The shooting as theatrical spectacle (simile)
In describing the scene in which he shoots the elephant, Orwell says, “The crowd grew very still, and a deep, low, happy sigh, as of people who see the theatre curtain go up at last, breathed from innumerable throats" (34). The hushed crowd and the reference to the drawn curtain is an explicit simile for theatre. Orwell has previously stated that as a colonial policeman, he feels as though he must play a role for the Burmese people. In this passage we see the relationship between performer and audience in action.
Elephant as inanimate nature (simile)
“But in falling he seemed for a moment to rise, for as his hind legs collapsed beneath him he seemed to tower upwards like a huge rock toppling, his trunk reaching skyward like a tree” (34).
In this passage in which the elephant is killed, Orwell uses similes connoting elements of inanimate nature—the collapsing body like "a huge rock" and the trunk like "a tree." The effect of these similes reinforces Orwell's description of the elephant as a peaceful creature and the killing of it as a form of vandalism.
Blood like velvet (simile)
“The thick blood welled out of him like red velvet, but still he did not die.”
Orwell is sparing in his descriptive adjectives and he rarely uses direct metaphors or similes. When the elephant dies however, he selects strong and vivid descriptions, such as this simile. By comparing the blood to red velvet, he presents a visual and richly textured image that stands out from the other language and effectively amplifies the gravity of the death.
The elephant as machine (metaphor)
“If the elephant charged and I missed him, I should have about as much chance as a toad under a steam-roller. But even then I was not thinking particularly."
In this comic comparison to a steam-roller crushing a toad, we see the power of the elephant in contrast to the vulnerability of the human. We have a sense of the elephant's might. This sense will resonate as we see the elephant being brought down.
