How does the authors character develop over the course of the essay ?

In this first person memoir, Orwell holds the central role. He explicitly defines himself in the opening of the piece as being a young police officer who despises the British imperial project in Burma, sides with the Burmese, and yet still feels that he has to prove his authority to the Burmese. As he explains this, he also states that at the time, he was too young to understand this about himself. We thus seem him play out exactly this inner conflict over the course of the story. Orwell feels separated from both Burmese and British society: by the end of the story, he feels estranged from both.