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Question 1
Jul 31, 2023 18:41:25 GMT -5
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Post by jesseruelas on Jul 31, 2023 18:41:25 GMT -5
In the essay "Shooting an Elephant," by George Orwell, he finds himself in a difficult situation where he has to make a tough choice. An elephant has gone rogue, causing chaos and even killing a black Dravidian coolie. The local people, who don't have much respect for Orwell, want the elephant gone. Orwell views this situation as a potential opportunity to change the people's opinions about him. He's given the job to deal with the elephant. Deep down, he doesn't want to kill the innocent creature because it hasn’t caused him any harm and seems peaceful. But, with a large crowd of locals watching him, he feels immense pressure to do what they want, so he reluctantly shoots, killing the elephant. The crowd’s opinions on whether or not he should have actually killed the elephant were divided in the end. Orwell managed to leave the crowd oblivious to his true feelings about the incident. This experience left a profound impact on Orwell, making him question whether or not it was worth it to take the peaceful elephants life.
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Post by margaretscavarda on Aug 1, 2023 12:33:26 GMT -5
In his essay "Shooting an Elephant," George Orwell writes about an elephant broken free from the chain holding him. As the elephant ravages the bazaar, it becomes more violent. As Orwell travels to the elephant with an elephant rifle, a crowd grows more significant behind him, excited to see some action. By the time Orwell reaches the elephant, the mob has grown to about 2000 people. Orwell is a white police officer among native Burmese people. Throughout his time working there, he has never been accepted. Orwell had no intention of killing the elephant, but as the crowd grows, so does the peer pressure. Orwell shot the elephant out of the hope that he would feel welcome by the people. Orwell chose to end the elephant's life merely by others pressuring him. Although Orwell never accepted that his actions were right by the end of the essay, he believes it was legally justified and made the people happy.
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Post by Leland Wagner on Aug 2, 2023 21:21:12 GMT -5
In the Passage, "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, Orwell shoots the elephant due to the pressure from the crowd to preform so as to not be seen as weak. To kill the elephant would be a sign of respect and authority among the crowd that had gathered around him. So as a show his might he decides he's going to shoot the elephant. But as he enters the field to shoot the elephant, he looks at it eating grass and decides he can't do it. Even though this elephant had previously caused a flurry of death and destruction throughout the village, he decides it is now peaceful and no longer a threat. This moral dilemma leads to him ultimately ending the life of the elephant, which onlookers from the village rejoice and deem as the acceptable answer to the situation but inside of Orwell's thoughts he himself deemed the actions as unnecessary and selfish. Though at the end he reflects on if the death was all just to "fit in" with the others in the village.
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Post by Ellie Reeves on Aug 3, 2023 19:40:48 GMT -5
In Shooting an Elephant, Orwell shoots the elephant to avoid any possible backlash in the form of taunting by the natives. He already feels alienated by their hate towards Europeans and does not want to add to that by being laughed at for refusing to shoot the elephant. Even though the elephant went on a rampage, ruining objects and killing a man, Orwell did not agree with the crowd's overwhelming desire for the elephant to die but went against his own wishes and shot it anyway. Orwell admits that while legally he was in the right, if there had not been a crowd behind him wanting him to shoot the elephant he would have waited for the owner and let the elephant live. But because there was a crowd and a possibility for Orwell to look foolish, he decided that he must do what the natives expect him to and that he doesn’t have a choice. Afterwards, he wonders if anyone realized that the only reason he shot it was to avoid being labeled as a fool.
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Post by Ellie Reeves on Aug 3, 2023 19:42:04 GMT -5
In Shooting an Elephant, Orwell shoots the elephant to avoid any possible backlash in the form of taunting by the natives. He already feels alienated by their hate towards Europeans and does not want to add to that by being laughed at for refusing to shoot the elephant. Even though the elephant went on a rampage, ruining objects and killing a man, Orwell did not agree with the crowd's overwhelming desire for the elephant to die but went against his own wishes and shot it anyway. Orwell admits that while legally he was in the right, if there had not been a crowd behind him wanting him to shoot the elephant he would have waited for the owner and let the elephant live. But because there was a crowd and a possibility for Orwell to look foolish, he decided that he must do what the natives expect him to and that he doesn’t have a choice. Afterwards, he wonders if anyone realized that the only reason he shot it was to avoid being labeled as a fool.
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Post by jirehm on Aug 5, 2023 14:57:53 GMT -5
In “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, Orwell shoots the elephant because he was going through the effects of peer pressure. In the story Orwell expresses how he did not want to hit the elephant “It made me vaguely uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant-I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary”. Orwell had terrible experiences being a policeman at the hands of the Burma people. He did not want to make himself look weak and foolish because the crowd would laugh. With Orwell feeling the pressure more and more he goes against his beliefs and shoots the elephant. After he attempts to kill the elephant he notices it was going to die slowly and he feels guilty. He even sends for his smaller riffle to try to put the elephant out of his misery quickly.
