By George Orwell
“In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people” (Orwell).
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(1903 - 1950)
Orwell was a British journalist and author, who wrote two of the most
famous novels of the 20th century 'Animal Farm' and 'Nineteen EightyFour'.
Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on 25 June 1903 in eastern India, the son
of a British colonial civil servant. He was educated in England and, after
he left Eton, joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, then a British
colony. He resigned in 1927 and decided to become a writer. In 1928 he
moved to Paris where lack of success as a writer forced him into a series
of menial jobs. He described his experiences in his first book, 'Down and
Out in Paris and London', published in 1933 - he took the name George
Orwell, shortly before its publication.
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Orwell wrote:
Vocabulary Word
Definition
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
a. smiling in a mocking or taunting way
baited
hideous
sneering
despotic
squalid
unnerving
supplant
agony
b. foul or unclean; wretched
c. upsetting, unsettling
d. frightful, repulsive, or revolting
e. extreme mental or physical suffering
f. dictatorial, oppressive
g. harassed or annoyed
h. replace or take the place of
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Prostrate: defenseless/in a prone or lying position
Imperialism: policy and practice of forming and maintaining
an empire in order to control raw materials and world markets
by the conquests of other countries and the establishment of
colonies
Despotic: tyrannical
Squalid: miserably poor; wretched
Dominion: rule or power to rule; a governed territory
Senility: mental or physical decay due to old age
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Irony is a literary device that brings out surprising or
amusing contradictions. In verbal irony, the intended
meaning of words clashes with their usual meaning, as
when Orwell describes the dangerous elephant as
“grandmotherly.” In irony of situation, events
contradict what you expect to happen, as when the
young Buddhist priests are revealed to be the most
insulting toward the British.
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Personal narratives usually focus on one key
event. Though true, they are told like
fictional stories: They have a setting, a main
character among a group of characters, a
series of events that lead to a climax, a
resolution or ending.
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Orwell’s essay reveals the ambivalence a person may feel
in a position of power.
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On one hand young Orwell sympathizes with the
Burmese people, on the other hand Orwell, the police
officer, is committed to continuing and even defending
that oppression.
Orwell’s sympathy for the Burmese
His dislike of imperialism
is desire to leave his job.
**these attitudes conflict with his role as police
officer, and his bad treatment by the Burmese.
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Read the points on the following page to understand why
Orwell felt like an outsider in Burma, as well as why the
Burmese people would have felt resentment toward
Orwell and others like him:
I’m
George
Orwell
• Colonialism refers to the rule of one nation over a group of
people in a geographically distant land—usually to maintain
control of that land’s resources.
• Between the 1600s and the 1800s, Great Britain took control
of millions of people, their land, and their resources through
colonization.
• British citizens often went to live in the colonies and to
govern over the people there. They were outsiders and in
the minority in the colonies.
• The colonial subjects were resentful of the British
• This essay is set in the British colony of Burma
• George Orwell was a British police officer in Burma
So…How do you think the Burmese felt about Orwell’s
presence in their country? How do you think Orwell might
have felt?
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When an elephant goes wild in a Burmese
marketplace, Orwell must act, making
decisions more from his confused feeling
than from COMMON SENSE, and in the
process demonstrating the intense human
desire to avoid embarrassment.
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** Let’s look at a map to see the distance
between England and Myanmar (Burma)
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=United%20Kin
gdom&utm_campaign=en&utm_medium=ha&u
tm_source=en-ha-na-us-skgm&utm_term=united%20kingdom%20map
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How do you think they were able to travel
between England and Myanmar? And (as a side
note) how does that relate to the piracy
problems (mostly from Somalia) we see in the
Gulf of Aden today?
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Orwell’s stated purpose for writing this essay
is “to reveal his own personal dilemma and to
reveal the cultural dilemma presented by
colonialism itself.”
After we read, think about and answer this
question: How does Orwell feel about the
issue of British Colonialism? What quotes
from the text help us to understand his
perspective?
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Generally, who has freedom—tyrants or the
people they oppress? (tyrants)
In this essay, who are the tyrants? (the British)
As an agent of the British tyrants, does the
reader expect Orwell to be free? (yes)
Is he truly free? (No, he is not free to follow his
conscience; the hatred of the Burmese people
and his fear of their ridicule control him.)
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So, what is the theme of this essay? How
does Orwell feel about the issue of British
Colonialism? What quotes from the text help
us to understand his perspective?
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The narrator, an officer of the
British imperial police in Burma,
considers himself an enemy of
imperialism, but his role as a
representative of the British
crown invites the hatred of the
Burmese. One day an elephant
ravages a bazaar and kills a
laborer (coolie). The narrator,
who must track the elephant
down, has not intention of
shooting it, especially when he
finds it grazing peacefully in a
paddy.
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Yet, Orwell feels he must
maintain “face” in front of
the crowd of Burmese who
have followed him.
Inexperienced, he
repeatedly wounds the
elephant, leaving the scene
before the animal dies.
The villagers cut up the
elephant’s body for food.