The subject of George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” is that other people can cause you to do many things and you may regret those actions later. The effect of peer pressure is illustrated when Orwell says, “The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill.” This shows he had a choice between his life and taking another. He being the “responsible” one, it was easier to just shoot the elephant.
“Shooting an Elephant” was written during the late 1930’s. The essay’s time of creation is exhibited when it mentions how “[he] was hated by large number of people” talking about how there was a gap between the natives and the Europeans. It happened for a while but we know there was football invented and there was a gap. It took place in Lower Burma which is a place in India. It mentions this in the opening sentence of the essay.
The time and place of the essay’s creation influence the essay because it affects the social issue’s going on during this period. If you chose another period of time it may not have the same social conflicts between the natives and the Europeans. Without this conflict, you wouldn’t have the pressure the Police officer was under, thus the elephant might not have been shot. It would eliminate the pressure thus losing the point of the essay.
George Orwell’s general audience for “Shooting an Elephant” is the Europeans in the 1940’s. This is given by the fact that he is talking about how they should stay strong in their opinions even if they are pressured by their enemies, otherwise it will result in guilt. With later research, we learn that it was published in a London newspaper, once in 1936 and again in 1946.
George Orwell’s purpose in “Shooting an Elephant” is to emphasize and teach you that peer pressure can be too much sometimes. Especially if it is negative peer pressure, you may do things in the heat of the moment that you might not do on your own without the pressure. The effects of peer pressure are illustrated by, “Among the Europeans it was divided. The older men said I was right, the younger men disagreed”. These shows there are two sides and he couldn’t think through the options rationally when in the moment.
George Orwell, the Englishman, believes that Europeans are superior to others. This value is illustrated by the way he talks to the Natives. He acts as though they are savages who just mosey around doing nothing and being paid small amounts of money. This contributes to the fact that peer pressure may not be cause by those ranked above you.
George Orwell also believes that anything can be subject to peer pressure. Even if it goes against your morals you still may be influenced. Everything is impacted and its hard to stop but you have to just put down your foot and say, no I won’t do that. That is what the police man should have said when facing the natives of the area. It could easily cause issues!
George Orwell shows a negative and disrespectful attitude towards the natives/ members of the lower class. As if they are the ones who killed the elephant, really it is the man’s fault for not standing up for his beliefs and just going with the flow. He was a very snobby man and he would not put himself in danger, its easier for him to take another life.
Great first SOAPSTone. More specifics in the next one though.
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