage In Shooting An Elephant

    931 Words  | 4 Pages

    Orwell also uses a simile to show just how awful the man’s body condition was. The author compares how cleanly stripped the man’s skin was from his body to the hide skinned off of a rabbit. This again just shows how savagely the man was killed. However, now that the elephant has killed a man, the elephant must be put down. This duty lies upon the sub-divisional police officer.

    Read More

  • The True Nature Of Imperialism In George Orwell's Shooting An Elephant

    901 Words  | 4 Pages

    The Burmans slight acts of rebellion by spitting and laughing at the British is represented by the elephant going “must”. Orwell 's self-imposed task of upholding the British Empire’s mask of control can be related to the Empire’s goal of controlling or “taming” Burmese society. Orwell is aware that his reputation reflects that of all the other Europeans. This awareness plays a role in his deciding to shoot the elephant because if he didn’t, the Burman’s would question British authority and think of them as weak (Orwell).

    Read More

More about What Is The Quest Motif In Shooting An Elephant

Open Document