43 pages • 1 hour read
George OrwellA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Consider the ending of the essay: the narrator shoots the elephant and watches it slowly die. However, throughout the essay, he laments the task and says he does not want to shoot the elephant. If he stuck with his original intentions, how would that change the overall meaning of the essay; what would be the reaction of the natives; what could happen to him as a British officer?
The essay was written two years after Orwell’s first novel Burmese Days (1934), which also discusses British imperialism and the ills surrounding despotism. What else has been written that similarly captures Orwell’s message? Use another text (article, novel, or short story) to compare and contrast how the historical period is illustrated.
By George Orwell
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