shooting an elephant

The author of “Shooting an Elephant” uses phronesis to convey is attitude about shooting the elephant. He makes it very clear that he is a European and therefore higher up than a Burmese and by extension, more logical. I had committed myself to doing it when I sent for the rifle. A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things. When is in inner turmoil trying to decide whether or not to shoot the elephant, he goes about justifying his final decision to make him seem logical and not as uncertain and “spine-less” as he really was. Going through the agony of indecisiveness, the author came to some realizations about imperialism and the British Empire in general. The author then uses virtue to explain his beliefs and insight into the inner workings of tyranny. He makes the connection explicitly between his inability to go with his gut and not shoot the elephant when he has those 2000 Burmese behind him watching and imperialism. “And it was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man's dominion in the East.” The author gets a glimpse into the “behind the scenes” of what the British rulers may have felt with regard to Burma. His attitude gets conveyed and skewed by the subconscious pressure put on by the people watching even though he consciously considers the Burmese to be lower than him. Had he been on his own, the author would not have shot the elephant. But, with so many people watching him and expecting him to shoot it, he “knew” he had to because he didn’t want to appear weak and/or get laughed at. It’s the same type of feelings that teenagers deal with in social settings. Peer pressure is extremely powerful and, unfortunately for the elephant, extremely effective.