# data[].attributes.body
"I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary–and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you”
Through this quote Orwell is able to convey the conflict he faced with his own morals, as he shows how the actions he ended up taking (shooting the elephant) went against his personal desires and were merely part of the performance he felt pressured to make because of the physical presence of a crowd expecting him to, as well as the symbolic pressure of an entire empire.
Characteristic of nonfictional prose: personal presence

# data[].attributes.body
"He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it."
Furthermore, as seen in this quote, Orwell introduces this notion of the mask, once again working closely with the concept of transformation and identity, as he uses symbolism to depict the hollowness behind the fabricated image he is forced to tranform into in contrast to his real identity.
The author also creates a semantic field for acting as he employs and mentions specific elements during the essay such as "puppet", "posing dummy" and the phrase "with the crowd watching me" which can all be directly linked back to the theme of performance towards the policeman personna he built according to imperialistic norms.
Characteristic of non-fictional prose: literary approaches to language

# data[].attributes.body
This picture represents the colonialism in Burma coming from the British, representing the theme of hierarchies of power and imperialism. A clear contrast is presented between the city and the soldiers: on the one hand, the city is culturally attached to Burma, remaining untouched and calm with non-modern buildings: some huts seem to be made of straw and bamboo. On the other hand, the British soldiers utilize modern uniforms and artifacts, also carrying a gun which depicts their role as oppressors.

# data[].attributes.body
"And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant"
Once again Orwell is contrasting his principles and therefore his identity, as he is now glad that a Burman person was killed, but was complaining about their suffering just a few pages before when he was describing the imprisoned Burman people.
Furthermore, the author is giving less value to the "coolie's" life: he just saw it as a justification to his unfair actions. In addition, he uses the semantic field of death with the words "shooting" and "killed" which gives emphasis to the action of killing, as there are two contrasting perspectives to this situation: on the one side, Orwell portrays relief as the coolie was killed, but on the other side he portrays aggressiveness in the elephant's death.
Characteristic of non-fiction prose: personal presence: "I, me"; self-discovery.

# data[].attributes.body
"I had no intention of shooting the elephant"
His identity and his actions are contrasting again through this foreshadowing. Deep inside of Orwell, he did not want to kill the elephant as it was useless from every perspective he could think of: the elephant was compared to a modern machine, with many economic and sentimental value.
His principles are disrupted when he killed the elephant: as we can see, from the very beginning he wanted to save the animal. But, the pressure felt from the Bruman people and from his performance as a colonizer made him go against his principles or identity.
Characteristic of non-fiction prose: personal presence: "I"; self-discovery.

# data[].attributes.body
"I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my
rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible"
Through this quote, Orwell exposes this moral dilemma which was discussed previously. But, through the use of hyperbole in "evil-spirited beasts", or the semantic field of anger in "hatred, rage, beasts", the author shows us how he was not convinced by neither of both sides. On the one hand, he had the British Empire which represented the imperialist system which Orwell despised but had to follow, while on the other hand he had the Burman people, the colonized and the victims in this situation, Orwell siding with them but only in theory: the aggressiveness Orwell received from them made him reconsider his vulnerability towards them.
This can be related with the concept of identity, as Orwell cannot express his true identity because of his role as a colonizer.
Characteristics of non-fiction prose: personal presence: "I, my"; self-discovery; literary approaches to language; veracity (he is talking truthfully)

# data[].attributes.body
This theme is used by Orwell to portray his role as a colonizer in Burma. Evidently, a symbolic censorship is presented by the oppressors within their own system, as their representatives (like Orwell as a policeman) were obliged to follow this "performance" that would fulfill their image as colonizers. This image would include bravery, aggressiveness towards the colonized, and a great sense of power among others. Through this, the Burman people (in this case) would supposedly feel frightened and inferior, although the story exposes how this is not the case when the roles of colonized- colonizer are inverted.
Moreover, the theme of performance is directly related to the global context of politics, power and justice, as well as the concepts of identity and transformation, as the oppressors are not allowed to show their true identity (for example, Orwell cannot show his personal dilemma). Hence, they have to transform themselves into this new persona that fulfills the norms imposed by imperialism. Therefore, they impose a great sense of power and "justice" (according to the oppressors' perspective), relating this to the theme of imperialism.

