ipl-logo

Analysis Of Shooting The Elephant By George Orwell

1049 Words5 Pages
The conflicts that occur in a person’s life often result in a decision that is difficult to make, due to their values. In the two texts, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell and “The Guest” by Albert Camus, it can be seen that the two protagonists struggle to make a decision because of their values. A personal reflective of myself can also display that I have also dealt with a conflict where my values interfered with making a decision. Through the values in conflict we face as an individual, it influences us to make a choice that will in a way, shape our future. The essay “Shooting an Elephant” discusses Orwell 's values in the conflict of shooting the elephant. Orwell reveals that the people treat him as an outcast and the disrespectful comments he receives from them bothered him greatly. “The insults hooted after me when I was at a safe distance, got badly on my nerves” (Orwell, 1) shows how little the people thought of him. Due to the past disrespect of the people towards Orwell, he could not just run off and not shoot the elephant, “and my whole life, every white man’s life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at.” (4). As a result, he has an inner debate in believing if killing the animal was the right thing to do or not, “it seemed to me that it would be murder to shoot him” (4) allows the readers to understand the importance of the elephant. Orwell describes the elephant as a “huge and costly piece of machinery” (3) and feels that it is
Open Document