The power of the oppressed on display in the shooting of an elephant extension of the power and domination of a nation, which is the basis of imperialism. George Orwell decided to follow family tradition when he went to Burma to work for the Indian Imperial Police, but "when he realized the extent to which the Burmese were being ruled against their will by the British, he became increasingly no longer ashamed of his role as an extraterrestrial police officer. " (Britannica). In his story "Shooting An Elephant", George Orwell realizes that throughout his reign in Burma, he is in fact the victim of the Burmese, and it is their expectations of what he should do with his power that force him to do what they want Looking back on his experience as an officer of the imperialist regime, Orwell recalls a crucial morning when he was asked to look after an elephant. who had escaped from his “mout” or guard and “become a must” (310) That day, Orwell realizes that he is incapable of making choices according to his own convictions but that he must. act according to the demands of the "natives" who have been deprived of their own country Orwell recognizes that "imperialism [is] a bad thing and that the sooner it abandons its post and gets out of it, the better" (310). ). He is constantly reminded of the abuses inflicted on the natives when he observes first-hand the "miserable prisoners crowded into the stinking cages of the cells, the gray and intimidated faces of the long-term convicts and the scarred buttocks of the inmates". the men who had been whipped with bamboos” (310). Anti-European sentiment is widespread among the “natives” of Burma; this prejudice makes his work almost impossible. T...... middle of paper ... "natives" feel compelled to test the authority (or lack thereof) of the imperialists as a means of maintaining some control over their country. Imperialists believe they maintain control by acting decisively, but as Orwell shows in "Shooting An Elephant", they do so to satisfy and appease the wishes of the "natives". In imperialism, the oppressed indirectly hold real power and control over those who falsely believe they are the oppressors. Works Cited Orwell, George. Shooting an elephant and other tests. New York: Harcourt, Brace & Company, 1946. Rpt. The McGraw-Hill Reader: Problems Across Disciplines. 7th ed. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2000. Smyer, Richard I. Primal Dream and Primal Crime: Orwell's Development as a Psychological Novelist, University of MissouriPress, Columbia 1979. http://www.britannica.com/