Previous
Setting
Definition of Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like" or "as," but can also... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often use the connecting words "like... read full definition
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two unlike things. To make the comparison, similes most often... read full definition
Similes
Explanation and Analysis—The Dying Elephant:
At the climax of the story, Orwell kills a rampaging elephant—shooting it multiple times with two different guns—and then watches it slowly die. He uses a pair of similes and imagery to convey the emotional weight of this moment, as seen in the following passage:
You could see the agony of it jolt his whole body and knock the last remnant of strength from his legs. But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upward like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree. He trumpeted, for the first and only time. And then down he came, his belly towards me, with a crash that seemed to shake the ground even where I lay.
The similes here—in which Orwell describes how the elephant “tower[ed] upward like a huge rock toppling” and how his trunk “reach[ed] skyward like a tree”—capture the immensity of the elephant’s size as well as the dramatic nature of the large creature falling to its death. The imagery also adds to the intensity of this moment, with Orwell describing how the elephant “trumpeted, for the first and only time” and how his crash “seemed to shake the ground.” These descriptions help readers to hear and feel the momentous experience alongside Orwell.
All of the figurative language in this passage shifts the story into a more earnest and emotional place. The language Orwell uses here communicates his awe and respect for the elephant (including the fact that he consistently refers to the elephant as “he” rather than “it”) and helps readers understand that he genuinely did not want to kill the creature. The elephant acts a symbol for the Burmese people in this story, and here Orwell reckons with the harm he is needlessly causing elephants and humans alike as an officer within the British colonial regime.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—Orwell as Conjurer:
When Orwell goes to wrangle a rampaging elephant in a nearby town, many local Burmese people gather around to watch. Orwell uses a simile in this moment to communicate his feelings about the crowd, as seen in the following passage:
But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute. It blocked the road for a long distance on either side […] They were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to perform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching.
Here Orwell describes the way the people are watching him, as if he is “a conjurer about to perform a trick.” This is due to the fact that the locals have formed “an immense crowd” watching to see what he will do with “the magical rifle” he holds. Here Orwell is highlighting the way that being a colonizer in a colonized country becomes a sort of performance—the local Burmese people expect Orwell to behave like a violent colonizer who will surely kill this elephant even though he doesn’t have to. Ultimately, despite not wanting to kill the elephant, Orwell goes through with performing the “trick” that the people expect of him, noting via a narratorial aside that colonialism traps both oppressor and oppressed into roles they do not want.
Related Themes:
Explanation and Analysis—As the Ticking of a Clock:
When describing the way in which the elephant slowly dies after he shoots it, Orwell uses a simile, as seen in the following passage:
It seemed dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him. I sent back for my small rifle and poured shot after shot into his heart and down his throat. They seemed to make no impression. The tortured gasps continued as steadily as the ticking of a clock.
The simile here—in which Orwell describes the elephant’s belabored breaths as “continu[ing] as steadily as the ticking of a clock”—communicates to readers that Orwell’s many attempts to kill the animal and put it out of its misery have failed. The elephant’s breaths are just as steady as they were before Orwell “poured shot after shot” into its body.
The reference to a clock also helps readers understand that Orwell is counting down the seconds until the whole ordeal is over (something he also alludes to when noting how “dreadful” it is to see the animal lying there, “powerless to die”). Much of this story is about how resentful Orwell is about having to perpetuate the violence of colonialism as an officer of the British Empire, and his desire for the animal to die quickly captures how desperate he is to leave this scene and not have to feel his guilt over the harm he has caused.
Related Themes:
