"Shooting an Elephant"

1.) How is this a story about two disparate major themes? How are these themes intertwined?

In George Orwell's short story "Shooting an Elephant," imperialism and peer pressure are the major themes expressed. Although it may appear as if both themes differentiate from each other, Orwell intertwined these themes perfectly. “Shooting an Elephant” is about a British police officer who resided in Burma. He was despised by many of the residents in Burma and the only time he was liked was when he did something that he was completely against.
The British officer headed out to a village with only the knowledge that there was an elephant on the loose. He grabbed a gun and was off to see what he could possibly do. While in search for the elephant, a group of natives walked behind him, as if he were a leader. The natives were excited and awaited the death of the elephant, and in fear of displeasing the natives, the British officer did as they wanted: “but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind” (224). His reason for killing the elephant was not because he wanted to, but because he felt obliged to: “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool” (227). The British officer gave into the peer pressure and killed the elephant for the pleasure of the natives.
The British officer resides in a country where imperialism plays a major role and imperialism may be the reason why he gave into peer pressure. After living with the Burmese people and seeing how they are controlled by England, hatred for the English arose. Is that why the British officer decided to kill the elephant? His anti-European feelings could quite possibly have been the reason why he gave in to peer pressure.

2.) What tactics does Orwell employ when revealing unflattering aspects of himself?
Orwell revealed unflattering aspects of himself by comparing what he wanted to do with what the natives wanted him to do. George Orwell made it clear that shooting the elephant was only an option if the elephant was causing danger: "I had no intention of shooting the elephant- I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary" (224). Yet, he also mentioned the crowd behind him and how they were influencing him to do something out of his comfort zone. Overall, his submissiveness to peer pressure revealed these unflattering aspects of himself.