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Question 1
Aug 15, 2023 11:54:48 GMT -5
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Post by cristianvargas on Aug 15, 2023 11:54:48 GMT -5
In “Shooting an Elephant,” Orwell shoots the elephant primarily due to the pressure and expectations imposed upon him by the colonial system in which he was operating. Orwell was an English colonial officer in British-ruled Burma, and he recounts an incident where he is called upon to deal with a rampant elephant that has been causing destruction and killing a local man. Orwell’s decision to shoot the elephant is influenced by several factors. Firstly, he feels compelled to demonstrate his authority and maintain the image of the white colonizer in front of the local Burmese population, who are watching his every move. Not shooting the elephant would be seen as an act of weakness and loss of control, which he cannot afford in the context of colonial power dynamics.
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Post by violetkn on Aug 16, 2023 10:44:53 GMT -5
Orville shoots the elephant because it is what is expected of him. He is experiencing crowd mentality, or mob mentality, which causes him to act in a way he would not typically act because he is influenced by the mass amount of people. Because humans have evolved to be pack or tribe animals, we are very aware of others' thoughts of us. We want to be involved and seen as an important member of the tribe, which causes us to typically follow a large group of people. Even if it is not what a person intends to do, it is very common to get swept up in a crowd of people, which happens to Orville. He shoots the elephant because it is what the crowd expects of him and he does not want to be exiled or “seen as a fool” by the crowd.
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Post by elizabethb on Aug 16, 2023 11:31:14 GMT -5
Orwell shoots the elephant so that he is not seen as a coward in front of the town. In the essay, he is constantly debating and justifying if what he chose to do was right. He says himself he "had no intention of shooting the elephant," but as the crowd began to form and people "expected it of [him]," his desire to fit in overcame his thoughts of what he believed. Orwell knew he didn't need to shoot the elephant and that it was just peacefully eating when he went to shoot it, but he was tired of the people who lived there picking at him and laughing. The pressure of having thousands of people watching his every move motivated him to want and make the crowd happy and impress them, so he shot the elephant. When he did, the crowd was pleased about his decision, and Orwell even thought his actions were justified legally. I agree with you, Orwell shoots the elephant because he doesn't want to be seen as a wimp. The people in the town don't like him and shooting the elephant may help him earn some respect from them. When debating whether to shoot the elephant or not he decides to ignore his gut telling him that the elephant is being peaceful in the fields and if it stays there the owner will be able to come get him soon and all will be well. He then debates that he has a gun to kill the elephant but tells himself that he requested it only to have something to protect himself. But, the pressure of the crowd and wanting to be liked and not laughed at gets to him. He is scared that if he walks away 2,000 people will laugh at him, his life, and every white man in the easts life. He then says that it is every white mans long struggle to not be laughed at. I feel like this puts not only pressure from the crowed but also shame from other white men on his shoulders if he decides to not shoot the elephant. In the end he decides to shoot the elephant because of the pressure from the crowed and not wanting to be a shame to other white men in the east for being laughed at. But I do kind of disagree with what you said at the end in some way, when you said "Orwell even thought his actions were justified legally" I feel like that is true. But I would go further to say that he didn't want to shoot the elephant but other factors made him feel like he had to. So when he says his actions were justified legally, I think that is him just trying to tell himself that it was okay, even though deep down the fact that he killed the elephant doesn't sit right with him.
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Post by morganhall on Aug 16, 2023 16:01:00 GMT -5
Throughout the story, "Shooting an Elephant" we hear about how George Orwell struggles with being laughed at and how he doesn't fit in the village. As Orwell is trying to find the elephant he sees all the destruction the elephant has done but he feels reluctant about killing it because the elephant was simply mistreated, like he was. As Orwell searches for the elephant he starts to gather a big crowd of people behind him, the same people who he is trying to fit in with. When he finds the elephant, it has calmed down eating grass in the field. Orwell doesn't want to shoot the elephant and he is stuck with a big choice in a short period of time. Now that Orwell is in a position of power, he has a decision to make; he can help the people or let the elephant roam wild. Overall the pressure and desire to fit made him shoot the elephant. Orwell simply doesn't want to look foolish and continue to not have a place. Although he does feel guilty and doesn't even stick around long enough to watch the elephant die.
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Post by Anna Miedema on Aug 17, 2023 9:23:33 GMT -5
In George Orwell´s essay ¨ shooting an Elephant,¨ the author shoots the elephant primarily due to a sense of social pressure and a desire to conform to the expectations of the local population. Orwell, a British officer stationed in colonial Burma, is faced with an enraged elephant that has caused destruction. Despite feeling that shooting the elephant is unnecessary and against his personal beliefs, he succumbs to the pressure of the Burmese crowd that expects him to maintain authority and handle the situation. Orwell´s actions reveal the complexities of colonialism and the power dynamics between the colonizers and the colonized. He is trapped between his individual moral qualms and the need to project authority and maintain control over the local population. The decision to shoot the elephant becomes a metaphor for the larger issues of imperialism, illustration the dehumanizing effects it has on both the colonizers and the colonized.
