Blog Post 2

In the short stories, “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner and “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, the power dynamics of the elite or superior group can be seen. The Southern Whites and the English Officers demonstrated their power in different ways so the outcomes of their power reflects this.

“A Rose for Emily” took place in Post-Civil War South, a time where the South was going through great changes, but even with these changes, the power over black people was still a present issue. In the story, there was only one black character, Tobe, the combined gardener and cook for Emily. Slavery had been abolished in 1865, but by the end of the story’s timeline in 1894, the residues of slavery were still present. Tobe had very small roles in the story, and the little we know of him comes from commentary from the town. He was silent not only in the story, but in his every day life. One line says, “He talked to no one, probably, not even to her, for his voice had grown harsh and rusty, as if from disuse.” He was basically a prop in the story, and a slave without the title. Slaves were to do all that their masters command them, and usually only spoke when they were told to speak. Given the way Tobe acts in the story, it shows how even after the abolition of slavery, black people were still treated as slaves.

“Shooting an Elephant” was set in Lower Burma during the 1930s. This was a time when the English were still colonizing the area, and had complete power over the Burmese. For the past couple of years, the Burmese had lead rebellion fights against the British, and their dislike of the them only grew. This can be seen in the power dynamic between Orwell and the Burmese in the story. Orwell struggles to maintain his authority over the people, and wants to not look like a fool. Thus, he tries to make himself look superior by using his gun as a way to show his power. However, he only does this because the Burmese were prompting him to do it. He did not want to do it, but he chose to give in and shoot the elephant. Despite the British colonizing the Burmese, the Burmese are the ones controlling Orwell, a British officer. This power dynamic shows how the Burmese were starting to win in their fight against the British, and their control over their land is increasing. Orwell had these fears and he described them in, “The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill.” He did not want to lose that power so he did what he could to avoid it, even if it meant doing something crazy.