Social Pressure is always around and everyone has or will experience social pressure more then once in there life time. Just don't let social pressure keep you from making the right decisions. Orwell didn't deal well with social pressure in "Shooting an Elephant". Orwell was already not a very popular person in his town of Moulmein. When the townspeople where for him and took his side for once he took advantage of it and instead of him doing what he thought was right he went against his own judgment and decided to make the townspeople happy so he wont look a fool.
In this essay Orwell knows what is right and how he should handle the situation but he is persuaded by the townspeople to do what he feels is wrong. Orwell says how he had no intentions of shooting the elephant and that doing so would be just like murder. He knew with "perfect certainty" that he ought not to shoot him, but Orwell fell victim to social pressure. Orwell knew that if he shoot the elephant he might finally get some respect from them and the townspeople would be for him and cheer him for once instead of jeer him. Orwell noticed how this small ordeal was some what exciting and fun to the townspeople and that they were certain that the elephant was going to get shot. Orwell says that, "They did not like me but, with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching." This was his one chance maybe to finally get noticed and gain some respect, so he knows that he must now shot the elephant because it is what is expected from him. And he says how he couldn't just walk away because they would laugh at him. What the people thought of him was more important at this moment then his own thoughts. The social pressure becomes so much that Orwell shoots the elephant to please the crowd. Afterwards he realizes that what he did was wrong and makes excuses for himself to justify what he did.