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Discussion Groups / English Usage / July 2009A sentence from "Shooting an Elephant" by Orwell
"I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, petty kind of way anti-European feeling was very bitter." What does "in an aimless, petty kind of way" mean here? I have difficulties interpreting the sentence. Please help me out. Thanks a lot! > "I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, > petty [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > difficulties interpreting > the sentence. Please help me out. Thanks a lot! It means that the people who were anti-European had not spent time considering their position. They just "felt" that they didn't like Europe without having any significant reason.  SignatureDavid >> "I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, >> petty [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > considering their position. They just "felt" that they didn't like > Europe without having any significant reason. I would have said "didn't like Europeans". SignatureLes (BrE) >>> "I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, >>> petty [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > I would have said "didn't like Europeans". Agreed Europe is nice. it's why the U.S. developed the neutron bomb. >>>> "I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an >>>> aimless, petty [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > > Agreed Europe is nice. it's why the U.S. developed the neutron bomb. Indeed. That's why we sent you Werner von Braun and his band of renown. SignatureJohn Dean Oxford >> "I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, >> petty [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > considering their position. They just "felt" that they didn't like > Europe without having any significant reason. I wouldn't have interpreted that sentence as saying anything about whether or not there was a significant reason for the anti-European feeling. I thought it described the effectiveness with which the feeling was expressed. Cheryl > "I was sub-divisional police officer of the town, and in an aimless, > petty [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > difficulties interpreting > the sentence. Please help me out. Thanks a lot! The anti-European feeling hadn't resulted in any group being formed (such as a political party or revolutionary army) and any actions that were a result of the anti-European feeling were minor - perhaps minor vandalism or rudeness or a criticism of some small characteristic of the European rule. In spite of the lack of revolutionaries and major attacks on Europeans, the local people were bitterly opposed to the presence of Europeans. Cheryl |
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