Blog 2 Topic 1

Blog 2 Topic 1

In William Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” the influence of a power dynamic is used to express the difference in race between people and regions. In the 1800s the superior, or powerful, race in the United States were the white men. On the other hand, the African race was looked down upon and abused because the whites believed themselves higher than their fellow man. When compared to “A Rose for Emily,” the townspeople constantly refer to the term “Negro”. The only problem about the text’s use of this derogatory term is that the racism is basically overlooked as if it was completely normal, although the Civil War ended a few years prior to when the short story was written. The power dynamic also played a role in a person’s public status due to their race. For example, “They were admitted by the old Negro into a dim hall from which a stairway mounted into still more shadow.” In this time period, the Africans have gained their freedom but are still given low class positions. Throughout the entire story, the African’s have a lower power status compared to the Southern Whites in their town because they were considered to be lower class. One example is, “THE NEGRO met the first of the ladies at the front door and let them in.” Faulkner emphasizes the use of the word “negro” by placing it in caps in order to show how much the southerners looked down upon the Africans. By emphasizing the word, this shows how the Whites believed they were superior. Unlike Orwell’s story, the white man felt as if he was a minority and the natives were superior.

            Meanwhile in the short story “To Shoot an Elephant”, the influence of the power dynamic is switched. For example, “secretly, of course – I was all for the Burmese and all against their oppressors.” Orwell expresses his sympathy for the people of India for being oppressed by the British Imperialists. Instead of Orwell feeling superior to the natives, he instead shows sympathy because he believes their hate for the Europeans is just. Also, throughout the story Orwell attempts to gain the Natives’ acceptance. In contrast with “A Rose for Emily,” the Southerners did nothing to make the Africans feel as if they were equals. Another example is, “it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the ‘natives’.” Orwell felt that he had to kill the elephant in order to impress the natives; whereas, Faulkner does not attempt to show any sympathy towards Africans in his story. Faulkner’s characters ignore the fact that the Africans are now free and are capable of choosing their own path, but are rejected this right and instead made meaningless workers for the white people. The power dynamic that is portrayed by Orwell also shows how he had to lose his humanity in order to be approved by the citizens of India.