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Imperialism: A State Of Powerlessness - Online Essay

Imperialism: A State Of Powerlessness



George Orwell’s essay “Shooting an Elephant” shows how imperialism makes the Burmese and the British powerless. In “Shooting an Elephant” the British have colonized India. The Europeans’ powerlessness is seen through George Orwell, a sub-divisional police officer, and the Indians’ powerlessness is seen through their lack of control in political and economic aspects. Countries in an imperial relationship do not have as much power as they believe.
The British lack of power is seen through Europeans living among the Burmese. Orwell notes that “ . . . if a European woman went through the bazaars alone somebody would probably spit beetle juice over her dress”. The British have little ...

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they push the Indians too far. This fact is why the British do not do anything when the Indians harass them. Orwell’s lack of power, as an authority figure, is seen when he says, “When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter”. He can do nothing about the Burmans harassment. He also says the Burmans laugh and “jeer” at him all day long. He can do nothing because there are so many Indians and so few British in India. Orwell says, “No one had the guts to raise a riot, . . .”. None of the Burmans needed to riot because the British were taking their verbal abuses and not doing anything to stop the harassment.
Orwell’s lack of power is also seen in the scene with the elephant. The elephant is on a rampage through the Burmans’ town. Orwell is called on to handle the matter. The elephant has destroyed a hut and killed a Burman or “collie”, as the British call them. The ...

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Imperialism: A State Of Powerlessness. (2004, January 13). Retrieved March 28, 2024, from http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Imperialism-A-State-Of-Powerlessness/1383
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"Imperialism: A State Of Powerlessness." Essayworld.com. January 13, 2004. Accessed March 28, 2024. http://www.essayworld.com/essays/Imperialism-A-State-Of-Powerlessness/1383.
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PAPER DETAILS
Added: 1/13/2004 04:58:45 AM
Category: Government
Type: Free Paper
Words: 818
Pages: 3

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