Elizabeth's Feelings Towards Flory Change example essay topic

About the book: The book "Burmese Days" was written by George Orwell and published first in 1934. Orwell took the inspiration for this first novel of his from the experiences he gained during his service as an imperial police officer in Burma in the late 1920's. There he was confronted with extreme forms of imperialism, causing racism and also chauvinism. These are also the main topics of the novel and although they are wrapped up in the story of a single man's fate, John Flory's, these topics caused some problems with the publishing of the book.

For that reason the book was first published in America, the English version wasn't published until some changes - mainly name changes - were made which was nearly a year later. "Burmese Days" is set in 1920's Burma under British colonialism. It focuses on the imperialism of the British and its effects on the relationships between the British, the British and Indians, and between the Indians themselves. So negative is the portrayal by Orwell of imperialism that it can be seen as a novel without hope in terms of altering the imperialistic structure of the British rule in Burma. No character- British or Burmese- appears to be capable of escaping the destructive trap of imperialism. Orwell points out clearly his negative attitude on European politics at his times, for in his youth he was very much in favour of the Marxist ideology and so is the protagonist of the novel "Burmese Days", John Flory.

The novel concentrates on the town of Kyauktada in Upper Burma. Kyauktada is described as hot and sultry. It is a small town of about four thousand people. The overwhelming majority of the inhabitants are Burmese, but there are also a hundred Indians, two Eurasians, sixty Chinese, and Seven Europeans. Nevertheless, as in all imperialistic societies the small group of Europeans suppresses the great majority of the native people, who seem to accept perfectly the superiority of the white people. Orwell criticizes this feeling of inferiority the Europeans give the Burmans and especially the Eurasians, because for their existence the Europeans are even responsible.

Although he seems very much in favour of the so-called inferior people, the novel gives a certain impression of the Asian character to the reader, which is not very likeable. The Asian people are described - and not only by the characters of the book that are meant to be in favour of the British imperialistic government in Burma - as false, two-faced and spineless. Prestige is all for them and they would do everything to get it. Maybe Orwell's real impression of the Burmese wasn't as positive as one could think while reading the passages about the behaviour of the English, sometimes he even seems to loathe the Burmese, but then again his Marxist ideas force him to write in favour of the socially disgraced. Orwell points out this conflict very consciously, as his own comment on his service in Burma proofs: "I was in the Indian Police for five years, and by the end of that time I hated the imperialism I was serving with a bitterness which I probably cannot make clear.

[... ] I had reduced everything to the simple theory that the oppressed are always right and the oppressors are always wrong: a mistaken theory, but the natural result of being one of the oppressors yourself. I felt I had got to escape not merely from imperialism but from every form of man's dominion over man. ' (George Orwell) In the novel George Orwell also gives a very detailed description of the Burmese landscape and its flora. It is typical for the author to draw parallels between the mental state of the main characters and their environment and so he does in the book. He describes the exotic plant life in Burma clearly and links it up to John Flory's feeling of being a stranger in a strange country.

The changes of weather and vegetation during the seasons in Burma can be compared to the changes of Flory's emotions. At the beginning of the story, when John Flory is completely indifferent to his environment, also the descriptions of the plant world aren't very important. But while the story develops, and especially when Elizabeth, the woman Flory falls in love with, comes to Kyauktada, Flory takes more and more notice of the things happening around him and so he does of the weather and the changes in Burmese flora. So, for example, Florys emotions are linked up very much to the frangipani tree under which Flory and Elizabeth kiss for the first and the last time. He hates it, because in his opinion it stinks, and on the other hand he is longing for bringing back this one beautiful moment linked up so close to it. But also colours play a big role in the story, the colours of birds, symbolizing their characters in a way and making Flory feeling sorry for them when he shoots them, the colours of the plants and the vegetation in Burma, which goes from beautiful and luxuriant to dusty, ugly and dried out.

