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George Orwell was one of the most celebrated essayists in the English language, and there are quite a few of his essays which are probably better known than any of his other writings apart from Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. 'Shooting an Elephant' is Orwell's searing and painfully honest account of his experience as a police officer in imperial Burma; killing an escaped elephant in front of a crowd "solely to avoid looking a fool". Displaying an almost unrivalled mastery of English plain prose, Orwell's essays created a unique literary manner from the process of thinking aloud and continue to challenge, move and entertain.

For this discussion, we will focus on his essays 'Shooting an Elephant', 'A Hanging', 'Politics and the English Languges', and 'Notes on Nationalism'.

Texts...
Shooting An Elephant

A Hanging

Politics and the English Language

Notes on Nationalism

Video...

Podcasts...

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