文学史期末作业论文.doc

班级：商务英语0906班学号：2009303010635姓名：陈飞Comment on shooting an elephantAbstractShooting an elephant was written by George Orwell. It is a great essay combining personal experience and political opinion.George Orwell uses his personal experience with a moral dilemma to convey to the reader the evils which result from colonial politics and imperialism.Because he puts his own personal thoughts and opinion into his story, I will follow the essay to express some of my own views and how I understand the essay. In Burma, George Orwell is acted as an imperial policeman. Shooting an elephant is his own experience.Now I want to read the essays in details and discuss whether shooting an elephant is a right choice or not. As a police officer, Orwell often insulted by the yellow faced man, he also mentioned that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner he chuched up his job and got better one. Obviously, Orwell does not support the idea of imperialism for all these oppressed him with an intolerable sense of guilt. But one thing happened in a day that made him realized that the real nature of imperialism. An elephant was ravaging in the bazaar and this is the starting point. Orwell was called to deal with this problem,because those poor villages have absolutely no defence against this.Orwell proclaims what a dilemma it is when people expect groups of people to do certain things and do certain actions. Humans can be influenced so easily. And he shows how the influences of Imperialism harm both sides. At first, he didnt mean to shoot the elephant. He took a rifle to the scene just went to protect people from the elephants attact. He ultimately falls into the expectations of the Burma people. Against his will and moral belief he decides to kill the elephant. Moreover, he saw the elephant killed a person easily and felt pressed the troops behind him. So he didnt have another choice but to kill it. Next the full picture of shooting an elephant had been described by a series of specific verbs. Some people enjoyed the process of shooting an elephant and think Orwell did a good job. While some criticized his crude action. Orwell also considered the choice later. He talked about the value of an elephant . The elephant is just like a huge working machine it can makes much money for the owner. If the elephant was killed , only the teeth of it has some function. However, it is valueless than the living elephant. Orwell uses the death of the elephant as a metaphor of British Imperialism in Burma. Burma was a free kingdom until British expansion came in. There were three wars between the British oppressors and the Burmese.In George Orwells essay, he writes “When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kickI fired again into the same spotI fired a third time. That was the shot that did it for him.”(George Orwell,1936) Three wars, three shots. The elephant is a symbol of Burma and its struggle to remain alive. Finally staying down after the third shot the elephant still lives, just as the Burmese people are still there but with less strength and hope after the wars. They are now controlled by the British. There is a sense of guilt Orwell gives when he mentions seeing the elephant laying there “powerless to move and yet powerless to die.”(George Orwell,1936) Above all, Orwell felt like he did the wrong thing. In my opinion, he just did a little wrong thing in his own moral and ethical code at that time, but it is the correct choice to shoot the elephant. Because the troops just can depend upon the British government to help them when they didnt deal with. How about think about the result of not shoot it, it must be very horrible and the damage will be bigger. So he just did what he must be. Killing the elephant not only helped restore and maintain the order there, it also provided much needed meat to a starving population. At that moment, he realized that the British rule there was utterly useless and the imperialism is an evil thing. Shooting an elephant is a correct choice and is