George Orwell's autobiography "Shooting an Elephant" addresses the many perspectives on the dehumanizing effects of British imperialism. Many people have turned into animals because society has devoured the humanity of the colonizers and contributes to depriving them of the dignity understood through the actions of the Burmese people. First, Orwell doesn't want to shoot the elephant he followed. However, not wanting to make himself ridiculous as he is so helpless and controlled by the expectations of the Burmese people, he shoots an elephant who is also "unable to move". Orwell uses symbolism, diction, and imagery to discuss how the evil of imperialism dehumanizes people in society. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayOrwell uses symbolism to represent the slow fall of the British Empire which must live up to the expectations of the Burmese people. paragraph 7, Orwell states: "Here I was, the white man with his gun, standing before the unarmed crowd - apparently the principal actor of the piece: but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind." Orwell, the narrator and British officer, plays the role of the person who is supposed to kill the now innocent elephant. The natives expect him to kill the elephant as they watch him approach. Orwell's conscience is telling him that he should not kill the elephant because if he did it would be "murder." However, Orwell is controlled by the natives as he has become "an absurd puppet". To appease the natives, Orwell "wears a mask" and "his face grows to fit it" when he makes the decision to shoot the elephant. Orwell's dilemma exemplifies the decision the British Empire must make whether it controls the Burmese or whether the Burmese control the British. Orwell's decision shows that the British Empire is simply controlled by the Burmese people and that imperialism only exists to satisfy the expectations of the Burmese people. He kills the elephant to avoid looking like a madman, however he turns out to be a madman. His lack of authority reveals that he acts only because he feels compelled to act, not because of any internal conviction. This lack of authority is what slowly causes the British Empire to fall and weaken. In paragraph 11, Orwell says: “At the second shot he did not collapse but rose to his feet with desperate slowness and stood feebly upright, with his legs and head hanging.” The elephant itself represents the imperialist British empire and the people it conquered. His death at the hands of Orwell demonstrates the fall of the weakened British Empire at the hands of its own officials. As the elephant “rose to its feet with desperate slowness and remained feebly on its feet,” the British Empire also weakened, but desperately rose to its “feet” to attempt to maintain its imperialistic ways. The imperialist ideology is obsolete as the Burmese people are the ones in control and the British Empire is trying to control the Burmese. The influence of the British Empire did not come quickly, but was the result of various outbursts made by its people throughout the empire. Orwell uses imagery to illustrate the animals that the Burmese people have become due to the imperialistic ways of the English. He describes the plight of the "miserable prisoners huddled in the stinking prison cages, the gray and cowed faces of the long-term inmates..." Prisoners in Burma were confined to prison cells. They were treated like animals, controlled by Burma's British imperial officers. Animals are usually confined to a specific area and these prisoners wereconfined to their prison cells. Controlled by British officers, these prisoners were confined to their "stinking cages" as the officers treated them like animals, ultimately dehumanizing them. The prisoners have "intimidated faces" because it's just another day in their cages, serving time for the crime they committed. These prisoners are dehumanized because they are controlled. To dehumanize someone, it is necessary to deprive a person of human qualities that include individuality. Individuality is what makes a person human and when these prisoners are controlled and confined, they have no human qualities, they have nothing. This process transforms the prisoners into animals, devoid of emotions and only having "intimidated faces". Orwell also goes on to say that many Burmese are "evil-spirited little beasts who have tried to make my work impossible." Orwell dehumanizes the Burmese people when he calls them "evil-spirited beasts." Beasts are dangerous large four-legged animals. According to Orwell, the Burmese are not people, but rather dangerous animals “who tried to make” his work “impossible.” The danger of these "beasts" is that they target British officers as bait, waiting for the right moment to annoy them, be it tripping them on a football pitch or taunting them, which makes the officers' job simply impossible . To tame these "beasts" the English must conquer the Burmese, so they lock them up in "stinking cages" because for the English acts of mockery are a crime. Ironically, these methods of domestication do not work because the "evil spirit beasts" control the British officers. While Orwell is struggling to decide whether or not to shoot the elephant, the "beasts" expect him to do so. Under pressure, shoot the elephant or rather the British Empire. This slowly causes the British elephant empire to fall as Orwell hears "the unholy roar of joy rising from the crowd." When the British Empire is controlled, it is stripped of its authority and what makes it an empire, ultimately turning the British Empire into an "animal". Through diction Orwell illustrates how animalistic the Burmese have become. In the opening paragraph, Orwell states: “As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed safe to do so.” Usually, the animals hunt and target its bait which it will eat. Predators stalk prey when they feel the time is right or "whenever it seems safe to do so." Predators sneak up on his bait, waiting for the right moment to strike. The Burmese people target British officials like Orwell because they don't like, in fact, hate the British. The Burmese people turned into animals, hunting down British imperial officers as bait. When the Burmese found Orwell as a target, "the insults whistled after me" as if they were pursuing Orwell as prey. Owls normally hoot to communicate with each other or to declare their territory. The Burmese communicate among themselves that their prey is Orwell and that they declare him as their prey. According to Orwell, the Burmese have essentially transformed into owl-like creatures, who communicate with each other by hurling insults at each other. When these owls declared Orwell as their prey, "a nimble man tripped me on the football field." Agile creatures are swift in their sweeping movements. Humans are usually no faster than agile creatures like cheetahs or lions. The prey does not realize the creature's actions until it is acted upon and it is too late. Burmese are animals and exemplify animalistic traits that no human.