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Post by izzymorris0715 on Aug 19, 2023 9:53:16 GMT -5
In simple terms Orwell shoots the elephant because of the pressure from the natives. But looking deeper, the natives aren’t simply natives, they represent other countries. The elephant represents a country that is colonizing others. Orwell shoots the imperialist country (in this context it’s Great Britain) partially because of the pressure from the other countries. Once the elephant is shot the natives strip it of its meat, this represents other countries taking part of an imperialist country's lost territory and recolonizing it. But Orwell doesn’t just shoot the elephant because it’s the right thing to do, he does it because of something called the White Savior complex. Throughout the essay Orwell is constantly weighing his decision on whether he should shoot the elephant or not, in the end he decides to shoot the elephant so he doesn't look like a fool. He looks like a hero in front of the natives. Which, by definition, is being a white savior. If it wasn't for Orwell need to not look stupid, would he have still shot the elephant? If it wasn’t for any white mans ego throughout history, would he have done the opposite of what everyone was telling him to do?
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Post by Ava Ritenour on Aug 19, 2023 12:26:42 GMT -5
Orwell shoots the elephant because he didn’t want to look weak and foolish in front of the crowd. The crowd of local people expected Orwell to shoot the elephant because it had gone “must” meaning it went on a rampage and killed a black Dravidian coolie. However, Orwell did not feel the same way the crowd did, he did not want to kill the elephant. When he was searching for the elephant, he spotted it peacefully eating grass eight yards from the road minding its own business. At that moment, Orwell knew he shouldn’t shoot him because in his eyes Orwell didn't see him as any more dangerous than a cow. But the crowd behind him were too excited and were having too much fun just waiting for Orwell to kill the elephant so Orwell, under the pressure and worried he would be laughed at, decided to shoot the elephant. He shot the elephant five times but he still didn’t die, Orwell couldn’t stand there any longer watching it slowly die so he left and later heard that the elephant took half an hour to die. Many Europeans had different opinions about the elephant shooting, people saw the shooting of the elephant by Orwell as an act of justice but Orwell still wondered if anyone knew that the real reason he shot the elephant was solely because he didn’t want to look foolish. I think you are spot on with why Orwell shot the elephant, and you explained the story beautifully. I am wondering if you caught onto how him shooting the elephant represents a deeper meaning, and is actually an anecdote for it representing imperialism. The elephant, in this case, represents the British Empire, and the "natives" represent pressure from different countries trying to tear it down. The reason Orwell does shoot the elephant, as you said, is because he doesn't want to look foolish in front of them. The reason, I think however, why he doesn't want to look foolish is because of his 'white man ego.' He has this egoistic saviour complex often demonstrated by a lot of white men, to make sure he doesn't appear 'unworthy' to "the natives" or to those other countries. He is afraid of looking bad, and therefore tries to save himself by doing an act that he knows is wrong.
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Post by odessapersephone on Aug 19, 2023 19:10:52 GMT -5
In George Orwell's essay "Shooting an Elephant" Orwell deals with the ethics of killing an animal. While the animal was not innocent and had killed another man, it was not this that was the driving force in Orwells end decision to end the elephants life. Throughout the essay Orwell draws parallels to the rampaging elephant and imperialist Britain. In the comparison, he tends to show the elephant as a foreign nation being invaded (for resources), the Indian people observing as other nations, and himself as the imperialist missionary. He is conflicted because he doesn't want to seem weak in the face of the native people (if the allusion to imperialism is accurate this is Britain showing power to other countries on the world stage around WW2), howwever he knows it is unethical. In the end he kills the elephant despite the fact that he knows it is the wrong thing to do because he doesn't want to end up "looking a fool". This is because he had to perpetuate the perception of him that the people had. Orwell explains this more on page 283 when he explains that "it is the condition of his rule that he shall spend his life in trying to impress the "natives"", and that in every crisis he must do what they "expect of him". On a larger scale this illustrates that the reason for many actions that are immoral or unethical is the pressure applied by societal expectations.
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Post by eidenjonaitis on Aug 21, 2023 8:23:12 GMT -5
In George Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant," he writes about a time when he was on duty as a police officer in lower Burma and killed an elephant. The elephant had run amok from his regular residency and ravaged the town of Moulmein. Orwell was treated in a manner that shamed him for his job and made him an outsider, a laughing stock. However, when he grabbed the elephant rifle for his protection, a mob of a couple of thousands of people churned and chided behind him with excitement: he was going to shoot the elephant! When he saw the seemingly peaceful elephant grazing in the fields, he arrived at a mental fork in the road. He could try to see if the elephant came out of its rage before killing it or please the crowd and kill the elephant. He gave in to the pressure of those who would often root against him, getting drunk on the possibility of not being ostracized for once in his occupation. Orwell killed that elephant, accidentally torturously, and couldn't bear to watch as the elephant slowly bled out. He killed the elephant to impress the people who hated him.
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