# data[].attributes.body
“Feelings like these are the normal by-products of imperialism; ask any Anglo-Indian official, if you can catch him off duty.” Through his diction in this quote, Orwell once again presents the concept of performance since he is alluding to the fact that to get a true sense of what an official thinks about imperialism, you would need to catch them off duty, given that while they are working, they are putting up a performance that goes according to how they are told to be, and not a true version of themselves.
Characteristic of non-fictional prose: veracity & self discovery/self exploration

# data[].attributes.body
There is a personal moral dilemma faced by Orwell’s character, who doesn’t necessarily agree with imperialism and what it represents because of his principles, but he still has to follow the rules imposed by his superiors. Also, given that the people of Burma do not treat him well, the moral dilemma is presented in whether he should follow colonialism and use it to defend himself because of the way he is being treated, or if he should rebel against the evident injustice presented by this system anyway in spite of the negative attitude the Burman people have towards him, which can be seen when the narrator states “In Moulmein, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people…”
This theme is directly related to the global context of politics, power and justice, as well as the concepts of identity and perspective, as Orwell is constantly debating internally what his actions should be, which are generally contrasting to his identity and what he really wants to do. In addition to this, two opposite perspectives are depicted as well towards the same situation, as from Orwell's personal perspective, his actions are incorrect and unfair, but from the colonizers' perspective, their actions are correct and in accordance to the power structure they follow.

# data[].attributes.body
"And it was at this moment, as I stood there with the rifle in my hands, that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the white man’s dominion in the East".
This metaphor exposes again the reversed roles of colonizer and colonized.
As the white man is actually being symbolically colonized by the Burman people, their presence is pointless as they no longer have control over people: yet again the hierarchies of power are broken, disrupting colonialism.
The global issue of politics, power and justice is related as well as the power roles are inverted, indeed causing this sentiment of justice for the colonized: they can finally take revenge.
Characteristic of non-fiction prose: personal presence: "I, my"; self-discovery; veracity.

# data[].attributes.body
"I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind"
This quote is said by Orwell during the climax moment, when he is debating about if he should kill the elephant or not.
In this case, this metaphor depicts how the role of oppressor and oppressed are symbolically reversed, as the colonizer turns to be colonized and vice versa. Indeed, the hierarchies of power are reversed as well.
The puppet represents Orwell, symbolizing how he was being controlled and yet again depicting the concept of identity: he had no control over his decisions and he ignored what he really wanted to do. Furthermore, the "yellow faces" are a generalization used to represent the people from Burma.
Characteristic of non-fiction prose: personal presence: "I, my"; self-discovery; veracity; literary approaches to language.

# data[].attributes.body
Both themes are presented together as they generally imply the other: hierarchies of power are presented because of imperialism, and the sense of power and grandeur that the colonizer feels over the one being colonized. In this case, this roles would be presented through the British and the Burman people, presenting the ideas of the "oppressor vs the oppressed" or the "western vs eastern". Both sides are constantly attacking one another: one because it feels the right to do so (oppressor), while the other because of the anger they feel for being mistreated (oppressed).
Moreover, through subthemes such as social status/duty, where the hierarchies become more particular, as represented through Orwell’s character who is a policeman, and so has a higher charge and hence more power, than the ordinary people of Burma.
This theme is directly related to the global context of politics power and justice, as well as the concept of culture, as Orwell works with a universal idea which is directly related to these concepts, also allowing the reader to relate to what they are reading.

# data[].attributes.headline
Oppressor vs the oppressed//western vs eastern

# data[].attributes.subject
Oppressor vs the oppressed//western vs eastern

# data[].attributes.body
"The wretched prisoners huddling in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long-term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos"
This visual image, portrayed through the use of powerful diction, creates negative connotations about the western side or the oppressors. Orwell depicts them as violent and brutal, with no compassion towards Burman people, depicting both the themes of imperialism or hierarchies of power,.
The hierarchies of power, as well as the global issue of politics, power and justice are depicted as the British mistreat the Burman people just for their sense of grandeur generated by colonization, torturing them in horrible ways.
Characteristic of non-fiction prose: self-discovery; veracity.