Shooting an Elephant by Rebecca Bonner Essay Example for Free

Shooting an Elephant by Rebecca Bonner Essay Choose an essay which puts across a strong personal belief in a clear and convincing manor. George Orwell’s ‘Shooting an Elephant,’ is an essay which takes place in imperial Burma where he is a police officer working on behalf of the British Empire. He is resented by the people who pressures him into shooting an elephant, where he describes himself as being a meaningless puppet in front of the Burmese crowd. Throughout this essay he also delivers his strong personal beliefs towards his hatred of imperialism, despite working for the colonies, he mentions several times of how much he despises it and sees it as ‘evil. ’ We first capture his opposing view of it when he is discussing his job in Burma, he detests it and hates the way in which it oppresses the native people, ‘at that time, I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing.’ He voices his disapproval of it and it is very reactionary, the word ‘evil’ is used without qualification, this shows a perhaps lack of detailed knowledge of the political issues, or maybe he just feels so disgusted by it, he uses such a devilish word to describe his view. He then goes on to describe how he is against his own government and was on the Burmese’s side, despite his hatred for them, ‘Theoretically – and secretly, of course – I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors, the British.’ Here he shows his true opinion of the Empire, though with the use of the hyphens, adding in how he kept it a secret, showing his lack of courage to publicly oppress the Empire. Even although he has very conflicting views towards the native population, there is also times we see him appearing deeply sympathetic towards the Burmese and their suffering, ‘all these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.’ The interesting use of the word ‘oppression’ suggests he is feeling the same way as the natives and in some way shares their pain. His sympathy and description of the Burmese people is the main factor of why he thinks imperialism is an evil thing, by mentioning this often, it helps him back up his opposing view in a clear and convincing manor. He then goes on to say how he is stuck between his hatred of the Empire and for the native people, ‘With one part of my mind I thought of the British Raj as an unbreakable tyranny, as something clamped down, in saecula saeculorum, upon the will of prostrate peoples;’, This part of his mind directly opposing the Empire and continuing upon his strong belief, this unbreakable dictatorship suggesting  that they could never win against the British, giving them a helpless and sorrowful status. Orwell uses his incident with the elephant to illustrate the power relationship which exists between the colonizer and the colonized, ‘It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism – the real motives for which despotic governments act.’ The elephant’s actions are described in a comical, hyperbolic tone, ‘raided’ juxtaposed with ‘fruit stalls’; ‘inflicting violence’s’ upon a ‘rubbish van,’ which evoke a degree of affection and sympathy for the elephant. The uneven balance of power with also the sympathy towards the elephant describes what imperialism has caused within the town, evidence in which helps back up his opinion of the wrong-doings of imperialism its consequences. Orwell is then forced upon to kill the harmless beast, he shoots the animal using a gun that is not suitable for an animal of its size, in a slow agonising death, ‘the thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but he still did not die.’ He wants the reader to engage with the terrible suffering that the animal has to endure as a result of his weak decision, to show the meaningless barbaric acts that can arise from a tyrannical government, ‘afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant.’ Orwell leaves the scene and shows his guilt and self-disgust also that he is weak-willed, leaving the scene before the elephant is dead. The elephant could be seen as a symbol of the British Empire, once a vast powerful force, now a small, weak position. Using this powerful use of emotive language of how the poor beast died, he tries to convince the reader to agree with him that the whole idea of imperialism is wrong and does this rather successfully through his various techniques of emotive and sympathetic language throughout the essay. In conclusion, Orwells style is a major key factor on putting across his strong personal belief of his opposing views towards imperialism. He uses powerful word choice in a personal tone in order to try and convince the reader of why he was forced to make the decisions he made due to the consequences that had to do with imperialism and does so very successfully.

