Pride Of Seven Individualism

Robert W. Krepps’ short story “Pride of Seven” demonstrates that in a case of social conformity versus individuality, individuality will eventually triumph in the end, as it takes great courage and patience to strive toward being truly non-conformant. The “Pride of Seven” begins with the introduction of En-gerr, a Masai man who has previously refused to go through the rite of passage into adulthood, which requires him to kill a lion. Around the time the narrator meets En-gerr, he also meets El Asfar, the leader of a nearby pride of lions who is dealing with a divergent youngster of his own (Black Mane). Once En-gerr discovers El Asfar, he decides En-gerr decides he must kill El Asfar because he has never seen a finer lion. This decision leaves the narrator confused on whether to support his friend

When going to view the pride of lions that the narrator admires, the narrator describes how the Masai mocked En-gerr, saying “Observe, En-gerr goes to stare from a distance upon ol-ngatuny (the lion), whom he dares not face in battle!’ and much more of the same savage small-boy humor. My friend ignored them with equanimity” (2) and “for his race is hard on nonconformists” (5). En-gerr has clearly been teased about how he has refused to kill a lion for a long time, but he decides to remain a unique individual rather than give into the peer pressure he is under. It would take a great deal of courage to deal with this amount of peer pressure and not give in to what society expects. In addition to En-gerr’s display of courage when he refuses to give in to peer pressure, El Asfar shows courage and individuality when he doesn’t kill En-gerr. When the narrator is explaining how El Asfar didn’t attack En-gerr, he says, “if El Asfar did not decide to