Literary Conflict in "Shooting An Elephant"
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Shooting an Elephant By George Orwell
Lesson Plans by Kristy Littlehale
”Shooting An Elephant” by George Orwell is a seemingly biographical account of Orwell (real name Eric Blair) and his experience as a Burmese police officer in the British Indian colony.
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Storyboard Description
Literary conflict in Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell
Storyboard Text
- MAN vs SELF
- MAN vs NATURE
- MAN vs SOCIETY
- The narrator is in conflict with his pride and his conscience over whether or not to shoot the elephant. The elephant’s “must” has passed and he is now peaceful; it would be relatively easy to keep an eye on him until the mahout returns. However, the crowd behind the narrator waiting for him to show his muscle as a police officer makes him scared that they will laugh at him if he simply walks away or allows himself to get killed by the elephant.
- An elephant in “must” (spelled musth), is in a state of heightened aggression in young male elephants. Elephants in musth have been known to violently attack other elephants, other animals, and people who get in their way. The elephant in the story has already knocked down a hut, killed a cow, knocked over a garbage van, and eaten the stock from fruit stalls. When he kills the Dravidian coolie, his aggression has reached its peak.
- The narrator is a police officer for the occupying British leadership, but he finds himself empathizing and siding with the plight of the oppressed Burmans. He hates his job and he hates the terrible side of the dirty work of the Empire. He has to keep his beliefs to himself, though, even though he also hates the way that the Burmans treat him because of the position he holds.
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