Question

How does George Orwell make the reader care about his narrative in "Shooting an Elephant?" Find three specific examples in the text and explain how these examples make the reader care.

Answer 1

I'm not sure Orwell does, or that it matters. You can read this story as a brutal kind of entertainment, and not consider the issue of trust at all. So, that is one option.

If you really want to examine what Orwell does to gain the reader's trust, start with the opening line, where Orwell says he was hated by a lot of people.

Answer 2

The author uses the rhetorical devices intelligently in the context. He uses many rhetorical devices like irony, imagery, alliteration, metaphor, simile, paradox, oxymoron and many more to increase the reader’s attention. Few examples includes:

• Point of view: The author writes the story completely in the first person’s point of view. His viewpoint creates a considerable effect on the reader’s mind.

• Imagery: The picturesque effects of the elephant’s perspective and the shooter’s reaction hook the readers to the story.

• Comparing: The author intelligently compares several incidents to the contrast terms like grinning corpse, etc. in the story.