In everyone's life there comes a time when we become our own person. It's a gradual process that takes us through many different steps. These steps become the foundation on which our character is built. Although, no two people are exactly the same, George Orwell and James Baldwin shared a similar experience on the way to building their character. At one point in their lives Orwell and Baldwin were victims of hatred. In the essay "Shooting an Elephant" Orwell is a British officer serving in Burma. He is despised by the towns people because he serves an imperialistic country. In Baldwin's essay, "Notes of a Native Son," Baldwin is hated for the color of his skin. He is a victim of racism.
Both authors experience started with an unconscious stage. They were both young and inexperienced. Orwell and Baldwin were unaware of their surroundings and the effect that their surroundings would have on the rest of their lives. They would also experience an abomination stage. During this time, Orwell and Baldwin were filled with hate. They were mentally tormented and didn't believe they were deserving of such cruelty. The next stage that they would experience was the puppet stage. This is where both men acted out of character. They were performing the roles that others expected of them. Eventually they would both reach a stage of consciousness. Orwell and Baldwin realized what they had done and both men regretted their actions. The final stage that Orwell and Baldwin experienced was the metamorphosis stage. This is where both men are willing to make a physical change in order to escape the emotional prison that enslaves them. After careful thought on what he has done, Baldwin knows that he must not allow the rage to build in his heart. Orwell knows that he cannot stay in Burma.
Orwell was a sub-divisional police officer in a small town in Burma. He was continually taunted by the Burmese and the town's Buddhist priest. It seems as though this was something that he did not expect prior to his arrival to Burma. Orwell states, "I was young and ill educated...." Orwell was naive and so out of touch that he wasn't even aware that back home the imperialist government that he served, was crumbling. This was Orwell's unconscious stage. He was unable to make sense out of his situation because ''silence'' had been imposed over the Europeans. This made him incapable of sharing his feelings and thoughts with others from his country. With little or no experience Orwell is left to figure things out on his own. Baldwin doesn't have a good relationship with his father. There is virtually no communication between the two. Baldwin states, "When he was dead I realized that I had hardly ever spoken to him." He had no idea of what his father really thought or believed. Young Baldwin could only interpret what he had seen. Baldwin's father seemed to have trouble dealing with people most of his life. His father's anti-social behavior was especially evident with his own children. "I do not remember, in all those years, that one of his children was ever glad to see him come home," says Baldwin. Baldwin at this point is very young and he doesn't understand his father's attitude, especially towards whites. This is Baldwin's unconscious stage. He doesn't understand what it means to be black and living in America. His father was the first generation of black Americans born out of slavery. With that freedom came a lot of hate and resentment towards blacks. This was enough to make any man/woman unpersonable. Baldwin's father had obviously done a good job of shielding young Baldwin and young Baldwin's siblings from the harsh reality of racism. Baldwin is unaware of his true surroundings.
Orwell developed a hatred for the people of Burma. But his hatred didn't end there. He also hated the "British Empire" that he served. He believed that they were the oppressors of the Burmese and this was why the people of Burma taunted the Europeans. He says that the Burmese, when ever given a chance, made his "job impossible." Orwell is verbally assaulted regularly. The abuse started to take its toll on him mentally. At one point Orwell states, "the greatest joy in the world would be to drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest's guts." Orwell has entered the abomination stage. The statement that he made about the Buddhist priest was one of rage and resentment. It also gives us an understanding of the power of words. For someone to be ready to commit cold blooded murder against a defenseless opponent, it would require sure madness. When Baldwin left home to attend college things changed drastically. His father was no longer around to shield him from the horrors of racism. Baldwin's anger built up in him as he starts to experience being turned away from food joints because he is black. He kept hearing the same story over and over again, "We don't serve Negroes here." Almost immediately he started to rebel against this attitude. He didn't understand what would make people treat others as though they were less than human. Baldwin would frequent food joints around his neighborhood with his white friends from college. When he was refused service he would cause a scene and quickly developed a reputation as a trouble maker. He talked about his anger as though it were a disease. Baldwin says, "the unfailing symptom which is a kind of blind fever, a pounding in the skull in the bowels." This is rage. This is the abomination stage for Baldwin, and he is like a time bomb waiting to explode.
