And once Elizabeth spurns him, he finds the ability to do right by his conscience and nominate the doctor, help put down the rebellion, and go after Elizabeth once more. Once can conceive of a better life he becomes more vocal about his opinions and support for the doctor. This is mostly due to the presence of Elizabeth, a character otherwise unlikeable but significant in that she is a catalyst for Flory's change. However, as the novel progresses, Flory finds his courage. He is lonely and unhappy but does nothing to change that. He does not really care for Ma Hla May but does not get rid of her. He knows he should be a more vocal advocate for his friend the doctor, but cannot bring himself to do so because of the row it would result in. He possesses numerous opinions but rarely gives voice to them. courageĬourage is the trait that is most obviously lacking in Flory when the reader first meets him. A strict gender structure is of equal importance to the English as their perception of a strict hierarchy of racial and social supremacy.

While Flory veers into 'feminine' territory with his emotionality, he is celebrated more when he is behaving in more 'masculine' ways. The men in the story typify the 'virtues' associated with their gender: hard-drinking, womanizing, loud and coarse, fond of outdoors pursuits, and possessing authority and autonomy. While she does embrace hunting and horseback riding, she is only somewhat skilled at the pursuits and is guided along by the men she is with.

Elizabeth's sole desire is to get married and live a life of ease she does not like hard work or any pursuits that require intellectual thought. The men and women in this novel generally adhere to the strict gender norms of their time. The reader is left with the understanding that imperialism is certainly not desirable for the natives, but that the natives themselves seem just as corrupt and/or incapable of doing anything themselves. As a part of the imperial system once, Orwell has a modicum of sympathy for the English trapped in it, and provides some excuses for them. His depiction of them veers close to caricature and cipher. On the other hand, Orwell does not seem able to move fully past an imperial worldview and conceive of the natives as fully-fledged human beings. On the one hand, he is keenly aware of its deleterious effects on both the colonizers and the colonized, and, through the words of Flory, is able to articulate the hypocritical and specious behavior and beliefs of the Europeans who stake their claim in the East. Orwell's feelings on imperialism are complicated.

Burmese days