The following passage describes a pivotal scene from George Orwell's famous essay “Shooting an
Elephant.” Orwell, the pen name of Eric Blair (1903-1950) is famous not only for his grim novels Animal
Farm (1945) and 1984 (1948), but also for his passionate defence of the integrity of the English language.
“Shooting an Elephant” focuses on the use and abuse of power. Notice how Orwell draws on the sense of
touch and hearing as well as sight:
“When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick—one never does
when a shot goes home—but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the
crowd. In that instant, in too short a time, one would have thought, even for the bullet
to get there, a mysterious, terrible change had come over the elephant. He neither
stirred nor fell, but every line of his body had altered. He looked suddenly stricken,
shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralyzed
him without knocking him down. At last, after what seemed a long time—it might
have been five seconds, I dare say—he sagged flabbily to his knees. His mouth
slobbered ….”
Elephant.” Orwell, the pen name of Eric Blair (1903-1950) is famous not only for his grim novels Animal
Farm (1945) and 1984 (1948), but also for his passionate defence of the integrity of the English language.
“Shooting an Elephant” focuses on the use and abuse of power. Notice how Orwell draws on the sense of
touch and hearing as well as sight:
“When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick—one never does
when a shot goes home—but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the
crowd. In that instant, in too short a time, one would have thought, even for the bullet
to get there, a mysterious, terrible change had come over the elephant. He neither
stirred nor fell, but every line of his body had altered. He looked suddenly stricken,
shrunken, immensely old, as though the frightful impact of the bullet had paralyzed
him without knocking him down. At last, after what seemed a long time—it might
have been five seconds, I dare say—he sagged flabbily to his knees. His mouth
slobbered ….”
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