The Purpose of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teaching Tea

The Purpose of Education In attempting to define the true purpose for education, people tend to focus on goals, which differ from one person to another. Most Americans approach education as a means to end. Many focus on the possible social, economic, and political benefits that can come from furthering education. While education certainly is capable of producing amazing results in these specific physical realms, perhaps we shouldn’t focus on its material goals, but rather on its mental impact, which is where reason is derived from. Through the use of reason in the form of education, we will be better able to come to terms with ourselves and our environment, which will bring us closer to reaching our full potentials as human beings. It is our advanced intelligence which makes us unique in this world, and perhaps it is the use of reason which will eventually reveal our true purpose of being. The first step toward reaching our full potential deals with gaining a better understanding of ourselves. Simply by being honest with ourselves and using our given ability to reason, we will be better able to come to terms with what is truly our purpose of living. By concerning ourselves with the absolutes of human nature we will be much closer to reality, opposed to an approach that is simply based on already established ideals. Armed with reason and a good understanding of our own human nature we will be more prepared to understand and react to our ... The Purpose of Education Essay -- Philosophy of Education Teaching Tea The Purpose of Education In attempting to define the true purpose for education, people tend to focus on goals, which differ from one person to another. Most Americans approach education as a means to end. Many focus on the possible social, economic, and political benefits that can come from furthering education. While education certainly is capable of producing amazing results in these specific physical realms, perhaps we shouldn’t focus on its material goals, but rather on its mental impact, which is where reason is derived from. Through the use of reason in the form of education, we will be better able to come to terms with ourselves and our environment, which will bring us closer to reaching our full potentials as human beings. It is our advanced intelligence which makes us unique in this world, and perhaps it is the use of reason which will eventually reveal our true purpose of being. The first step toward reaching our full potential deals with gaining a better understanding of ourselves. Simply by being honest with ourselves and using our given ability to reason, we will be better able to come to terms with what is truly our purpose of living. By concerning ourselves with the absolutes of human nature we will be much closer to reality, opposed to an approach that is simply based on already established ideals. Armed with reason and a good understanding of our own human nature we will be more prepared to understand and react to our ...

International Cooperation Essay

The paper â€Å"International Cooperation in Economic and Security Affairs, by Charles Lipson, published in the October 1984 issue of â€Å"World Politics† focuses on analyzing the different forms of strategic interaction that address issues pertaining to international cooperation in economic and security affairs. It analyzes the use of the Prisoner’s Dilemma theory to help clarify some basic features of international conflict and cooperation as well as some objections for its usage as a model of international interaction. It also discusses factors that affect the relationship between superpowers, the hegemonic system, the effect of recessions, the evolution of cooperation as well as detailed account of sustained economic cooperation among developed nations. The Prisoner’s Dilemma theory demonstrates both the possible benefits from cooperation and the factors that hinder it. The study of international political economy must address how relationships are corrected to make cooperation of exchange sensibly secure. The author emphasizes the main issue in international relations theory, which is the emergence and maintenance of cooperation among sovereign, self-interest states, performing in the absence of centralized authority. Every nation must readily commit to comply with economic agreements in order to facilitate trust and eliminate the risks of cooperating. Strategic cooperation is important in encouraging the creation of rules, norms, and political institutions in the international economy and in security affairs. It is also important to understand the pattern of rule construction in international cooperation.

Essay about The Science, Technology, and Ethics of HIV...

The Science, Technology, and Ethics of HIV Vaccine Research An annual report recently released by the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS indicated that the number of HIV-infected individuals increased 10 percent in the last year, bringing the number of people worldwide who are now carrying the virus to over 33 million. According to the report, half of these new infections were in people15 to 24 years old, and there were 11 new infections a minute. Sub-Saharan Africa reportedly accounts for two thirds of the infected population and about 12 million AIDS related deaths. There were 200,000 new HIV infections in Latin American and the Caribbean last year and 800,000 new HIV infections reported in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.†¦show more content†¦The immunopathogenesis of HIV is known to a greater extent than that of many other infectious diseases for which a vaccine exists. Thus, the question arises as to why an HIV vaccine still does not exist. The United States and other industrialized nations â€Å"have a comparative a dvantage in creating incentive for HIV vaccine research and. . .doing to would be in their own self interest, as well as the interest of developing countries† (World Bank 268). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has declared the development of an AIDS vaccine its highest priority. However, in 1995 â€Å"NIH had spent only $100 million on vaccine research out of a total AIDS budget of $1.3 billion† and only $180 million of a projected $1.73 billion will be spent on vaccine research in 1999 (Lancet 1323). Most of NIH’s AIDS budget will be allocated to research on pathogenesis and therapeutics. Similarly, worldwide totals for public and private investment in vaccine development â€Å"totaled a mere $160 million in 1993, compared with an estimated $1.3 billion spent on other approaches to prevent HIV infection and about $5 billion spent on HIV-related health care† (World Bank 266). Although investments in education and behavior intervention strategies seem to be paying off in the United States and Western Europe, the same approaches to HIV prevention should not be expected to have the same success in developing countries, primarily for two reasons. The first being the fact thatShow MoreRelatedAlga Produced Cholera Toxin-Pfs25 Fusion Proteins As Oral Vaccines Essay1499 Words   |  6 PagesAlga-Produced Cholera Toxin-Pfs25 Fusion Proteins as Oral Vaccines James A. Gregory, Aaron B. Topol, David Z. Doerner, Stephen Mayfield Division of Biological Sciences and the San Diego Center for Algae Biotechnology, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California, USA Third world countries have abysmal hygiene standards and biological protections with little or no access to health care and medical facilities. 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