George Orwell is an Elephant Shooter with Hor

In Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell describes a day in which he was faced with an important decision. He details a graphic account that is structured clearly and chronologically, as he takes readers through his thought process on weighing what he should or should not do. George Orwell was faced with the decision of shooting an elephant. We can see that it was a weighted decision by looking at elements of form, structure, and language that can be seen in the passage.

His personal account of this moment starts off with a high degree of certainty, as he states that “it was pretty clear” to him what he “ought to do.” However, he concludes by saying he “could not stand it any longer and went away,” showing that although he made the tough decision, it still lingered around with him after the fact.

When looking at the story in terms of form, it is clear that George Orwell is narrating the story, as he uses elements of first person narration by phrases such as “I heard,” or “I got up.” This is a personal account, in other words, George Orwell is writing about an experience that he had and how it affected him. 

George Orwell’s story is structured in chronological order, and follows a linear storyline. His storytelling is effective because it keeps readers following along as the events occur, rather than jumping around and possibly confusing the reader in terms of how the event actually unfolded. Additionally, the structure of the story allows for Orwell to explain his ideas in a clear and organized manner. By writing large paragraphs, readers can clearly understand and see Orwell’s ideas. For instance, the first paragraph focuses on the decision at hand and how he weighed them. The following paragraph discusses another aspect, which is the decision actually being made. The next paragraph focuses on ‘pulling the trigger,’ and ideas continue to be formatted this way. This is an effective way of writing as it keeps the reader on the same track as Orwell.

As previously mentioned, George Orwell details the graphic account of shooting the elephant. Certain elements of detail can be seen in sentences where Orwell describes the result of shooting the elephant, as he states that the elephant ‘sagged flabbily to his knees.’ Later, Orwell also describes what is the elephant's throat and states that he could see ‘far down into the caverns of pale pink throat.’ Additionally, Orwell uses elements of tone that contribute to the overall emotion of the story. He writes some phrases, such as hearing the ‘devilish roar of glee’ that the crowd released. This sentence in itself is contradictory, making it an oxymoron as devilish is an adjective with a negative connotation, and glee is a word that has a more positive connotation.

George Orwell also uses various modal verbs in his story to help emphasize the heavy decision that he was faced with. The story itself begins with a semi-modal verb, as Orwell states that he ‘ought to walk up to within, say, twenty-five yards of the elephant.’ He continues by saying, ‘if he charged, I could shoot.’ In this case, the modal verb is could, which shows that he has an option. These modal verbs show possibility, in this case being the possibility of the elephant charging towards Orwell.

Overall, George Orwell’s personal account of shooting an elephant illustrates detailed use of elements of form, structure, and language which are all used to contribute to the story’s emotion and tone. Orwell’s use of first-person narration allows readers to feel his raw emotion as he weighs out the decision. By writing the story in a chronological and linear order, Orwell makes sure that readers are able to follow along with his story. The lexical choices that Orwell makes in his writing give readers a better understanding of the situation and give a sense of imagery to them as well.