In the same manner, Orwell "dresses" Elizabeth in certain colours when she and Flory have a better relationship to each other and paints her clothes different when she is upset with Flory. The dress that is the symbol for her greatest affection for Flory is lilac-coloured and she wears it twice, once at their first meeting and for the second time when they kiss under the frangipani tree. Another interesting thing is the almost tremendous increase of the heat before the rains break in and the parallel in the aggravation of the tensions between the Europeans themselves and the Europeans and the Burmans, which Orwell draws with an amazing continuity. As the story approaches towards its end, the rains break in and at first they seem to release Flory and to change everything for the better, because after the rumour the Burmese started is headed off, Flory's friend Dr. Veraswami gains a lot of prestige and Elizabeth is close to love Flory, which goes all hand in hand with the beginning of the rainy season.

But as it has to be, a novel by George Orwell can't have a happy end. As the rains first stop to fall for a short time and the sky has the colour of lead, which remembers Flory of his youth, everything turns over in the catastrophe of Florys whole life again. The short break between the rainfalls is a symbol for U Po Kyins chance to do his enemies some harm again and so he does, taking all the prestige a Burmese can take away from an Englishman, away from Flory at one evil strike. After that, Elizabeth won't speak a word with Flory again what makes him make the decision to shoot himself dead. Coming closer and closer to this decision in a few hours, also the rain starts to fall again, halting, at first, but getting stronger and stronger and when Flory killed himself it is fully there again which symbolizes the final release of Fory, who just did not fit into that world. Characters: John Flory: The timber merchant at the age of about thirty five is the protagonist of the novel.

He is described as a sallow-faced man with stiff black hair and a cropped moustache, not looking much older than his age, but with an emaciated look in his face. The most noticeable thing about his outward appearance is a hideous dark blue birthmark, stretching from the eye to the corner of the mouth over his left cheek. This birthmark serves partly as an outward expression of his left-leaning habits of mind that make him inwardly different from his coevals and partly serves him as an excuse for his cowardice: Although Flory appreciates the local culture, has native allegiances, and detests the racist machinations of his fellow Club members, he is not so much a man to stand up for his opinion or at least for his friends. Surrounded by a group of Englishmen feeling perfectly superior to every other culture and slimy native officials Flory has grown so desperate and even indifferent to the world he lives in that at the beginning of the novel his only activities, which nevertheless give not the least pleasure to him, are drinking and having his mistress Ma Hla May. His character changes though, while the story develops.

Especially the appearance of the young and beautiful Elizabeth Lackersteen causes a kind of waking up from the sleep like kind of state Flory has been in during the past years and even gives him the courage to defend his Indian friend Dr. Veraswami, against whom an intrigue is running. Elizabeth Lackersteen: Elizabeth appears first in chapter VI, which is quite interesting because Orwell uses chapter V for a detailed description of Flory's mental state and his wish to have someone in this "alien and hated country" who would "carry away from Burma the same memories as he carried". The unexpected appearance of Elizabeth gives the impression to the reader that she will be the one to share his thoughts and feelings. This expectation though is disappointed quickly. The following chapter is mainly used to describe the character and former life of Elizabeth and she turns out to be the a convinced anti-intellectual (" 'Highbrow' was a bitter word in her vocabulary". ) and very much in favour of "little-rich-girl-stuff" like horse-riding and sun-bathing at the beach of Cannes. For her everything is classifiable into "beastly", which means the cheap, the shabby, the laborious and "lovely", which includes the expensive, the elegant and the aristocratic.

Although she certainly is meant to be the complete contrary of John Flory, young, stylish with her bobbed hair and modern dresses and her aristocratic philosophy of life, Flory falls in love with her immediately, thinking of her as the one to share his inner with him. Later he recognises that she isn't the person he thought her to be but still he loves her. Dr. Veraswami: The Indian doctor and only friend of John Flory is the highest non-European official in Kyauktada. As Flory he is in a culturally isolated position, caught between two cultures. The doctor constantly praises the benefits of western "civilisation" and "progress", but of course isn't received by the "Europeans". Naturally enough, the ignorant Europeans hate him as an educated and friendly Asian and nickname him "Dr. Very-slimy".

They hate him even more because they know about their dependence on him as the only doctor in the town. Dr. Veraswami is very loyal towards the English government and when the question comes up whether to elect a non-European to the European's only club it is clear that as the highest official among the Asians he would have to be the one to elect. U Po Kyin: The villain of the novel "Burmese Days" appears to resemble a caricature of the villain as such. He is a fat and ugly man, rich and feared by everyone, the most by them who work for him. As a child he once watched some British soldiers, marching through the village where he lived and since then he always wished to become a parasite among them, sucking out this race, who seemed to him so superior to his own people. He is clever and does never make a mistake, he always strikes at the weakest spot of his enemy, which is why he is also nicknamed "the crocodile".

