Themes and message

Imperialism

The main theme of this excerpt from “Burmese Days” by George Orwell is imperialism, which is defined as a policy of extending a country’s rule over foreign nations. In this case, Britain took over Burma as a part of British India following three Anglo-Burmese wars. As repeatedly argued by Mr Flory, imperialism is sometimes motivated by greed and the desire for easy financial gain. He states that it was rice, timber, and mines which brought the British people to Burma, and that the profit will go to British businessmen and companies.

The argument against imperialism in this excerpt centers around the British exploitation of the colonized territories on several levels. There is the exploitation of the local resources, which are acquired at a much lower price due to trade laws made to benefit the British companies. Then, there is the exploitation of the local population who are only taught the most basic skills so they can be used as a cheap labor force by the British rulers. The colonists will attempt to satisfy the local...