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Post by rubydrzick on Aug 24, 2023 23:35:42 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell position I would not have shot the elephant. I think that it is important to weigh the big factors of why or why not. Killing then elephant really didn’t make much of a difference yes people were watching and waiting but in reality killing the elephant did nothing for the cause. Orwell hate allot of regret and guilt after killing the elephant because he knew what he ddi was wrong he just didn’t want to get laughed at. I don’t think being laughed at was a big enough reason to kill the elephant, if Orwell didn’t kill the elephant he may get laughed at but I don’t think it would last forever. There were people that were on his side and didn’t think he should kill the elephant but unfortunately Orwell decided to let people get in his brain and in a way pressure him to make a choice he didn’t actually agree with. I probably as much as it would feel like it sucks just let people call me what they want at expense for the elephants life.
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Post by Nevin on Aug 25, 2023 13:41:01 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell's place I would not have shot the elephant. The elephant didn't do anything wrong because the stories that were made up about it were scattered and no one could confirm any of them and everyone had a different story. Also the elephant was peaceful it had done no harm since he got there and even Orwell himself knew that it would be wrong to shoot the elephant since it was doing no harm by grazing in the grass. He felt pressured by the townspeople watching him which I feel is a terrible reason for shooting the animal, he should've listened to his inner voice telling him to not shoot the elephant and the opinions of the townspeople shouldn't have affected him. The animal shouldn't die just because he was afraid to not please the people around him. So if I was in his position I would've just let the elephant's owner come back for his animal and went back to my job because it's the right thing to do.
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Post by Leland Wagner on Aug 26, 2023 19:42:12 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell's position, I would not have shot the elephant. I wouldn't have shot the elephant because the elephant was just being and elephant and reacting how any other animal would've reacted. Though the elephant had caused destruction and rampaged through the village, at the end of the story when Orwell saw the elephant, he saw that it was at peace and truly calm. But through the peer pressure of others in the village he was pushed to shoot the animal. I think I have a good sense on when people are trying to get me to do something, so in his position I just wouldn't care. Also in the audience of people there were a lot of mixed feelings about the whole situation with some being for the killing of the elephant and others being totally against it. In my book the best solution would've just to let the elephant be free and let the trainer get a hold of it.
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Post by Lily Longtin on Aug 27, 2023 13:02:29 GMT -5
If I were in George Orwell's place in the essay "Shooting an Elephant" I honestly don't know if I would or would not have done the same and shot the elephant. I do not do well in stressful situations and find myself being a people pleaser, I think it would be really difficult to back down from something when a whole crowd is expecting you to. I would like to say I wouldn't shoot the elephant as that does go against my beliefs and morals; I am not sure if I would be strong enough to not, please the people I am surrounded by. Shooting the elephant who was minding its business and eating grass seems inhumane and unnecessary, I want to believe I wouldn't give in to that peer pressure.
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Post by sayanij on Aug 27, 2023 14:16:47 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell’s place I would not have shot the elephant. I think that when I would’ve first heard about the elephant’s rampage throughout the village I probably would have thought about doing it but would not have done it when I found it. To me it seemed like the elephant was peaceful when Orwell finally found it and if I were in that place, I would’ve just watched it until the owner came. I understand the peer pressure Orwell faced and him wanting to be liked by everyone but me personally I don’t care or pay attention to that type of thing. I also felt bad for the owner because in the essay it said that while the elephant was alive it was very valuable and could be sold for a lot of money. But if the elephant was dead, only the tusks were able to be sold and they weren’t even worth much.
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Post by tatummielke on Aug 27, 2023 15:18:27 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell's position I would have chosen to not shoot the elephant, in the past and still to this day I always feel like other peoples expectations come before my own. With very little steps and a lot of time I have learned that is not how things should be. Orwell shouldn’t be losing sleep over doing something he didn’t wanna do just so that others would be happy in the end. I would rather walk away from the elephant than shoot it for my better being even if the crowd walks away disappointed. As an alterative I think i would attempt to change the subject and get the crowds attention on something I would also enjoy doing rather than killing the elephant. Orwell comes off as a people pleaser, he wants to leave the crowd impressed and satisfied even if that means he leaves disappointed and guilty.
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Jisela Albarran-Trujillo
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Post by Jisela Albarran-Trujillo on Aug 29, 2023 18:41:32 GMT -5
If I where in Orwells position I would had avoided feeling peer pressured into shooting the elephant. Id rather live life looking a ¨fool¨ than living with regret on killing an innocent animal. Keeping the elephant away from the town untill the owner returned to make sure nobody or anything else gets damaged would be one of the first thoughts to come to mind. I feel like Orwell didn't take the time to think about what he was going to do, all he thought about was what the crowd would think. I wouldve tooken a minute to think of any ways to keep the elephant alive but away from harming the town and the people. Orwell only shot the elephant because the crowd expected him to do so, it was not what he wanted to do. He let the crowd, the cheerment, and the fame control him which led him to shoot the elephant which later made him feel regret and guilt. By not killing the elephant I would feel peace within myself knowing I found a different way to calm the elephant rather than taking it's life away.
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Post by Sasha on Aug 29, 2023 18:47:54 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell's place, I wouldn't have shot the elephant. As strong as the effects of peer pressure can be, he should've been able to tell the difference between right and wrong. The elephant had caused some problems but nothing that justified shooting the elephant. I think he could've found other ways to be liked by the crowd instead of causing harm to an animal.
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Post by Kelly Garcia on Aug 30, 2023 19:32:24 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell’s position I would have killed the elephant too. He was a joke to all of the locals. He needed to prove to everyone that he is a police officer. In the beginning of the story he said” I was hated by large numbers of people”. If he didn’t kill the elephant he could have also been thrown in jail for not following orders or considered a trade because in all he was an outsider to everyone. As well as the peer pressure of all the locals following him, he was talking about how unnerving having a crowd following you and an ever-growing crowd jousting him. As the crowd was an immense count of about two thousand people, blocking the road. So I wouldn't blame him he did it because of all the pressure of the people following him and it takes a lot of courage to just ignore it because myself I’m already pressured of talking in front of always in class, considering that I making a joke of myself and my answer so I believe he did emotionally thinks he did the right thing for himself.
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Post by JaNyiah Lawler on Sept 1, 2023 11:52:46 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell’s position I might have shot the elephant, but only after going close enough to really determine if it was still dangerous, like he suggested before. I think Orwell contradicts himself, saying he disagrees with imperialism, but then later allowing it to determine his actions for him. Logically, it makes more sense to me to be sure that the elephant was still dangerous before trying to kill it. To me, shooting the elephant as many times as he did is not only more foolish than not shooting it at all, but cruel too. Orwell could have chosen to stand against imperialism in this small way, even if it didn’t really make any difference to anyone but him and the elephant. It’s difficult to understand the actions and reasoning of someone like him, not just because of the difference of time periods, but also because even if I was in an imperialistic state like this one I wouldn’t be in his position of power.
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Post by Zelda Molitor on Sept 1, 2023 12:36:34 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell's place I would not have shot the elephant. I think if i was put into that situation I would definitely be frightened and may feel they need to protect myself, but I know that I definitely would not be able to bring myself to kill the elephant, or even feel like i want to or need to. I also think that Orwell's reasoning behind why he ended up killing the elephant was wrong. It seemed as though he was more convinced to kill it just because of the pressure he felt from the people watching, rather than the actual fear of the elephant, and feeling that it was the right thing to do to save everyone, which I don't think it was. I don't think I would feel very pressured by the people to shoot the elephant, and if I did feel any pressure, I would be able to deal with that pressure a lot easier than being able to deal with the fact that I was responsible for an animals death. I just think that I would feel so much regret and guilt if I was put into that situation and chose to do the same thing that Orwell chose to do.
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Post by Jesse Ruelas on Sept 1, 2023 16:18:11 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell's place, I would not have shot the Elephant. I have lots of animals at my house and I don't think that I could physically kill one. I get that is sort of contradictory because I eat lots of meat, but I don't ever want to be the one to kill an animal or watch it happen. I understand that he shot the elephant because he was under lots of pressure and was very stressed. Everyone wanted him to so he couldn't deny it. But, I don't think that I could even be peer pressured into doing such a violent act like that.
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cavan
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Post by cavan on Sept 1, 2023 20:03:27 GMT -5
Orwell was in a tough spot, but personally I wouldn't have shot the elephant. I get the peer pressure, and the fear of embarrassment, but it's not like everyone would of been against Orwell not shooting the elephant. After the shooting there were a lot of mixed feelings, so he would of had some people supporting him. Although throughout the whole essay he felt out of place, and I think this impacted his decision. As it wasn't directly said, I think one big reason he shot the elephant is because he wanted to fit in with the natives. His whole life he avoided being laughed at, so why throw it away for one elephant. Now me and Orwell are different, because I don't mind getting laughed at or judged for something that went against my own morals.
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cavan
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Post by cavan on Sept 1, 2023 20:09:22 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell's place, I would not have shot the Elephant. I have lots of animals at my house and I don't think that I could physically kill one. I get that is sort of contradictory because I eat lots of meat, but I don't ever want to be the one to kill an animal or watch it happen. I understand that he shot the elephant because he was under lots of pressure and was very stressed. Everyone wanted him to so he couldn't deny it. But, I don't think that I could even be peer pressured into doing such a violent act like that. I disagree, I think if you eat meat you should have it in you to kill what you're eating. Now in this situation it's a little different because I don't think elephant is a common food, but in general if you want a chicken sandwich, you should be able to kill and prep the chicken. Not only is it just food, this can relate to many other factors in our life. If I wanted to be treated nicely, then I need to treat others nicely. If I want a best friend, well then I would need to sacrifice things in my life to be a best friend for someone else. If you want things in life you need to earn it.
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Post by Sophia Salinas on Sept 1, 2023 21:16:34 GMT -5
Unfortunately, I would’ve done the same as Orwell if I was in his situation. It’s easy for people to say they wouldn’t have shot the animal but they’ve never been in that situation. Neither have I but I can confidently( I swear I’m not an animal hater) say I would’ve done the same to not be frowned upon. People don’t realize just how impotent peer pressure can become, especially in a situation as fragile as Orwell’s. Hurting animals is never okay, no matter if people deem justice to be sufficient it’s “crimes”. But people underestimate just how intimidating it is to be faced with thousands of people hanging off of your every decision in the moment, especially as a new inexperienced officer who has a reputation to build. Either way, if he hadn’t shot the elephant he would’ve received backlash from the same people who later justified his decision.
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