His last big wish before he wants to start the preparation for his next life, is to be elected into the Europeans-only-club and he is willing to do everything to get what he wants. Verrall: The military policeman is an unspeakable cad, but also a kind of hero. He is the kind of schoolboy athlete-hero - insolent, ill-mannered, selfish, but in a sort of way magnificent. Verrall is the standard English public school hero: an athlete, handsome, self-assured and commanding obedience in others. There are only two things he seriously cares about: clothes and horses, and where he comes he leaves a pile of debts because he never pays a bill, neither when it is to pay money or to take any other kind of responsibility. He is contrasted with Flory, with his hideous birthmark, his low taste for consorting with "natives" and his poor showing as a horseman.

Flory is humbly content to have his girl back when Verrall has finished with her. While hating Verrall, Flory accepts his superiority. Ma Hla May: She is Flory's mistress and believes that women have a certain power over a man after they have slept with him. She is only about twenty-two or twenty three and with her tiny, slender body she looks a bit like doll.

Sometimes she steels things from Flory. Nevertheless, Flory somehow loved her some time ago but when Elizabeth turns up he lets her down. This makes her desperate and she starts to hate him because in her eyes he has stolen her youth, her good years and now she never will find a husband. Ko S'La: Is Flory's servant and friend since they were children. He knows about the moods Flory is often in and worries more about his life than about his own. He is a perfect servant who even can undress and bath Flory while sleeping and without waking him.

He is always angry about the women Flory takes home because he thinks that women have a bad influence on his master. Members of the Europeans-only-club: Mr. Westfield: Westfield is the District Superintendent of Police. He is a member of the English society in Kyauktada and a quite good fellow, nearly everything he says is "intended for a joke". He is a very peaceful person and stops Ellis if he gets to eager in swearing on the natives. Mr. Lackersteen: He is the manager of a timber firm and a bit of a drunkard.

Lackersteen is a man at about forty and the uncle of Elizabeth. As she comes to Kyauktada and lives in his house he sometimes tries to have sex with her. Mrs. Lackersteen: She is Mr. Lackersteen's wife and the aunt of Elizabeth. Mrs. Lackersteen is the typical "memsahib" which means kind of a woman who is always ready to complain about her servants in any possible way without being able to do anything on her own. She hates to stay in Burma even more than the other Europeans. Ellis: The local manager of this or other company in Kyauktada hates the natives more than any other European.

He often longs for the good old time before the war (World War I. ), when there was a law that allowed the Europeans to do almost everything they wanted to with the natives. He loves to invent scandals about people he quarreled with and is a great show-off in general. Ellis hates Flory because of his Bolshevist ideas and swears a lot on him. Mr. Maxwell: Is a young man and the Divisional Forest Officer. He hasn't got really good friends in the Club or anywhere else in Kyauktada. Maxwell is a good fellow in the club but nobody really misses him as a person when he gets killed.

Mr. Macgregor: The president of the Europeans-only-club is a quite good-tempered man by nature and tries to get along with everyone as peacefully as possible. When he enters a room he always gives the impression of a schoolmaster or a clergyman who is inspecting the pupils. He is also the owner of the only car in Kyauktada. The Plot: Overview: The plot of "Burmese Days" revolves around John Flory, a manager of a logging firm based in the fictional town of Kyauktada in Upper Burma. Flory has been in Burma for eight years, speaks fluent Burmese and Hindustani, and has a rare admiration for the locals and their ways. Although there are a handful of other British residents in Kyauktada, Flory feels alienated from the other - narrow-minded - Europeans who are not willing to accept the people and the culture of the country they live in in any way.

