Life in a British overseas colony in the waning days of imperialism
. In Burmese Days George Orwell vividly describes life in a British overseas colony in the waning days of imperialism. What does this book tell us about the interaction between Europeans and the people over whom they ruled in the late colonial period? How do the British characters view the Asians? How do the Asian characters view the British? What do the British see as their mission or role in Burma? Do all of the British characters believe in what they are supposed to be doing in Burma? What sorts of costs—psychological, political, etc.—resulted from imperialism (both for the British and the locals)? Based on what you have learned about imperialism from this book, was the collapse of the British (and other European) overseas empire probably inevitable?