Hand of God and Shooting an Elephant

I nearly didn't post the extra credit today, because of lack of time... but here's a short post anyway...

If you weren't in class today, I asked students to write me a one-page summary of Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant."  After they did that, they were to tell me the main point of the story.  If you did not do this, do it now.

Turn it in whenever you get back.

Here are two hints:  "One day something happened which in a roundabout way was enlightening.  It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism - the real motives for which despotic governments act."

The second hint:  "I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant, it is his own freedom he destroys."

Several classes also got to watch the "Hand of God" goal, scored by Diego Maradona in 1986.  Keeping in mind that "Shooting an Elephant" was written in 1936, read the following lines, "When a nimble Burman tripped me up on the football field and the referee (another Burman) looked the other way, the crowd yelled with hideous laughter.  This happened more than once."

Now, if you haven't seen it before, watch the goal:

A couple things to consider:

• This game was played in 1986.
• It was played between Argentina and England
• The Falklands War was in 1982
• The British won the war against Argentina, maintaining control of the islands
• The 1986 World Cup was played in Mexico
• If you missed it, Maradona scored that goal with his hand, and didn't get called for it

My hat's off to those of you who can put the pieces of this puzzle together.  Spoiler alert: the feelings toward British Imperialism started well before Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant," and lasted well after its publication.

In order to get the extra credit for reading and discussing the blog with an adult today, write two sentences from your discussion.  Have the adult you read it with sign on the paper you wrote your sentences.

As always, thanks for reading.

The Burmese Elephant

To those of you who didn't complete the homework, make sure you read the post from 2-14-13.  You can find it HERE.

Social studies often overlaps with language arts.  Spending 2 days on "Shooting an Elephant" is evidence of that.  And today's discussion really overlapped.

"Shooting an Elephant" is highly symbolic.  Orwell represents the British.  The elephant represents the Burmese culture.

When Orwell first went to Burma, he thought he was doing the right thing.  He was serving The Empire.  He didn't realize that the toll he was taking on the Burmese people is the same toll that was magnified all over the world as technology allowed globalization to expand at previously unseen rates.

Here are some topics we discussed in class, with a few others thrown in to boot:

• How is imperialism a form of globalization?
• What are some examples of ethnocentrism found in the essay?
• What is symbolism?  What was symbolic in the story?
• Did Orwell REALLY have to shoot the elephant?  What makes you come to that conclusion?
• How do you think the elephant's owner felt?  Why couldn't he do anything about the situation?  What does that say about the rights of certain groups of people in the empire?
• Have you ever been faced with a situation where you've been pressured into doing something you knew was wrong?  How did that make you feel?
• Compare what happened to the Burmese in the essay to the Banananovians.

Students, to get the extra credit tonight, or this morning - if that's how you roll,  read and discuss the blog with an adult.  In the discussion, answer at least 3 of the bullet points.  Finally, find a scrap of paper, and write the response to one of the questions.  Please write at least 3 sentences.  Have the adult you read the blog with sign the paper, and turn it in tomorrow.

Shooting an Elephant - Homework

Today in class we read George Orwell’s essay, “Shooting an Elephant.”  It’s a very good essay.  It depicts the British Empire as it’s reaching its end, and shows the outcomes of colonization.  If you’ve never read the essay and want to, click HERE.  (I highly recommend it.  It’s not very long.)

Every other year we’ve discussed the essay in class.  Most classes got a little discussion in today, but not to the extent I wanted to discuss it.  Your homework, student, is to discuss the essay with a parent, adult that you live with, or someone over 18.   You don’t have to take more than 10-15 minutes discussing it, but you can discuss it in greater detail if you want.

First, summarize the story.  Tell the person you’re discussing it with what happened.  Parents/adults, feel free to ask questions if you don’t understand something about the story.

Once the summary is done, discuss some of the following questions.  You can choose the amount you want to answer, but I would suggest answering at least two questions.

1.  The British had made Burma (Myanmar), India, and the rest of the “British Raj” part of the British Empire.  What does this mean?

2.  Why did Orwell feel conflicted about his job?

3.  Can you give any examples of ethnocentrism found in the essay?  Can you find an example from the other side?

4.  Orwell says, “When the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.”  What does he mean?

5.  Have you ever been faced with a situation where you felt pressured into doing something you knew was wrong?  How did that make you feel?  Explain your answer if you feel comfortable.

6.  Compare what happened to the Burmese in the essay to what happened to the Banananovians.

7.  How do you think the elephant’s owner felt?  Why couldn’t he do anything about the situation?  What does that say about the rights of certain groups of people in the empire?

8.  Did Orwell REALLY have to shoot the elephant?  And what makes you come to that conclusion?

9.  Did the elephant symbolize/represent something more?  If so, what?  (Symbolism reminds us of something else.)  ***If you’re having trouble with this one, compare what happened to the elephant to what happened to the Burmese people.  Compare who shot the elephant to the British Empire.

In order to get credit for the homework, on a scrap piece of paper, write down the numbers of the questions you answered, along with a brief (one or two sentence) response to each.  Then have the adult you discussed it with sign the paper.  (Make sure the name of the student is on it as well.)