Friday, December 11, 2015

What was Orwell's job in Lower Burma?

In "Shooting An Elephant," George Orwell writes about his experiences while he was employed as a "sub-divisional police officer" in Moulmein, a town in Lower Burma. This means Orwell policed the town, alongside other Indians (as Burma was a province of India at this time) while representing the interests of the British Empire.


From the text, we can learn about Orwell's duties as the sub-divisional police officer. When an elephant goes on the land around Moulmein, for example, Orwell is called on by his superior to bring the situation under control. He has no love for this particular duty, nor for the job more generally, and it is clear from the text that he is "hated by large numbers of people" in Moulmein. They jeer and assault him at every given opportunity, though lack the "guts" to commit open rebellion. As such, Orwell experiences intense hatred towards his job:



As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear. In a job like that you see the dirty work of Empire at close quarters.



Despite his hatred of the job, Orwell served in Burma for five years, from 1922 until 1927. (See the reference link provided.)

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