The subject of George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is that he shot and killed a majestic animal that didn't morally deserve to die, in order for him not to look a fool. His murdering of the elephant is illustrated with exact details based on his experience of killing the elephant. The details that he uses of his own thought processes illustrate why he shot the elephant.
"Shooting an Elephant" was written after George Orwell was a Burmese police officer in 1936. The essay's time of creation is displayed in the bottom right corner of the work where it is clearly dated "1936." Unless he was referring to the year in which this event took place, which is extremely unlikely, the date of 1936 is correct. The probable place of this essay's creation is in England where he retired to after working in Burma; I have inferred this based on the knowledge that the first sentence states that he "was hated" in "Moulmein, in Lower Burma."
The rime and place of the essay's creation influence the essay in the choice of language that Orwell uses; for example, he describes the Burmese people as "yellow" which is unacceptable in modern society even dating back to around 1950. When preparing to shoot the gun he explains that he could feel "two thousand yellow faces urging him on." Calling eastern peoples yellow was acceptable from white people up until about 1950; since this piece was written fourteen years before that the use of the term "yellow" was not just acceptable but expected and therefore he used "yellow."
The author's specific audience for the essay is people who would work later in Burma and people who worked there then. The author's target audience is expressed by the fact that Orwell's writing is more of a teaching than it is a story, it is a teaching of morals of how one should behave and why it is so difficult. Nobody, but people who are or will be working there would want to know this so why would Orwell write about it if they weren't his audience.
George Orwell's general audience for "Shooting an Elephant" is all the white people of higher society than the Burmese people. The author's general audience is identified by Orwell's explanations about life there and how the white man was thought of by Burmese people. He would not have included these details if his audience were people who knew about Burmese society.
George Orwell's purpose in "Shooting an Elephant" is to describe the relationship between the natives and the white man and what actions and reactions it causes. Orwell also wants his audience to recognize that something terrible like killing an elephant should not be done in order to save ones own skin, especially, to keep yourself from looking dumb. The rationalization of the relationship between white people and the Burmese is illustrated by the Buddhist monks, "there were several thousands of them in the town and none of them seemed to have anything to do except stand on street corners and jeer at Europeans." This detail rather clearly explains the relationships that white people have with the native people. The purpose is further articulated by the fact that these are monks of Buddhism, these monks of peace feel so strongly as to jeer Europeans for no reason surely displays the negative relationship held between the two parties.
George Orwell, author of Animal Farm, believes that the Burmese do not show proper respect to white people, especially people with authority like police officers. This value is illustrated by the disgust he expresses about everyday behaviors of Burmese people toward white people. If he agreed with their behavior he wouldn't write about it, but since he disagrees with their behavior we have to infer that it is because he believes that they fail to show respect where it is needed. This value that Orwell has influences his essay by the tone that it causes him to take up because for part of it he seems irritated, especially when describing the relationship.
George Orwell, actually Eric Arthur Blair, believes that he was wrong in killing the elephant. This value is illustrated by his remorse for the dying beast and his guilt when he realizes why he killed it. If Orwell didn't think that his actions were wrong then he would not feel guilty. This value influences his essay at the end when he admits that the only reason he killed it was to keep himself from looking a fool, when in reality it made him a fool to himself. It also affects the purpose of the essay because it is the subject of the essay.
George Orwell's use of imagery is evident when he explains the two thousand "yellow" faces behind him as he is about to shoot the elephant. This rhetoric influences the essay's purpose because it emphasizes the pressure that he was under not to look like a fool. This rhetoric does increase the purpose's effectiveness.
George Orwell's use of imagery is evident when he demonstrates the elephants suffering at death. This influences the purpose of the essay because it makes the subject stronger and more powerful. This also increases the purpose's effectiveness.
George Orwell exhibits an irritated and sorrowful attitude about how he killed an elephant just so he could keep from looking a fool in "Shooting an Elephant." These attitudes are expressed by words like agony, solely, and furious. These show that he put an elephant in pain only to avoid looking like a fool in front of lots of people and now he is angry with himself. The tone of the essay contributes to the purpose by making it serious and also to show that this is a one time thing, but the concept is the main point of his writing. Obviously, Orwell does not mean to say that if you come across this situation do not do what I did, he means to say that do what is right, not what makes you look best.
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