Subject: The subject of George Orwell's “Shooting An Elephant” is the “evil” of British imperialism. The subject of the evil of British imperialism is illustrated by how the narrator felt that he must kill the elephant, even though that did not agree with his personal opinions, just because the Burmese wanted him to. This demonstrates, in turn, that when a ruling power turns into tyrants, they at the same time turn into puppets, because the narrator felt the need to shoot the elephant just because that was what the Burmese onlookers expected him to do.
Occasion: “Shooting An Elephant” was first published in 1936, and at the time of its publish, Britain had been ruling Burma for about one hundred years, as a part of it India up until a year after this essay was published, when it became a self-governing nation of its own. It is shown in the essay that he is living in Burma as a police officer for the government that he hated, while being spat upon himself by the natives who saw him as a sign of the government they detested.
The time and place of the essay's creation influence the entire theme of the essay-British imperialism, in a country not as well known as the more common India. Today, the British are not known for their imperialism in anything but the history books-this essay would be out of place today. But as of the time of the writing, Burma was a part of the British empire, and the Burmese very much so disliked Europeans that even as a police officer, the narrator was treated to “insults hooted after [him] when [he] was at a safe distance.”
Audience: Orwell's audience for this piece is that of a political British citizen, one who actually takes the time to have an opinion about the empire one way or another. This target audience is demonstrated by the simple fact that he talks of the British Empire as an “us” and the Burmese as a “them.” This at least explains the fact that it is aimed at Brits, but it is further narrowed down to those who care about politics by the statement, "when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys."
Purpose: The purpose of “Shooting An Elephant” is persuasion; more importantly, it's a call to end imperialism. This is illustrated through the heavy political message that comes in throughout the piece, as well through his many statements which try to persuade the reader that imperialism, and indeed, any totalitarian regime, is not the way to go, politically. One of his strongest bits of wisdom was the line, “when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys." The connotations of the words in this line lead it heavily negative, with words like “tyrant” and “destroys.” The call to action is an undercurrent throughout the piece, which is his way of trying to tell his readers that they need to end imperialism in all its forms, everywhere they can.
Speaker: George Orwell is very well known for his books entitled Animal Farm and 1984. He was born in India, yet he spent most of his life in England, where he grew up. While he is said to not have had such strong political opinions until when he moved to Burma to be a police officer, once he did, he became famous for his essays and novels, depicting the evils of totalitarianism. Himself a democratic socialist, he was well known for his novels, and has even managed to be the source of the term “Orwellian,” now a byword for any authoritarian or manipulative social phenomenon opposed to a free society.
Tone: His overall tone is very serious and professional. While it does not seem as serious at first, the further into the essay, the more serious the tone becomes, talking about the death of the elephant and the tyranny of a totalitarian government. This is demonstrated through his somber tone throughout the description of the dead man, lying in the mud and mutilated from the elephant attack. This tone is very fitting for the subject and the purpose of the essay, as it manages to pull together the seriousness of the subject, while also using the professional tone to make the reader think that he knows what he is talking about.
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