When Orwell relates his experience with the elephant in “Shooting an Elephant” it gives some insight into his own psyche as well as the structure of imperialism.
Perhaps the most intriguing situation that arises in the story is how the mob has more power over Orwell than he, their supposed military governor, has over them. In spite of knowing the elephant could be captured and tamed, the mob calls for its death, and the cries overcome Orwell, causing him to shoot and kill the beast. In this moment, he criticizes imperialism, showing that the leaders are controlled by the masses just as much as, if not more so than, the other way around.
The insight into Orwell’s own mind is similar. He reveals a weakness and malleability in this moment. It shows that Orwell can be swayed by the opinion of the others, and that he is not immune to this idea, even if he recognizes it.
"Shooting an Elephant" contains George Orwell's ruminations concerning an experience he had back when he was a police officer working in Southeast Asia. His experience with the elephant leaves a radical mark on his thoughts concerning imperialism, and concerning the power dynamics which imperialism entails.
It's important to note that, as Orwell tells it, he did not actually wish to shoot the elephant. However, as he drew the attention of the Burmese people, who gathered in a crowd to follow, there was an expectation that he would kill the elephant. Regardless of his own wishes, Orwell claims to have found himself compelled to conform to that expectation.
This, for Orwell, represents a critical aspect concerning the nature of imperialism, and its effect on the imperialists themselves: by its very nature, imperialism requires that the imperialist must continually adhere to the expectations of the colonized, regardless of the imperialist's own preferences or instincts. So it is in this case with the elephant: because the crowd expected that he shoot the elephant, Orwell found himself forced to shoot the elephant. To do otherwise would be a show of weakness and earn their disrespect.
Although Orwell describes the shooting of the elephant as a "tiny" incident in itself, it also proves to be an "enlightening" experience because it teaches him an important lesson about imperialism. Specifically, about why "despotic," imperial governments act the way that they do.
To understand the lesson that Orwell learns, take a look at what happens when he is standing in front of the Burmese people and it becomes clear that they expect him to shoot the elephant. As the weight of expectation bears down upon him, Orwell suddenly realizes that when a man becomes an imperialist, he spends the rest of his life trying to "impress the natives:"
A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things.
In other words, Orwell has learned that imperialism does not just exploit the native people; it exploits the imperialists too. Why? Because an imperialist must always act like an imperialist. He is expected to always be domineering and in control of the situation. It does not matter if he really wants to be this way or not. If he does not act in this manner at all times, then he will lose the respect of the natives. This is what Orwell learns from the incident with the elephant. It does not matter that Orwell has no desire to shoot the elephant; he must do it because it is expected of him. This is a condition of imperialism that he, and the rest of the British Empire, cannot escape.
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