Flory therefore keeps his opinions to himself during obligatory visits to the Europeans-only-club, where the British meet daily to drink and curse the insolence and ingratitude of the natives. His only real friend is Dr. Veraswami, an Indian doctor whose enthusiasm for British rule Flory finds mildly exasperating but amusing. When U Po Kyin, a corrupt and grasping Burmese official, made powerful through his manipulation of the corrupt colonial system, desires one last victory before settling down to a life of religious penitence through philanthropy: he seeks admittance to the Europeans-only-club. But the Club in the town of Kyauktada is reputed to be the only one in Burma yet closed to native membership. When the possibility arises of one native being admitted, U Po Kyin sets out to destroy his only competitor for the slot, Dr. Veraswami, by circulating calumnies in a series of anonymous letters. Knowing that his election to the club would be his last chance not to be ruined by U Po Kyin, Veraswami still wouldn't dare to ask Flory to propose him for membership to the club but requests him at least to vote for him if the election comes up.

Meanwhile, just as Flory seems to have grown complacent with his solitary existence, Elizabeth Lackersteen, the young niece of Tom Lackersteen, one of the other British residents, arrives in Kyauktada and Flory falls in love with her immediately. He deludes himself into believing that she is different - open-minded, egalitarian, highbrow - but she turns out to be just as narrow and bigoted and middlebrow as the other Anglo-Indians. He wins her, loses her, wins her... Suddenly made aware of his loneliness by his feelings for Elizabeth, Flory begins to despair.

In his absence from England he has become distant from family and friends, and his ties to the land of his birth have nearly disintegrated. Though Flory has grown comfortable with life in Burma, to show any affection for the subject land or its people is viewed as traitorous among the small community of colonials, who spend much of their time reminiscing about their homeland. Florys attempts to interest Elizabeth in their Burmese surroundings fail miserably and she instead chooses the closed European society symbolized by the club. In the end, Flory's blind love for Elizabeth leads him to disgrace and a tragic end. The Story: Before even the protagonist of the book is presented, George Orwell allows the reader to access a world full of malice; he introduces first the villain of the book, U Po Kyin. At first this order of introducing the characters and the setting could seem to be chosen unintentionally, but having read the book it gets clear that there is an intention behind it; Orwell wants the reader to get a feeling for the world the story is set in and also to know that in this world no happy end is possible for the upright and the honest.

At the beginning of the novel, U Po Kyin is doing his "morning business", which means that he takes some bribes and makes some sinister plans and at the moment he is thinking mostly about how to ruin Dr. Veraswami and within that, how to harm Flory because as long as Fory is a honourable man, his friendship with the doctor makes Dr. Veraswami quite invulnerable. John Flory on the other hand, is presented as a desperate and resigned character, hopelessly alone with his intellectual ideas and opinions in a small town in Upper Burma named Kyauktada, surrounded by ignorant Englishmen and slimy Asians. There is no doubt about the fact that this man has no chance to stand the attacks of a man like U Po Kyin, ready to make use of any methods and prepared to go to any length. The reason for which U Po Kyin gets interested in harming Flory is his friendship with the Indian doctor Dr. Veraswami, who stands between U Po Kyin and his election to the Europeans only club. Although Flory doesn't believe that a Burmese magistrate could do him - as a European - any harm, in the end of the story it appears to be possible. Flory's friendship with the doctor is his only possibility to get away from the shallow club chatter and endless swearing on the Asians and talk to an educated and friendly person.

The first few chapters are mainly used to introduce the characters of the book and to give the reader an impression what life in Burma is like. Besides a meeting between Flory and Dr. Veraswami, when the doctor tells his friend first about the intrigue U Po Kyin is planning to run against him and they talk a bit about the election of one native member to the Europeans-only club, nothing really relevant happens. An atmosphere of indifference and sleepiness predominates most of the time in the story, especially during the first five chapters, before Elizabeth Lackersteen, the "impossible she" appears. She comes to Burma after having lived in Paris with her mother who was incapable to lead a proper life since her husband died and she was left on a small pension and without a single servant. Elizabeth's life was full of ups and downs until she came to Kyauktada, for some time she even "rubbed shoulders with the rich" at an expensive boarding school, when her father had made a good deal of money but then again she had to live on an tiny income and so on. Especially the last years were very difficult for her and when her mother died her uncle and her aunt wrote from Kyauktada that she should stay with them.

