The Novel “Burmese Days” by George Orwell Research Paper

September 18, 2021 by Essay Writer

Introduction

European colonialism is one of the significant developments in world history. The British Empire is one of the major European powers that took part in imperialism during the ancient period. In the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution caused serious contradictions in the European society. This led to the rise of new imperialism. Thus, the rise of colonialism in the second half of the 19th century is linked to the growth of capitalism in Europe.

During the 19th century, Britain acquired colonies in Asia. Burma was one of the British colonies in South Asia. Colonialism led to social, economic, and political challenges in Burma. Thus, scholars, politicians, and writers have analyzed the causes and impacts of the British colonization of Burma. George Orwell has attempted to discuss the British colonialism in Burma. The characters in the Burmese Days depict some features of colonialism in Burma. Nonetheless, this essay argues that Orwell’s novel does not provide a detailed account of colonialism because of the following reasons.

Critical Aspects of Colonialism Omitted in the Novel

Background of Colonialism

The novel focuses on the British social and economic activities in Burma in the 1920s. Nonetheless, it does not discuss the factors that led to colonialism in Burma. Orwell served as a police officer in Burma between 1922 and 1927. He wrote the novel from his personal observations, experiences, and prejudice. Therefore, some discussions in the novel do not reflect colonialism in Burma. It is for this reason that the novel ignores some critical information such as the background of colonialism in Burma.

The background of colonialism is important in understanding the motives behind the British imperialism in Burma. The British colonization of Burma was a gradual process that took several years. Before, the arrival of the British, Burma was located along the major trade routes that linked China and India. Therefore, the strategic position of Burma is one of the factors that motivated the British to conquer it. Apart from trade, agriculture was a predominant economic activity in Burma (Desai 67).

Conflict ensued between Myanmar and the colonialists when the King of Burma decided to invade Arkana territory. Arkana was near the British protectorate in India. The Anglo-Burmese War occurred between 1824 and 1826. The British defeated the Burmese in this conflict. In 1852, there was another conflict between the Burmese and the British. In this case, the British wanted to exploit teak forests located in Lower Burma, but the Burmese did not want foreigners to exploit their resources. The British won the second Anglo-Burmese Conflict. In Myanmar, the British were determined to exploit natural resources such as rubber, oil, and teak (Charney 234). Thus, commercial interests were the main reasons that led to the British colonization of Myanmar. The British ambitions led to another Anglo-Burmese War in 1885. This war led to the final British colonization of Myanmar. After colonization, the Kingdom of Myanmar was known as Burma.

Colonial Administration in Burma

Direct rule was an important feature of colonialism in Burma. Unfortunately, the novel does not provide a clear analysis of the colonial administrative structures in Burma. It only provides an obscure account of the colonial administrative cadres through various characters in the novel. For instance, only a few characters such as Macgregor and Lieutenant Verrall depict the presence of European colonial administrators in Burma.

The British applied various systems of political administration in their overseas territories. In Burma and Northern, the British applied direct rule system of administration. In I886, Burma became part of the British colonial possessions in Asia. The British destroyed the monarchy and introduced new administrative structures. In addition, they introduced formal education to civilize the natives (Harvey 78).

The British established an authoritative government that undermined the interests of the Burmese. During the colonial period, the Burmese occupied the lowest cadre in the direct rule system of administration. For example, the British appointed village elders to implement their policies.

Nationalism in Burma

The struggle for nationalism in Burma was a significant historical event, but it was not discussed in the novel. The British social, economic, and political domination of the Burmese led to the rise of nationalism in Burma. The natives detested land alienation, taxation, and forced labor. They also wanted to participate in political administration of Burma. Thus, they formed a nationalist movement at the beginning of the 20th century. In the first two decades of the twentieth century, the Buddhist criticized Christianity and colonialism (Charney 123-124). They also requested the colonial regime to introduce political and economic reforms in Burma. Moreover, colonial education led to the rise of native political leaders in Burma. For example, a few natives studied law in Britain. When they went back to Burma, they started agitating for political reforms and constitutional amendments. In 1937, the British detached Burma from the Indian colony and made a new constitution to govern it. Additionally, the British allowed the natives to participate in political activities. Nonetheless, the natives were not satisfied with these political reforms and continued to fight for independence (Harvey 145).

Discussion of Colonialism in the Novel

Capitalism led to the rise of imperialism. Imperialism refers to the extension of social, economic, and political hegemony of a developed country to a less developed one. Therefore, the British colonized Burma to fulfill their economic ambitions. For instance, they wanted raw materials, investment opportunities, and markets for their finished products. The following features of colonialism have been discussed in the novel.

Colonial Economy

Before the arrival of the British in Burma, the traditional monarchy regulated economic activities. For example, it regulated prices of major commodities. Agriculture was the predominant economic activity in Burma. Rich merchants carried out international trade. For example, they exported and imported goods from China and India. The Burmese benefitted from their strategic position along the trade routes that connected India and China.

After conquering Burma, the British developed transport networks to facilitate exploitation of resources in the interior of Burma. For example, they constructed the railway. The British colonialism transformed the economy of Burma in several ways. First, the British alienated large parcels of land to facilitate commercial agriculture. Thus, the natives became landless. Second, Africans were forced to provide labor to the settler farmers. Land alienation and forced labor curtailed agricultural production among the Burmese. For example, intensive rice production led to the pushing of natives into unproductive lands called native reserves. Poor living conditions in the reserves compelled the natives to provide cheap labor to the European farmers. Furthermore, the colonial regime imposed heavy taxes on the Burmese.

