Monday, April 9, 2012

Bam! Boom! Bam!

        In George Orwells, Shooting an Elephant, the story begins with Orwell a telling of when Orwell was a police officer in Moulmein. During this time period, there was much political unrest due to the anti-European mindset of the locals. Because of Orwells position of authority, he must keep the locals in line as they make fun of him, even though in his heart he sympathizes with their pain and suffering. While doing his routine walks around the villages, Orwell's called to handle a wild elephant roaming the streets of one of the villages. Once he arrives at the village, Orwell at first thinks he must be part of a hoax, but sure enough there is a giant elephant galavanting in the street. Orwell, passes one trampled Indian man and decides he must shoot the elephant per the town-peoples requests.  Orwell, "did not want in the least to shoot him. I decided that I would watch him for a little while to make sure that he did not turn savage again, and then go home" (Orwell 2). However, "I glanced around the crowd that had followed me...they were watching me as they would watch a conjurer about to preform a trick. They did not like me, but with the magical rifle in my hands I was momentarily worth watching". It was at this moment that Orwell realized he had no choice but to shoot the elephant. The people were peer-pressuring him into shooting the animal and because Orwell's power was only what the people made it to be, he needed to remain in control of the situation. "A sahib has got to act like a sahib; he has got to appear resolute, to know his own mind and do definite things. To come all that way, rifle in hand, with two thousand people marching at my heels, and then to trail feebly away, having done nothing-no that was impossible. The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at" (Orwell 2). Therefore, Orwell shot the elephant, not because he wanted to or because it was the right thing to do, but he shot the elephant as to not look stupid in front of the Indians.


      So much of our lives at like the sahib's actions. We do things not because we want to do them, but because we feel the pressure of others' opinions impressing on our own moral code. Sometimes we do not act like we want to, but instead act like the group. In our heart of hearts we know we should be the individual in the crowd who takes a stand, but sometimes it is just too hard to stand out and we fade into the veil of the popular opinion. 


Question: What have you done in your life not because you wanted to do it, but because you would look stupid to others if you didn't? 

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