Shooting an Elephant and other essays by George Orwell discussion

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

• Text https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/shooting-an-elephant/
• Audio https://youtu.be/u1h1vvrcwqE?si=YRw7J8kKBOZtgKqW

A Hanging

• Text https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/a-hanging/
• Audio https://youtu.be/4TKWxmyULrw?si=XaHmhZGdG1i4eiXP

Politics and the English Language

• Text https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/politics-and-the-english-language/
• Audio https://youtu.be/mf-Nvm98dqc?si=sTMILzo9N1tZfRu6

Notes on Nationalism

• Text https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/notes-on-nationalism/
• Audio https://youtu.be/OPwvFGclfX8?si=zW_TgitoQb4cHKW1

Video...

• Then & Now: Orwell in Burma: A Hanging and Shooting an Elephant https://youtu.be/rfVchxh_9Dc?si=_BPzimuFi8gu2AEz

Podcasts...

• The History of Literature: George Orwell https://www.historyofliterature.com/277-george-orwell/
• The Great Stories: Shooting An Elephant by George Orwell https://www.greatstoriespod.com/podcast/episode/99ad7fb8/episode-52-shooting-an-elephant-by-george-orwell
• The Partially Examined Life: Orwell on Totalitarianism and Language (Part One) https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/03/13/ep160-1-orwell/
• The Partially Examined Life: Orwell on Totalitarianism and Language (Part Two) https://partiallyexaminedlife.com/2017/03/20/ep160-2-orwell/