Reflective Essay                                                                                                                                                                                                    HR: Citations listed

Samuel Murphy

ENG 205WX

COL. Miller

5/2/18

Imperialistic Viewpoints

 

Throughout this course of British literature, we have discussed many topics about the significances and importance of particular stories. The one issue that caught my interest was the topic of Imperialism in Henry V, “The Man Would Be King” and the George Orwell stories “Shooting an Elephant” and “The Hanging”.  These stories broaden my knowledge of imperialism, because in the past I only knew of American “imperialism” and the drawbacks. What I mean is all my life I was taught about how the Americans “conquered” Latin America and The Pacific for economic wealth and militaristic value. Compared to what the British did I reckoned they were more imperialistic that the Americans. To elaborate, “out of the 200 countries Britain conquered about 90% of those countries” this includes the United States. Hell, the “last country to gain independence from Britain was Australia in 1986”. Every conquered country was in the name of His/ Her Majesty and we conquered less than half than what the British did.

Imperialism in Henry V talks more about strengthening his kingdom and his people against the French. He does everything in his might to secure the crown and has the audacity to make war with France. Before the Battle of Hartfleur, he patrols the camp and individual converses with his man. During the Battle of Hartfleur, he delivers an epic speech and bombards the gates of Hartfleur. Imperialist guarantees that their country will continue to thrive and multiple. Kings care about their country and men and will do anything to preserve this promise

Onward “The Man Who Would be King” and the George Orwell stories explicitly show the works of imperialism. In Rudyard Kipling’s, book “The Man Who Would be King” we grasp the knowledge of two men Dravot and Peachy, traveling to a Middle Eastern country (Kafiristan) thirsting for kingship. We see them conquer the country and rule over the people, but they are fair rulers. Dravot and Peachy heavily imply Freemasonry and scripture references to explain their kingship quest. Later, we discover how they lied to the people about being gods and the people of Kafiristan chase the men out of their country killing one of them. Through imperialism, they were able to conquer, arrange, and manipulate the people of Kafiristan.

In the wake of imperialism, “Shooting an Elephant” and “The Hanging” gladly expresses the emotional and moral tolls told by George Orwell.  In “Shooting an Elephant” a man, who is a police officer, abhors the British Empire and imperialism.  Before this event, he explains how he was a man of ignorance who just followed orders when told. He sympathized with the Burmese people and felt compassion for them. Despite all of this, by orders of his superiors, he kills an elephant and regrets it.

As heartless as the superiors in “Shooting an Elephant”, “The Hanging” demonstrates unsympathetic tendencies. A Burmese Hindu man was sentence to the gallows under unknown reasons. As the man hangs from the rope, everything goes silent and the day continues as if nothing happened. A series of happy events occur and the story ends with “The dead man was hundred yards away” (Orwell). The men only cared about the preparation, time of the execution and completion. As I read the story, I was confused on why it never mentioned the crime the Burmese man committed.

These two stories implies that imperialism can change a person’s emotions and morals.  Someone who is not educated of his or her awareness can lead that individual to become a pawn of something he or she will question and/or hate. Imperialism has the power to change one’s mind whether it be of nationalist tendencies or superiority. George Orwell presents these conflicting elements to warn us of the dangers of manipulation and dominance over the mind of someone higher than us

The reasons why I am interested in Imperialism is how the British handled it. As a metaphor of imperialism, colonialism is and has been an important subject to teach through the years of history. Some see it as an accomplishment and some believe it was a nuisance. The British wanted to control and stabilize the third world countries under their crown. The Age of Imperialism stopped around the early 20th century and Britain ruled the world by the majority. This left countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America fighting for independence. Wealth, religion, and military play important roles of Imperialism, but it only benefitted the government. The people abused, accused, and killed under imperialism is impossible to fathom. Reading the books that ties into Imperialism broaden my knowledge of how the British dealt with certain situations in other countries. Consequently, America is guilty and receives criticism for their actions, but comparing land expansion and massacres Britain wins by default.

Murphy, Tom. Map of the Day: Where the Brits never invaded. 7 Aug. 2013, www.humanosphere.org/basics/2013/08/map-of-the-day-where-the-brits-never-invaded/  Accessed 30 Apr. 2018