Shooting an Elephant

2/17/2022

    George Orwell’s story Shooting an Elephant is about a man who decides to shoot an elephant. This man creates an entire plan and strategically schedules everything out. He starts by saying that he ought to walk up about twenty-five yards away from the elephant to ‘test his behavior’ before going through with anything. When the man finally gets the change, he lays down for a better aim and shoots it. In paragraph three, the damage is done, and we are able to see the effects each bullet had on this creature. Each section is filled with adjectives and phrases that help readers visualize the unfolding scene. After analyzing this text, Shooting an Elephant, I am able to gather a lot of knowledge on the structure, form, and language elements.

Orwell’s structure of this text is written in chronological order along with linear. There is a start to finish which helps readers follow the sequence of events more manageably.  In paragraph one, we are introduced to the elephant and the man's ideas surrounding him. The man goes back and forth in his head when deciding on how he should approach the animal. The quote, “If he charged, I could shoot him … But also, I knew that I was going to do no such thing.” He portrays a consistent debate and uncertainty. Paragraph two highlights the ‘only alternative’ –for the man to lay down on the street to obtain a more delicate aim. As the ‘very still’ crowd finishes their show, the man lines it up. The elephant’s ear-hole was the target.

    In paragraph three, the plot thickens–the man pulls the trigger. Every line of the animal's body altered as the bullet pierced its skin. “He looked suddenly stricken, shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightening impact of the bullet had paralyzed him…” the use of adjectives adds to the creature’s dismay. The man shoots again. At this moment, the animal “...climbed with desperate slowness to his feet and stood weakly upright….” The elephant was in immense pain by this time and was slowly dying. The cruel man shot again, making sure to hit the same spot every time. “That was the shot that did it for him.”, the man said. The animal crashed upon the floor, shaking everything near him. Lastly, paragraph four consults the elephant’s breathing patterns. When the man notices very ‘rhythmically rattling’ gasps, he shoots multiple times—this time, pointing at his heart. The man waits as long as possible for the creature to take his final breath, but he soon grows bored and leaves. As shown throughout each description of all four paragraphs, a vital structure stays intact throughout the story. 

The form of this passage is written in a short story. Short stories usually include a setting, conflict, plot, theme, and characters. Orwell’s story consists of all five. The location of the text is at an elephant show, considering the theatre curtains and crowds being shown. The conflict was elephant vs. man—the man who targeted this elephant from the beginning. In paragraph one, we can see his mindset and plans unfold—shooting the elephant. The plot, or main idea, of this text, was the elephant’s death. He didn’t die quickly. It took around ten bullets to put him down. The elephant had a mast amount of strength and courage. This was established throughout paragraphs two-four. Orwell also included many themes. The two main themes, in my opinion, are determination and bravery. The man was determined to bring harm to the animal, and the animal was just brave enough to keep fighting through everything. 

The language was used in many separate ways during Shooting an Elephant. It was primarily written with formal techniques and incorporated a vast amount of grammar and word choices. When Orwell discusses the elephant’s death, he uses adjectives and similes to aid his illustration. Some examples include ‘immensely old,’ ‘sagged flabbily,’ ‘desperate slowness,’ ‘rattling gasps,’ and ‘painfully rising.’ These all include adjectives that help readers better convey the unfolding scene in their heads. The author consists of similes as well; “...he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree.” and, “The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet….” Those two sentences are both similes regarding their uses of ‘like.’ Sentence one is comparing the elephants ‘towering upward’ to a ‘huge rock’ tipping over,  along with his trunk begging extended to look like a ‘tree.’ In sentence two it is comparing his blood to ‘red velvet.’ Each of these sentences displays a comparison. This story’s language was intense, but everything Orwell decided to enclose made it more robust. 

George Orwell's story most defiantly includes each element of text; structure, form, and language. Orwell keeps the readers interested and on their seats with his language and word choices. The structure and form of this piece make it easy to follow and comprehend.