British investors established various companies in Burma. For example, Timber factories became an important economic activity because Burma was endowed with timber resources. For example, Flory was a wealthy timber merchant in Burma (Orwell 45-46). The establishment of factories led to serious exploitation of minerals and forests in Burma. European investors exported raw materials and finished products from Burma to the international markets. Initially, the introduction of international commerce led to the decline of local trade in Burma.

Racial Segregation in Employment

During the colonial period, formal employment opportunities were reserved for European settlers and migrant laborers from India. Indeed, only a few Indians were formally employed in the colonial government. Dr. Veraswami was the only Indian doctor in Burma during the colonial period. This depicts racial segregation in employment. Furthermore, the European expatriates in Burma seriously discriminated against Dr. Veraswami. For example, he was not allowed to join the English club because he was not a European. The natives mainly provided manual labor to the European farmers. Some of them offered casual labor services in construction projects. This reveals the racial segregation in economic activities during the colonial period. The natives were the lowest paid workers. Moreover, they were subjected to long working hours.

Complexity of Colonial Societies

The complexity of colonial societies has been discussed through various characters. In the novel, the theme of imperialism reveals the complexity of colonial societies. The European characters in the novel have various attitudes towards the British imperialism. Flory refers to imperialism as the British exploitation of Burma. According to Flory, the British pretended that they wanted to uplift the social and economic conditions of the Burmese, but they exploited them.

Conversely, Dr. Veraswami contends that the British administration led to the rise of civilization, construction of transport infrastructure, and improvement of social amenities. Furthermore, Dr. Veraswami argues that colonialism led to the rise of formal employment in Burma.

Flory counters this argument by pointing out categorically that the British simply transformed the Burmese into poor wage laborers. Flory told Dr. Veraswami that he was only in Burma to achieve his economic interests. Hence, he never wanted the British rule in Burma to be abolished. Furthermore, Flory sexually exploited Ma Hla May because she was a poor native woman. Later, he chased her away after falling in love with a white woman called Elizabeth.

The social conditions of the Burmese deteriorated during the colonial period due to the following reasons. First, poverty became endemic among the natives because the aliens dominated them economically (Harvey 90-92). Second, the Europeans paid the natives meager wages. Poverty led to serious suffering among the natives. Some of them participated in crime due to lack of employment opportunities. There was social stratification in Burma during the colonial period. Undeniably, the Burmese were undermined in all spheres of life because of racism. Conversely, the European colonialists such as Flory became rich because they exploited the natives.

Portrayal of Asian and European Characters in the Novel

Racism played a significant role in the colonization and exploitation of the Burmese. The British believed that that they were racially superior to other races. Hence, they had the mission to conquer and dominate others races. The behavior of some characters in the novel reveals that there was serious racism in colonial Burma. Although racism was rife during the colonial period, the Europeans had divergent views about it. Some characters in the novel exhibited the European prejudice against the Burmese. For example, Ellis and Mr. Lackerstreen undermined the Burmese by calling them a dirty race. Nonetheless, some English club members such as Flory and Macgregor criticized racism. For example, Mr. Macgregor attempted to register a native in the European club, but his colleagues such as Ellis and Mr. Lackerstreen criticized him. According to Ellis, it was unacceptable for Europeans to share a club with natives.

Flory was the only European who associated with the natives and appreciated their traditions. For instance, he was a good friend of Dr. Veraswami. Flory’s association with natives disgusted some members of the European club. Since Flory was shy, he could not openly fight for the rights of natives.

Although Flory associated with natives, Elizabeth believed that the Burmese were beasts. The behavior of Elizabeth demonstrates the European cultural and economic imperialism. Elizabeth strongly believed in cultural and economic superiority. Thus, she hated the natives and tried to fulfill her economic ambitions by looking for a rich husband. For example, she first loved Flory because he was a European. Later, she married Macgregor because he was a rich senior government official. Mrs. Lackersteen encouraged Elizabeth to get married to a rich person in the upper class.

Dr. Veraswami had great admiration for the Europeans, but undermined the dignity of Indians and Burmese. He believed that the natives were lesser beings. Moreover, he really supported the British activities in Burma. The thoughts of Dr. Veraswami are quite peculiar and do not mirror the general attitude of the educated Indians towards the British. This is one of the flaws in Orwell’s novel because during the colonial period, the educated Burmese and Indians criticized imperialism, but encouraged nationalism. The behavior of Dr. Veraswami reveals the negative impacts of European civilization on the natives. Colonial education led to cultural alienation of the natives; hence, they undermined their own culture and people. The author portrayed the European characters in the novel correctly. However, he wrongly portrayed some of the native characters such as Dr. Veraswami.

Conclusion

This essay has revealed that the British colonized Burma to achieve their economic goals. Colonialism transformed the social, economic, and political organization of Burma. Racism and economic exploitation were rife during the colonial period. Therefore, the Burmese suffered because the British dominated them in all aspects of life. This led to the struggle for nationalism in Burma.

Orwell has attempted to discuss colonialism in Burma by describing the European colonial administrators. The novel mainly discusses racism, class struggle, and capitalism, which took place in Burma during the British rule. These are important features of colonialism, but they are not discussed systematically in the novel.

Generally, the author has described the behavior of the European colonists correctly. However, he has not portrayed some of the native characters correctly. For example, Dr. Veraswami’s behavior shows that the natives completely accepted and supported the British rule. Unfortunately, this is not true since the natives struggled to achieve independence because the British dominated them. The author has not discussed some important aspects of colonialism. For example, he has not discussed the factors that led to colonialism. Moreover, he has not described the British direct rule system of administration and the struggle for nationalism in Burma. Consequently, the novel does not provide a detailed description of colonial events in Burma.