Shooting An Elephant

Shooting an Elephant is an essay written by George Orwell. The essay involved pressure. Pressure is something which usually involves having to do a negative act or behavior or else be ridiculed by one's peers. George Orwell was one who had gone through pressure in his life. When he was an Imperial official in Moulmein, Burma he was ridiculed and hated by everyone around him. It was during a time of resentment toward Europeans. Secretly, he was pro-Burmese but he was obligated to do his duty for the British Empire. Therefore he was the target of many insults, especially by Buddhist priests, whom George refers to as "the worst of all"(Orwell 70).

During the day, George received a phone call from a sub-inspector about a report of a tame elephant which had gone "must." Must is a condition in male elephants when their testosterone levels rise and they act in a highly aggressive nature. When George was sent down to the poor quarter of the village, he received conflicting reports from people as to the whereabouts of the elephant. He assumed it to be a hoax and was about to leave when he heard a woman yelling and shooing away children from the sight of a dead coolie. As soon as he saw the body, George sent an orderly to borrow an elephant rifle. Then he started toward the paddy fields, which was where the elephant was said to be headed, carrying the rifle only for protection.

As he was making his way, "the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed"(Orwell 72). When the elephant was seen, it was calm and peaceful. George knew it in his head that he ought not to shoot it when he figured the elephant's "must" had wore off. However, he looked at the crowd and knew that they all had expected him to shoot the elephant. He knew it in his head that he would appear like a coward and a fool if he walked away and did nothing. He thought of moving closer and testing its behavior but then realized he