The Discord Of Discrimination And Racism In Stranger In The Village And Shooting An Elephant

Discrimination and Racism has been prominent for a very long time in society but affects individuals in many different ways. The short stories of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” and James Baldwin’s “Stranger in the Village”, both stories present situations of discrimination amongst an unfamiliar area. While both short stories portray similar conflicts, they differ in the interpretation of their experience. This has led us to the way we convey ourselves to other people. Both short stories showcase this claim and are told in first person point of view in which it is told by the author’s perspectives. The purpose of the short stories written by both George Orwell and James Baldwin is to expose the ugly truths about British imperialism and how there has never been a black man to step in the village of Switzerland. In each of the short stories you get to read how the writer’s views of racism are two opposite viewpoints. Orwell’s viewpoint on this topic is how the British people of Burma encouraged racism; while Baldwin’s viewpoint is the struggle and oppression he faced being a black man in a village with all white people. The short stories also show how the authors are dealing with a situation in which they are both strangers in another country. Both situations use external and internal conflict as well as the use of imagery and tone to interpret what is going on in what they are experiencing. It is through the perspective of the stories being told that we understand the effects of discrimination and racism.

In the short story “Shooting an Elephant” written by George Orwell, he experiences the view of racism throughout the story. George Orwell who is a British officer, but has power in India scrutinizes the issue of racial influence that he is experiencing. According to Orwell, “In mountain, in lower Burma, I was hated by large numbers of people- the only time in life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me. I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti- European feeling was very bitter.” This shows that the people of Burma hate him, and he feels that he is unwanted and uncomfortable. Even though Orwell was a British soldier, he was “baited whenever it seemed safe to do so” since he had much power (Orwell). This shows the views of the Burmese people to Orwell.

In the short story “Stranger in the Village” by James Baldwin, he is a Black American man visiting a village in England called Switzerland, but also the first black person in the village. In the beginning, he feels like he is being attacked by the people in the village especially since they think he is not human just because he is an only black man in a white village. Although the people in the village do not mean to insult him, he still feels unwanted and isolated from the people in the village (Baldwin). When Baldwin leaves and comes back to the village, he is well known but some people do not change their views about him. According to Baldwin, “But I remain as much a stranger today as I was the first day I arrived, and the children shout Neger! Neger! As I walk along the streets.” This shows that the people in the village treat Baldwin the same way now like when he first arrived just because he is black. This situation shows the existence of people who will act in such a mean and bashful way without realizing that it may hurt others.

George Orwell and James Baldwin are both direct and show grief through the story. Throughout the story of “Shooting an Elephant”, Orwell is very open about him being a Police Officer in Burma. In the second paragraph he talks about like all officers, he feels disagreeing about his role (Orwell). According to Orwell, “For all that time I had already made up my mind that imperialism was an evil thing and the sooner I chucked my job and got out of it the better. As for the job I was doing, I hated it more bitterly than I can perhaps make clear.” According to, “ Stranger in the Village”, Baldwin opens up about how the older people who were once children, were the ones surprised by Baldwin being an African American stepping foot in a small village. According to Baldwin, “In all of this, in which it must be conceded there was the charm of genuine wonder and in which there were certainly no element of intentional unkindness, there was yet no suggestion that I was human: I was simply a living wonder.” He wants to tell people that he is human no matter the race or color that defines him as a person.  

Both authors experience internal and external conflicts in each of the short stories. Internal conflict is character vs. self. It takes place in a person’s mind. External conflict takes place between a person and someone or something else. External conflicts may be character vs. character, character vs. nature, or character vs. society. George Orwell experiences conflict in the second paragraph about the controversy of imperialism. It states, “Theoretically- and secretly, of course- I was all for the Burmese and all against other oppressors, the British.” This sentence mostly talks about how he is against the British supremacy and does not agree with them. Not only that, but Orwell starts to see the British being cruel and prisoners being put in cages. In the second paragraph it states, “The wretched prisoners building in the stinking cages of the lock-ups, the grey, cowed faces of the long- term convicts, the scarred buttocks of the men who had been Bogged with bamboos- all these oppressed me with the intolerable sense of guilt” (Orwell). Even though, he sees all the cruelty, Orwell can’t do anything about it because he needs his job and can’t risk the one thing that is a source of income. In the eighth paragraph it states, “I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys” (Baldwin). James Baldwin experiences conflict by the perception of his own identity and him being black. In the text it states, “Everyone in the village knows my name, though they scarcely ever use it, knows that I come from America though, this, apparently, they will never really believe: black men come from Africa-and everyone knows that I am the friend of the son of a woman who was born here, and that I am staying in their chalet. But I remain as much a stranger today as I was the first day I arrived, and the children shout Neger! Neger! as I walk along the streets.” In return, Baldwin had to cancel out the prejudice against him. However, Baldwin starts to realize that there is a racial issue in America, and it changes the way we see the world today. Both short stories show the conflict they went through, but how they struggled and were able to overcome it.  

Overall both short stories hold a very solid meaning about racism and discrimination. Racism is a part of life and is a topic that still goes on today. We can’t change the way people think, but we have to ignore what others say to live our lives. There is no way we can deny that people are very cruel in this environment, but we have to remember that people are prejudice and very arrogant. Both short stories show a way they were able to overcome racism and how they were able to go with their lives. Overall the short stories: “Shooting an Elephant” and Stranger in The Village” reveal viewpoints about racism that have happened to them in the past, but also show you that it is a concurrent issue that still goes on today.

Work Cited 

George, Orwell “Shooting an Elephant.” The Arlington Reader. Eds Lynn 

Bloom and Louise Smith. Boston:Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. (191-198.) print. 

James, Baldwin “Stranger in the Village.” The Arlington Reader. Eds Lynn 

Bloom and Louise Smith. Boston:Bedford/St. Martins, 2008. (191-198.) print.