The intention behind coming to Burma for Elizabeth is to find a husband and finally settle down. The real story doesn't start to evolve until the beginning of chapter six: In the morning Flory gets a letter signed with "A FRIEND" which contains piles of accusations against Dr. Veraswami and proofs that U Po Kyin has already started his game. Flory is making up his mind whether to show the letter to Dr. Veraswami or not when there suddenly is a scream of a woman crying out in terror that makes everyone look what has happened. Flory reacts quickly and runs to the place the cry came from. There, behind some bushes and next to a small pool of water he discovers Elizabeth, surrounded by some water-buffaloes and therefore chalk-faced and shaking. He "saves" her by smacking the angriest buffalo with a stick on the nose.

This makes a great impression on Elizabeth and for the moment she sees Flory as her hero. They spend a great part of the day together, with Flory trying to talk with her about books and her not listening. This meeting makes Flory feel something close to life again. The next day, Flory and Elizabeth meet at the club by chance and having decided to go for a walk, they cross a so called "p we dance", which is a custom of the Burmans and which Flory considers to be quite interesting. Therefore he asks Elizabeth to sit down there and watch it for a while.

Because of the presence of the two Europeans, the best dancer is told to dance immediately and Elizabeth and Flory sit down to watch it. But Elizabeth feels rather uncomfortable about the situation, sitting among natives, almost touching them and watching this foreign and strange kind of dance. Soon she stands up and runs away, very angry with Flory who had brought her into that uncomfortable situation. Elizabeth's feelings towards Flory change all the time. His attitude towards the natives and his critical opinion on the British Empire seem to be completely revolting to her but on the other hand, when he talks about shallow stuff, especially about shooting, she really admires him and enjoys his company a lot. Flory still doesn't realize that Elizabeth is a narrow-minded and arrogant person and tries once again to take her to the bazaar and among the natives.

This time it ends even worse: When Elizabeth can't bear the heat and the Burmans all around her any longer, Flory takes her to a shop, owned by Li Yeisk, a Chinese, to have a rest. Elizabeth refuses to drink the tea he offers them and again she is angry with Flory who brought her into that situation. And when a little boy, crawling around on the floor, does a wee-wee there without anybody noticing it she springs up and runs away. About the same time, U Po Kyin is marching up and down in his living room, pleased by the way the feud between him and Dr. Veraswami is developing. The whole town is split up into two sides, while the one in favour of Dr. Veraswami is much smaller and the intrigues against him are running on and on. With their fight it has gone even so far, that the arrest of one of U Po Kyins henchmen provokes a small riot in a village near Kyauktada.

U Po Kyin, who knows always the best and most effective way of ruining somebody, has sent a letter to every European he knows to be not clearly against Dr. Veraswami, that contains various accusations, none of which could ever be proofed, but which is enough to take away from a non-European what he needs most in a country like Burma: Prestige. At his next visit at Dr. Veraswami's, Flory notices him to be preoccupied a lot and having learned that it is still U Po Kyin who makes his friend worry, he promises, encouraged by his love to Elizabeth and the feeling it gives to him, to propose the doctor for the election to the club. Meanwhile Ma Hla May, Flory's former mistress, whom he had let down after falling in love with Elizabeth, starts to blackmail him for money. At first she still tries to win him back but realizing that there is no chance for her she demands Flory more and more often for money. The next meeting of Flory and Elizabeth is more pleasant for her than the former ones: They go for a shooting trip. They spend a wonderful day together, Elizabeth admires Flory's shooting skills and in the end they even shoot a leopard whose skin Flory wants to get cured and give it to Elizabeth.

This beautiful day gives Flory courage and in the evening at the club, when he sees that Elizabeth is wearing the same dress that she wore in the morning when they met first, he even dares to kiss her. But before he has a chance to ask her to marry him, an earthquake disturbs them and Mrs Lackersteen, Elizabeth's aunt comes to them, pretending to be preoccupied because of the earthquake but in fact, having found a man who would be a better husband for Elizabeth in her eyes, with the intention to prevent that Flory and her niece get engaged. To be sure that nothing like this can happen, she tells Elizabeth that Flory was keeping a Burmese mistress. This makes her so angry that she doesn't even want to talk to Flory. The man Mrs Lackersteen wants Elizabeth to marry is a young and arrogant lieutenant, named Verrall, who was sent to Kyauktada in order to prevent any future riots. When Flory meets him first, he is playing polo on his ponies and tries hard to ignore Flory who wants to make his acquaintance.