Orwell is eventually confronted with a situation where an elephant with an attack of must has terrorized a village, killing one Indian "coolie." The village people expected Orwell to kill the elephant, once they saw Orwell with his gun. As soon as Orwell had seen the elephant he knew the attack of must had passed. But the crowd wanted to see the "sahib" down the rampaging beast. It was almost a game to them. If Orwell shoots the elephant they would strip it of its meat and ivory. If he doesn't shoot the elephant they would mock Orwell and laugh him into humility. Orwell found himself in pickle. He doesn't want to kill the elephant, but Orwell carries the fate of the European empire on his shoulders. The outcome of his decision would have an impact on how the Indians viewed Europeans. Orwell knows the crowd is pulling his strings. This is the puppet stage. He has the badge and the gun but the crowd has the power. At this stage the roles are reversed. Orwell has become the oppressed. He must act against his will, all for the sake of not "looking like a fool."
Baldwin is continually being treated like an animal. He is called foul names and is refused service every where he goes. The continual rejection builds up inside him. One night Baldwin is again refused service. He leaves the establishment after barking familiar words to his would be servers. But this time things were different. Upon re-entering the street Baldwin feels his surroundings closing in on him. He believes that all the people on the street are converging on him. In his rage, Baldwin has thrown himself into a state of anxiety. Baldwin states, "And I felt, like a physical sensation, click at the nape of my neck as though some interior string connecting my head to my body had been cut." Baldwin enters the puppet stage at this point. He enters a second restaurant and is refused service by a waitress. His rage has reached its boiling point. Baldwin has no control over his emotions and is capable of anything, even murder. When the waitress blurts out the all too familiar words, Baldwin says, "This made me colder and more murderous than ever." Baldwin eventually hurls a pitcher of water at the waitress before leaving the restaurant, fleeing for his life. If he were caught who knows what fate awaited him. To be so angry that one would put his life in danger is unimaginable for people like you and I. Here is an educated man making a decision out of emotion. He is driven by the hate of others. It forces him to act like an animal, which is what they expected of him.
Orwell and Baldwin both become conscious of their actions after their experiences. Orwell comes to realize that he doesn't like imperialism. He states, "...imperialism was an evil thing...." He knows that he can't keep doing things that he doesn't agree with. He also feels sorrow and remorse for killing the elephant. He knows that he should not have killed it. He admits that had done it solely to keep from looking like a fool." He knew that if he didn't shoot the elephant he could not walk the streets of Burma again. The towns people would ridicule him. Baldwin comes to realize that the anger that had built up in him was the same anger that led to the eventual death of his father. His rage is like a cancer eating away at his mind. And like cancer it will eventually spread to his body. This conscious stage is purely psychological for both men. It encompasses all the events that have taken place in the past and that led to the present. Their eyes are opened and now they understand more clearly what has happened to them. It's like having a puzzle, with the most important pieces missing. Once the key pieces are put into their rightful places, the puzzle becomes a picture.
Orwell feels trapped because he has to play the role of a "sahib" and ignore his true feelings. He hates imperialism and he actually sides with the Burmese---secretly of course. Orwell is entering the metamorphosis stage. He knows that he must make a change or he will be unable to survive. He was on an emotional rollercoster and he wasn't in control of his actions. Orwell states, "the sooner I chucked up my job and out of it the better." The conditions that he was under could possibly have had long term effects on him emotionally. I think Orwell understood this and that is why he wanted to leave as soon as possible. Baldwin's rage is eating him up on the inside. He knows that he must let go of his anger or his fate will be the same as his fathers. "Hatred, which could destroy so much, never failed to destroy the man who hated and this was an immutable law," says Baldwin. He would grow more lonely and bitter or eventually he would be killed if he continued to let his anger control him. In Baldwins metamorphosis stage he lets go of the hatred that has taken control of his life. He understands that he doesn't have to except racism and that he must resist discrimination, but he mustn't carry rage in his heart. Baldwin states "This fight begins, however, in the heart and it now had been laid to my charge to keep my own heart free of hatred and despair."
Both Orwell and Baldwin's experiences were driven by the hatred of others. It caused both men emotional and physical distress. But in the end both men realized that piece of mind starts in one's own heart. They both learn that only when you're at piece with yourself can you be at piece with others.
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