Summary

The story “Shooting an Elephant” starts with an English man who works as a police officer in Moulmein, Burma, reflecting on being hated by the locals.  As he represents the British rule, he feels constantly mocked or disrespected. He feels enraged when people, especially the Buddhist priests, mock him. However, he does not agree with imperialism either, so he is divided by his hatred for both locals and the British Empire.

One day, the man is called to deal with a tame elephant that has escaped and is wrecking the local bazaar. He brings his police gun, although he knows that the weapon is not powerful enough to kill the elephant. As he reaches his first destination, he believes he is being mocked by the locals again, as there is no trace of the elephant and he hears conflicting accounts of it. He then di...