Authors present their thoughts through their work. Sometimes they make this presentation in an abstract manner. Other times they reveal their ideas in a blatant manner. The audience may not realize the correlation of the author's life to the work until years later. Biographical and autobiographical information provide the connection for most people. George Orwell's biographical information provides an exemplification of this. Facts about George Orwell's life present numerous correlations to his work Shooting an Elephant.
George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair. George's birth took place on June 25, 1903. George was born in Motihari, Bengal. This is presently identified as Bihar, India. Orwell's family was "lower-upper middle class." (Tyner) His parents were Ida Mabel and Richard Walmesley Blair. George's father worker for the Indian Civil Service as an opium agent under the British Raj. (Tyner) George Orwell had two sisters. Their names were Majorie and Avril. (Tyner) By the age of one George and his mother moved to England. His father joined the family in 1912. (Tyner) George attended the Anglican parish school, Henley-on-Thames. Orwell attended this school for two years.
Once he left Henley-on-Thames he attended the St. Cyprian's school. This was a prestigious school located in Sussex. Orwell developed resentment for authority while attending these various schools. Corporal punishment is often identified as the cause for this. It was an accepted practice when Orwell attended school. () He published his first work while attending these schools. The title of the poem is "Awake! Young Men of England"; "Oh! think of the War Lord's mailed fist, That is striking at England today."() Orwell attended Elton College from 1917 to 1921. (Tyner) He described the school as "the most costly and snobbish of the English Public Schools." (Tyner)
[...] (Tyner) The Burmese elephant may be compared to the British Empire. George is faced with multiple decisions when dealing with the Burmese. These are similar to the decision he had to make regarding the elephant. George decided to devise a plan to deal with the elephant in the essay. He decided to test the elephant by walking close to him. If the elephant charged him he would shoot him. If the elephant did not charge him he would not be forced to shoot him. [...]
[...] As a reaction to the oppression of imperialism he produced the essay, Hanging." George created this work in 1931. (Tyner) In 1936 he produced another work inspired by imperialism in Burma. The short story, "Shooting an Elephant", was produced in 1936. Shooting an Elephant was an autobiographical essay produced by George Orwell. The work was initially published in a literary magazine. The name of the magazine is New Writing. The company published it in 1936. (Tyner) The BBC Home Service broadcast the work on October The story is told from the point of view of an English narrator. [...]
[...] Shooting an Elephant by by George Orwell Authors present their thoughts through their work. Sometimes they make this presentation in an abstract manner. Other times they reveal their ideas in a blatant manner. The audience may not realize the correlation of the author's life to the work until years later. Biographical and autobiographical information provide the connection for most people. George Orwell's biographical information provides an exemplification of this. Facts about George Orwell's life present numerous correlations to his work Shooting an Elephant. [...]
[...] His aversion for authority is illustrated in Shooting an Elephant. He does not want to carry out his duty of killing the elephant. This is similar to the duties he maintained while serving in the Indian Civil Service. The manner in which biographical information can enlighten a reading is illustrated through George Orwell's biography and his essay. Works Cited Orwell, George. Shooting an elephant. Penguin UK Tyner, James A. "Landscape and the mask of self in George Orwell's ‘Shooting an elephant'." Area 37.3 (2005): 260-267. [...]
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