Shooting an Elephant
What are some rhetorical devices used in the story?
What stylisitc elements were used to establish the author's attitude?
What stylisitc elements were used to establish the author's attitude?
Orwell uses surreal rhetoric to make his point. He compares himself to a magician about to perform a trick. It is that "fish out of water" motif that carries his narrative. He compares himself to a lead actor in a surreal play or the protagonist in an absurd puppet show. He is an outsider holding a “magic rifle” that can rid the Burmese of their pachyderm nightmare.