Shooting an Elephant
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| George Orwell [1903-1950] |
We had an anthology of classical essays as part of our
undergrad English course. Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell was one
of the essays. The horror of political hegemony is the core theme of the essay.
Orwell was a subdivisional police
officer of the British Empire in Burma (today Myanmar) when he was forced to
shoot an elephant. The elephant had gone musth (an Urdu term for the temporary
insanity of male elephants when they are in need of a female) and Orwell was
asked to control the commotion created by the giant creature. By the time
Orwell reached with his gun, the elephant had become normal. Yet Orwell shot
it. The first bullet stunned the animal, the second made him waver, and Orwell
had to empty the entire magazine into the elephant’s body in order to put an
end to its mammoth suffering.
“He was dying,” writes Orwell, “very
slowly and in great agony, but in some world remote from me where not even a
bullet could damage him further…. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast
lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die” [emphasis
added].
Orwell employs this tragic experience
of his to examine the nature of political hegemony. “I had done it solely to
avoid looking a fool,” his essay concludes. Political domination is often as
hollow as that. Certain leaders do certain things merely to avoid looking like
a fool.
When a man turns a dictator, it is his
own freedom that he destroys. That is one of the arguments in the essay. The authoritarian
leader rouses up all sorts of expectations in his followers and then he has to
do things against his own conscience and convictions in order to fulfil popular
expectations. Power, when it exceeds certain limits, has to pay a moral cost.
Orwell was against imperialism, but
he had to act as its enforcer because of his job. He kills the elephant not because
it is right but because the huge crowd around him expected it. The killing was
going to be their entertainment. And then the elephant was going to be their
food. Orwell killed the “beast” merely out of the tyranny of conformity.
Orwell’s experience happened a
century back. But the core message of his essay is still relevant.
Orwell’s crowd represents collective
expectation. It was a faceless force demanding conformity. The majoritarian
sentiment in India today often behaves just like that Burmese crowd portrayed
by Orwell. It imagines itself – with all the support of the government – as the
custodians of the country’s culture, morality, and even gods. And then it makes
demands on the authority. And the authority does things merely to win the
applause of the crowd. What is right is disregarded; what is popular is
performed.
The British Empire, though seemingly
powerful, was internally weak, sustained by fear and pretence. How many
authoritarian governments today behave in the same way? They display strength
through control – over media, education, and political discourse. Orwell would
say that it betrays deep insecurity. Like Orwell’s empire, some of our present
governments, which claim to be democratic, hide moral uncertainty and fear of
dissent beneath loud displays of patriotism and religious pride.
Authoritarianism of any kind is a
threat to many human values and ideals. The supposed Master ends up as a slave
of public expectations. The people are already mere slaves. Authoritarianism,
Orwell suggests, corrupts both the Master and the citizens: the moral integrity
of both.
PS. This post is a part
of ‘Real and Rhythm Blog Hop’ hosted by Manali
Desai and Sukaina
Majeed under #EveryConversationMatters blog hop
series.
Every conversation matters. And a Thought Leader'd task is to be-come the fool, who counters the collective and conformative, in my language, co-opting and co-opted surge for entertainment, the consumeristic aspiration. I am at PARA ( People's Action for Rural Awakening), our Provincial Centre for Social Action, which is undergoing a rejuvenation, with the re-entry of Fr Thomas Pallithanam, the founder-direector, as Rector now. Come as part of the panel, which is going to interview ParskalaPrabhakar, the Public Intellectual. As part of the processes of a two-dsy animation of the young priests the Province, who are sll too Collective and Confirmed!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear about such intellectual activities for priests. PP must be an asset there.
DeleteConformed
ReplyDeleteHari Om
ReplyDeleteJust recently the Empire podcast did a series on Orwell and there was good discussion on exactly your points. The interesting question of whether he was entirely prescient, or whether the power base sought to fulfil his vision was mooted... Either way, it's a mess. YAM xx
A lot of things Orwell spoke of are turning out to be true now. Prescient? Maybe.
DeleteYour reflection on internal struggle — caught between the expectations of others and own moral unease made me think about what it takes to act (or not act) when all eyes are on you.
ReplyDeleteTough. You have to steer cautiously.
DeleteThat's a very pertinent question. Most dictators are immoral narcissists. But I'm thinking of those who still retain the skeleton of democracy.
ReplyDeleteOrwell knew what he was talking about. Too bad his writing is so relevant today.
ReplyDeleteSome prophecies are better disproved.
DeleteThis essay by Orwell shook me up when I first read it. Your observations are equally compelling. The pressure of having to perform in front of a crowd must be tremendous, but to ensure the end of a living being, merrily minding its business, (agreed- after causing mayhem) seems futile. Orwell acting as the executioner of imperialistic dictats, even when he was against it, is ironic. In contemporary politics, unfortunately, the narrative holds true.
ReplyDeleteIndeed I had ambivalent feelings when I first read the essay. I found it hard to forgive Orwell for killing the elephant.
DeleteThat is what we talk of herd mentality, when we do things to get the approval of the herd and follow the trend. The thinking man still falls prey to convention. I think this is how riots take place too.
ReplyDeleteWhat surprised me was that a man like Orwell fell prey to that mentality. Of course, he's critiquing the impact of imperialism on himself too.
