Shooting an Elephant By: Conner White

was an English novelist, essayist, journalist and critic. His work is marked by lucid prose, awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction, and polemical journalism. He is perhaps best known for his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945). His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working class life in the north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, are widely acclaimed, as are his essays on politics, literature, language, and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945". George Orwell

Theme That just goes to show you how people can cave into peer pressure so easy.

Plot A mature Eric Blair (George Orwell's given name) looks back to his younger self with regret; He was shamed into being the public executioner of a rogue work elephant while stationed in The British Foreign Service in Burma. Based on the George Orwell short story of the same name, 'Shooting An Elephant' tracks the tragic steps of a day long rued, when a man's innocence was forever lost. Reprimanded by his ineffectual superiors, goaded on by the very Burmese who had grown reliant, yet distrustful of the English uniform, driven to blood lust to by his own false pride, Eric Blair (Barry Sloane), kills an elephant he did not wish to harm solely to avoid humiliation, and in the process loses his own humanity.

Character(s) Eric Blair= George Orwell The Burmese villagers The Burmese priests The other police officers The narrator The Elephant

Conflict The conflict is between George and himself. Because he is torn between himself with killing the elephant or not.

Memorable Line “ a story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes.”

Interesting Fact In Burma Elephants are used and worth to the people of Burma as the same as Tractors or machines are to farmers.

Questions 1.How does George feel after he shot the elephant? 2.What did the owner think when he found out? 3.How did the Burmese people act when he shot the elephant?