Cover of Shooting an Elephant

Shooting an Elephant

by George Orwell · 1950

+ Want to read

"Shooting an Elephant" is Orwell's searing and painfully honest account of his experience as a police officer in imperial Burma; killing an escaped elephant in front of a crowd 'solely to avoid looking a fool'. The other masterly essays in this collection include classics such as "My Country Right or Left", "How the Poor Die" and "Such, Such were the Joys", his memoir of the horrors of public school, as well as discussions of Shakespeare, sleeping rough, boys' weeklies and a spirited defence of English cooking. Opinionated, uncompromising, provocative and hugely entertaining, all show Orwell's unique ability to get to the heart of any subject.

Subject
biographybiographyMore like thisLess of thispoliticspoliticsMore like thisLess of thishistoryhistoryMore like thisLess of thisliterary criticismliterary criticismMore like thisLess of thismemoirmemoirMore like thisLess of this
Genre
historical fictionhistorical fictionMore like thisLess of thiswar and militarywar and militaryMore like thisLess of thisliterary fictionliterary fictionMore like thisLess of this
Themes
journalistsjournalistsMore like thisLess of thiswriterswritersMore like thisLess of thiscolonialismcolonialismMore like thisLess of thispoliticspoliticsMore like thisLess of this
Setting
20th century20th centuryMore like thisLess of thiscollegecollegeMore like thisLess of thisBritishBritishMore like thisLess of thishigh schoolhigh schoolMore like thisLess of thisAsiaAsiaMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 368 pages
Form
short storiesshort storiesMore like thisLess of thisessaysessaysMore like thisLess of this

Click a tag to see books like this one that share it. Point at it (on a phone, tap it) for less of it instead.

Read it? Sign in to help tag it.

BuyAmazonGoogle Books

BorrowOpen LibraryA library near you

MoreCompare pricesHardcover

Liked Shooting an Elephant? Here’s where I’d start.

These suit anyone who liked Shooting an Elephant. Sign in and mark a few books for picks shaped around your own taste.

  1. Tales, Speeches, Essays, and Sketches Mark Twain, Tom Quirk · 1994 Shares classics, essays, short stories
  2. For Us Surrender is Out of the Question Mac McClelland · 2010 Shares nonfiction, memoir, Burma
  3. Why Orwell Matters Christopher Hitchens · 2002 Shares nonfiction, essays, orwell
  4. Selected Essays from the "Rambler," "Adventurer," and "Idler" Samuel Johnson · 1899 Shares classics, nonfiction, essays
See more recommendations →

“People who read Shooting an Elephant tend to reach for these next.”

  1. Finding George Orwell in Burma Emma Larkin · 2004
  2. Biographia Literaria: Biographical Sketches of my Literary Life & Opinions Samuel Taylor Coleridge · 1906
  3. George Orwell Gordon Bowker · 2003
  4. Letters to my Grandchildren: Lessons for the Future Tony Benn · 2009

“If you want more of the same (biography about journalists), start with these.”

  1. Wampeters, Foma and Granfalloons Kurt Vonnegut Jr. · 1974
  2. Broken Vessels Andre Dubus · 1992
  3. In Short: A Collection of Brief Creative Nonfiction · 1996
  4. The Red Notebook: True Stories Paul Auster · 1993

“If it was the classics that hooked you, try one of these.”

  1. Who Is Mark Twain? Mark Twain · 2009
  2. Free onlineFree Not That It Matters A.A. Milne · 1920
  3. What Is Man? Mark Twain · 1905
  4. De Profundis and Other Writings Oscar Wilde · 1897

“These start from a similar idea, even if they go somewhere else with it.”

  1. Behemoth: The History of the Elephant in America Ronald B. Tobias · 2013
  2. When Anju Loved Being an Elephant Wendy Henrichs, John Butler · 2011
  3. The Elephant Keeper Christopher Nicholson · 2008
  4. Travels on my Elephant Mark Shand · 1991

Report a problem