DeleteThis was such an educative read. And I see this fanatic worship of the narrative today. I'm sure if you stop them and ask them what do you think, or why are you doing this, they will call me a fool and yet have no answer.
ReplyDeleteYes, if you question the herd you become a fool.
DeleteWhat struck me is the performative logic: authority performs cruelty as a social script to preserve its image. The real cost is not the act itself but the slow erosion of ethical agency in both leader and crowd. Now that I read about Orwell's essay, it is easy to correlate with today's situation.
ReplyDeletePower has no ethics other than keeping the power safe. Anybody can be sacrificed for that. Anything can be. Even the gods!
DeleteWhat a warped world we live in if we are forced to do things only because the majority expects us to do so. The collective will becomes our own and forces us to do things we are reluctant to do. Orwell is so well known and so read about, but this one incident takes a lot away from our impression of him.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't really blame him because we need to look at the incident contextually. The real target of blame is the colonial system that traps everyone — coloniser and colonised — in unnatural roles. “I had got to shoot the elephant… I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind,” Orwell writes. Yes, what he did was ethically wrong. But politically inevitable!
DeletePowerful read — your take on ‘Shooting an Elephant’ really brings out Orwell’s moral conflict and the dark irony of colonialism. He shows how the oppressor can be trapped in his own performance, forced to act not out of strength but to avoid looking foolish. Thought-provoking and deeply unsettling.
ReplyDeleteI think you hit the nail on the head when you wrote, "Authoritarianism, Orwell suggests, corrupts both the Master and the citizens: the moral integrity of both."
ReplyDeleteThere is a hollowness in today's society, all of us performing for the collective, forgetting our ideals and values.
I agree. DIctatoriship is a failed concept and gets proven so over and over again. Nobody can deny it.
ReplyDeleteThis is what happens when democracy turns into dictatorship. Unlimited power always corrupts.
ReplyDeleteOrwell's writing is an eye-opener and way ahead of its time. I remember feeling this chills after reading 1984 but this one is new to me.
ReplyDeleteEven powerful governments can collapse if every member in it is not on the same page. Or the person in absolute authority is insecure and not sure of things.
ReplyDeleteYour reflection brings Orwell’s old essay thundering back to life. You’ve captured that haunting truth at its core — a man with power isn’t really free if he’s ruled by the crowd’s expectations. The elephant becomes more than an animal; it’s a symbol of how conscience is sacrificed just to avoid looking foolish.
ReplyDeleteAs a reader, I felt your post doesn’t just analyse Orwell; it invites him into today’s world and lets him speak again. And sadly, he’s still relevant.
The more history I read, the more I am convinced that Europeans turned the world into a circus, high on power and low on IQ. The British were the demons of old society and now America is that ravana. But old cultures like ours should pay heed to the wisdom of balance and sensibility. Nevertheless, the world will keep bending to power hungry minds.
ReplyDeleteI have found Orwell’s work incredibly thought-provoking. Animal Farm and 1984 left a lasting impact on me, and now I’m eager to own a complete set of his writings. His reflections on the moral cost of power and the conflict between personal conscience and public pressure feel just as relevant today.
ReplyDeleteThe way you give explanation to crucial topics, I appreciate your detailing and presentation style. The theme of collective expectation strikes a chord. Need to think about it more now. Thanks for writing this post and sharing such deep thoughts. - Swarnali Nath
ReplyDeleteI am imagining what Orwell was going through morally while shooting the Elephant. It is unsettling to even ponder about it. All this is so relevant today. No question & only obedience & that is the scariest part.
ReplyDeleteThis reminded me of a joke from a long time back. When a group of villagers was asked at a rally what they were rallying for, they replied, We heard this rally is for Machh Bhaat (fish-rice), so we joined. They were referring to "MarxBaad". For the needy, the full moon will always appear as a roasted flatbread.
ReplyDeleteLoved this piece. What Orwell did, is just what any power hungry human does, especially in todays contorted society, which lacks ethics and morals. The lesser said about our country's politics, reforms, and governance, the better. Jokes on us!
ReplyDeleteAuthoritarianism makes one do immoral things just to stay on top of things. To demonstrate power, to show that they can, and will take tough decisions. Orwell has a hard way of putting it out for us. Would he genuinely regret his actions? I wonder
ReplyDeleteYou capture Orwell’s warning with such clarity, tying it to today without melodrama. Your voice feels thoughtful, concerned, and deeply human, reminding us how easily power can trap everyone it touches.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I read your opinion on a piece, book, or anything else, it just gives me such a different perspective and I end up questioning my understanding of the world
ReplyDeleteThis write-up perfectly metaphored with Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" with nature of hegemony and tyranny of making masters as a slave. Good read!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful essay you've picked up and compare it with present times to show how relevant it is.
ReplyDelete"Authoritarianism, Orwell suggests, corrupts both the Master and the citizens: the moral integrity of both"—nothing can be more true than this. And now, my next task is to look up and read this essay. :)
This was such a great post. Read something very unique and informative. I might as well pick that up and read it.
ReplyDeleteoh what a beautiful line. A dictator finishes it's own freedom by becoming a dictator. ha ha. Pure gold. Emphasis on the GOLD.
ReplyDelete