In Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant," an elephant in "must" escapes from its owner and terrorizes the streets of the town in Lower Burma. When the narrator receives the news that an elephant is ravaging the bazaar, he takes his small rifle to check out the situation. The narrator learns that the elephant has already destroyed a bamboo hut, killed a cow, raided a fruit stall, and flipped a municipal garbage van. The narrator then...
In Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant," an elephant in "must" escapes from its owner and terrorizes the streets of the town in Lower Burma. When the narrator receives the news that an elephant is ravaging the bazaar, he takes his small rifle to check out the situation. The narrator learns that the elephant has already destroyed a bamboo hut, killed a cow, raided a fruit stall, and flipped a municipal garbage van. The narrator then turns the corner and discovers that the elephant has also trampled and killed a man, who is smashed into the ground with his eyes open. The narrator then requests an elephant rifle in order to protect himself, and a crowd begins to gather. The narrator mentions that the crowd of Burmese civilians makes him nervous and expects him to shoot the elephant when he finds it.
When the narrator finally spots the elephant, it is calmly eating grass by itself. Despite the narrator's personal feelings about shooting the tranquil beast, he feels the need to demonstrate his authority in front of the Burmese citizens and shoots the elephant against his will. Eventually, the elephant dies a long, painful death as the narrator continues to shoot it multiple times before it finally dies.
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