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Post by mollylocke on Sept 1, 2023 21:35:52 GMT -5
If I had been in Orwell's place I would not have shot the elephant. I have pretty strong opinions when it comes to killing animals for their wrongdoings. An elephant cannot possibly fully comprehend the effect of their actions because they are an animal. Their brain does not work the same as humans so although the elephant caused a lot of destruction, it would be different than a human doing the same thing. The fact that the elephant doesn't know what they did was wrong I feel as though it proves that it does not deserve to die. I also am pretty secure in how I view how others think of me so that is where me and Orwell differ. I believe I have a more stable confidence in where I would not give into peer pressure and give up my personal beliefs. I can understand why Orwell did what he did but I cannot justify it therefore I would not do it myself.
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Post by Zachary Alexander on Sept 1, 2023 21:57:15 GMT -5
If I were in Orwell's place I would not have shot the elephant. I don't consider myself someone who is conscious of the feelings of animals, as horrible as this may sound. I also would not have considered the elephant guilty of anything after realizing it had killed a civilian. My main reason for not shooting the elephant would be to avoid giving the crowd the dramatic satisfaction that they desired. I find it sickening that the people were only interested in seeing the outcome after Orwell was given the proper weaponry to harm it. I feel the same way about lots of real drama too, it's terrible when people only pay attention because a life is on the line. Imagine this scenario, but with a rabid dog instead of an elephant. People here tend to like dogs more and view them as a more vulnerable species to firearms, so people may be more inclined to keep the dog alive than to have Orwell shoot it. If this were another human instead of an elephant, there may be a split since it would be considered an equal to the civilians.
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Post by stephanie1garcia on Sept 1, 2023 22:08:43 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell's place I would have not shot elephant, mainly due to how disturbing it would have been my whole life to know that I shot an animal that was clearly innocent. I would have not shot the elephant also due to the fact that I would know I made a family lose one of its family members, and speaking from past experience I know that it is hard losing one of your family members out of no where due to somebody wanting to just kill them with no real purpose. If I were Orwell I would have told everyone how I actually felt about having to shoot the elephant. And then maybe I could see if people would agree with me on how they feel. Shooting an animal just because should not be done just for fun, or maybe not animals that are going to be extinct soon.
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emma
New Member
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Post by emma on Sept 1, 2023 23:05:15 GMT -5
If i were in Orwell's position, i would have chose not to shoot the elephant, and while i am able to understand the want to fit in with societal norms, i would not be able to kill an innocent creature over it. I think in this situation i would stay true to my beliefs and understand that this act may have been caused due to fear and how this elephant could be seen just the same as the cow now. Maybe i would be able to change people's perspectives of the situation instead, and even if i wasn't, i think knowing i made the right decision over getting the approval of society would feel much better, and i would be able to look back on that day, knowing that i made the right choice, by staying true to myself.
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dadyl
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Post by dadyl on Sept 2, 2023 1:30:13 GMT -5
In Shooting an elephant by George Orwell if I were put in Orwell's place I would have shot the animal. In the text Orwell states ¨I was not squeamish about killing animals, but I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to. (Somehow it always seems worse to kill a large animal.).¨ This show that he did not even really have any reservations about killing animals it was just because an elephant is a big animal and its death would be noticeable that he does not want to do it. Another reason why I would have shot the elephant is as the other people in this thread have pointed out if Orwell did not shoot it someone else would. If someone else did it Orwell would have looked weak and they probably would have forced him to shoot another animal to prove that he is tough .
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Post by Imani Hobson on Sept 5, 2023 11:16:56 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell's position I would not have shot the elephant. This is because it wasn't necessary and the elephant didn't necessarily have bad intentions. I believe Orwell shot the elephant because he let everyone's thoughts convince him to do something he knew was wrong. I believe he did not actually want to and that he regrets it. His decision was mainly based on what he thought people would think of him, which is not a valid reason at all to take an animal's life. He also wanted to prove himself to people who don't respect him or see him as a member of their society so he definitely shouldn't have done something because they think he should. The elephant would not have become aggressive without reasoning and it should be understood that an elephant doesn't think like a human and it did not mean to hurt or kill anyone. It has also been said that elephants don't know how strong they are and what they are capable of.
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Post by zanderligman on Sept 6, 2023 21:59:55 GMT -5
If I was in Orwell's place I think that I would have done the same thing that he did. Obviously I wouldn't do it without regret or remorse, but the amount of pressure from there being so many people watching would be too much. If it was just me then I definitely would not kill the elephant, but with such a crowd I would feel like I was letting all of the people down if I didn't. I would like to think that I would be strong enough to resist but I just don't think that's very realistic. Also while the elephants life does definitely matter, the elephant did kill a person, and I generally hold human life in higher importance than animals. Even if the elephant was being peaceful then, that doesn't detract from the fact that the elephant took a human life. I feel like the right choice would honestly be not to kill the elephant, but I think with that amount of pressure I would feel obliged to.
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Post by berenice on Sept 12, 2023 16:57:55 GMT -5
Being in the position as Orwell, it be difficult decision to take. I'd like to say i wouldn’t shot the elephant. Being pressured of not wanting to be a fool and coward . Also not feeling guilt for killing the animal. I'll wouldn’t shot the animals. Seeing the animal not being a threat, being calm. i wont have the emotion capacity to kill an animal that doesn't seem as a threat. The guilt i carry will be with me till i die. i rather be called a fool or coward then carry that guilt and regret.
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