What are some rhetorical devices used in the story?

Orwell uses surreal rhetoric to make his point. He compares himself to a magician about to perform a trick. It is that "fish out of water" motif that carries his narrative. He compares himself to a lead actor in a surreal play or the protagonist in an absurd puppet show. He is an outsider holding a “magic rifle” that can rid the Burmese of their pachyderm nightmare.