Flory even manages to make Verrall let him have a try on one of the horses, but his servants don't tighten the girth and Flory falls down the same instant as the pony begins to run. At this moment Elizabeth passes them but doesn't talk a word with Flory who tries to greet her and tell her what has happened. Desperate by the fact that he has lost Elizabeth, Flory goes to the camp to work and to escape the unpleasant situation with Elizabeth. But even there he doesn't feel better and is incapable of doing anything except drinking. Meanwhile in Kyauktada, Elizabeth and Verrall start to come closer to each other. With him she shares the attitude towards Asian people and the feeling of superiority and apart from that, his fascination for horses.

They go for rides almost every day and when Flory finally comes back because he wants to talk to Elizabeth, he has to see how the two of them ride into the wood and the horses come back much earlier than the two of them. Flory wants to win Elizabeth back by giving the leopard skin to her but the man who should have cured it ruined it and so Flory makes the situation even worse when he comes to the Lackersteen's house and offers the skin to Elizabeth. Verrall, not being the type to marry a woman after he had some fun with her, simply disappears after some time and Elizabeth and her aunt, both desperate because of this, silently decide to have another try on Flory. At the same time another riot breaks out in a town next to Kyauktada, of course conducted by U Po Kyin, which causes great noise in the town and the Europeans' complaining about the Asians gets louder and louder. Trying to arrest the rioters, young Mr. Maxwell unfortunately kills one of them. After the riot is over, there doesn't seem to be any danger for the Europeans anymore and Maxwell returns to the camp unguarded.

Flory finally finds the courage to propose his friend, the doctor, for the election to the club, which would have nearly caused a Europeans serious fight between the Europeans if not at this moment some Burmans had brought Mr Maxwell's corpse. He has been murdered by some supporters of the rioters. This news comes to Kyauktada like a bomb because it is a sacrilege to kill a white man in a country like Burma. The situation now is seriously tensed up and it escalates one evening into a great riot, after Ellis had a quarrel with some Burmese boys. The natives surround the Europeans' club and call for Ellis to come out of the house. The situation aggravates until Flory has the idea to escape through the river and call for help this way.

He manages to do it and calls for help at the police station. He gives order to shoot over the crowd and after this the riot dissolves very quickly. The next day, Flory is celebrated as a hero and also Dr. Veraswami is honoured because of his bravery in fighting the rioters. His prestige is cured again and there doesn't seem to stand anything between him and his election to the club. Elizabeth shows interest in Flory again, now that he is a hero and everything seems to be alright, which all happens when the rains break out after a long time. But U Po Kyin, the crocodile, sees one more chance to get what he wants.

He makes use of Ma Hla May's situation and manages to make her ruin Flory: As the padre arrives at Kyauktada, all the Englishmen go to church and Flory is feeling good because he thinks of Elizabeth nearly as his wife and he knows that his friend the doctor is perfectly rehabilitated. Suddenly Ma Hla May appears in the church, a thing she never would have dared to do on her own, crying out that she wants the money from Flory and shouting dirty words. Flory, unable to move, lets things happen until the two Eurasians throw Ma Hla May out of the church. This is the end of Flory's short period of being socially accepted and Elizabeth starts to hate him from the bottom of her heart because she nearly had married a man who has to go through such a shameful situation. When the service is over, Elizabeth runs away, trying to escape from Flory but he catches her and tries to talk to her reasonably. When he asks her if she would ever marry him after what has happened, not now but after a while when the whole thing was forgotten, she answers that she never would.

Having heard this, Flory goes him and shoots his dog Flo and himself. Ko S'La calls for the doctor who comes immediately and manages to pretend that it wasn't suicide but an accident. Not that anybody in the town would believe in this but still it is at least the official version. After Flory has shot himself, everything changes again. Elizabeth, who appears to be the only one to be surprised by Flory's suicide, marries Mr. McGregor after a while, who certainly for her is a better husband than Flory would have been, Dr. Veraswami, without a European protector, is easy to ruin for U Po Kyin now and has to leave Kyauktada, U Po Kyin becomes, as he had wished a member of the Club but dies too early to manage to build some pagodas or do anything to wash away the sins he had committed during his life, which makes his wife worry whether he will be reborn as an ugly animal. Ko S'La and Flory's other servants try their luck on shop-keeping but fail and have to work as servants for another sahib.