(855) 4-ESSAYS

Type a new keyword(s) and press Enter to search

Social Pressure in Shooting an Elephant

            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.


Essays Related to Social Pressure in Shooting an Elephant

1. How to shoot an elephant

When he turned and looked he knew that he had no choice; he had to shoot the elephant. ... Plus, if he would leave with out shooting the elephant, he would most surely be mocked. ... He had succumbed to the pressures, both social and cultural, by the pulling of the trigger. Cultural background and social pressures can completely change a person's train of thought, as these two essays have shown. If the Burmese people had not been behind Orwell in "Shooting an Elephant" the creature would have lived. ...

  • Word Count: 559
  • Approx Pages: 2
  • Grade Level: High School

2. Shooting and Elephant Analysis

The essay "Shooting an Elephant," by George Orwell, is set in time during the 1800's when the country of Burma had been conquer and put under British imperialistic rule. "Shooting an Elephant," is illustrated through the eyes of Orwell himself while working as a British Imperial Officer during this time of British rule. ... Likewise, in "Shooting an Elephant," Orwell demonstrates these views by describing his own experience with political and social injustice. ... As the essay proceeds, Orwell is overwhelmed by an unparalleled force pressuring him to shoot th...

  • Word Count: 951
  • Approx Pages: 4
  • Has Bibliography
  • Grade Level: Undergraduate

3. A Big Fat Target

The narrator in George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is faced with precisely this kind of situation. ... Although today we are often led to abandon reason and behave in an irrational manner as a result of pressure from a group, this rarely occurs in adulthood or to the extent described in "Shooting an Elephant." The British officer makes an irrational decision and shoots the escaped elephant against his will; he gives in to the pressure from the mob and pressure as a European officer to perform his duty without showing weakness. ... He is thus compelled to shoot the elephant, even aft...

  • Word Count: 606
  • Approx Pages: 2

4. decision making

The answers varied from personal feelings to what is socially acceptable, from religion to legality. ... With peer pressure, the pressures of conformity, and the need to fit in, the present generation is making decisions based on other peoples belief systems; thus, risking their future and well being to gain the acceptance of others, and subtracting from the beauty that ones personality possesses. ...

  • Word Count: 4508
  • Approx Pages: 18
  • Grade Level: High School

Got a writing question? Ask our professional writer!
Submit My Question