Shooting an Elephant by George Orwell

“Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell is the most significant story that we have read so far. It sends a clear message to its readers. The message being that pear pressure is a powerful mechanism. Orwell was a British officer in Burma, Asia. Because of his background, he was not recognized by the Burmans in a positive light. He was ridiculed by the Burmans and yet, when the elephant escaped and wondered aimlessly destroying almost everything in his view, it was Orwell who they turned to for help.
As Orwell started his journey in search of the elephant, the Burmans that he encountered along the way had different accounts about the elephant’s whereabouts. In the story, Orwell writes, “… A story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to a scene of events, the vaguer it becomes. Some of the people said that the elephant had gone in one direction. Some said that he had gone in another and some professed to not even have heard of an elephant.” As I read this paragraph, I noticed the great correlation it has to rumors. A rumor always begins with one story and as it makes its way from a person’s ears to the person’s mouth, it changes. By the time the rumor reaches the last person, the information becomes completely altered.
What intrigued me most about this story is the point in time when Orwell finally locates the elephant. He was faced with a decision of whether to kill the elephant or let it live. Orwell did not want to kill the elephant for the reasons being that it was doing no more harm and will only attack if one came close. However, because there was a large crowd lurking about and encouraging him to kill the elephant, Orwell felt that he had no choice but to bring an end to the elephant’s life so he would not be perceived as a fool. I was very surprised to discover that Orwell cared so much about what the Burmans thought of him. For one, he was hated by the Burmans. Secondly, he held a superior position, so why was he so concerned of how he was perceived by the Burmans?
This circumstance just goes to show how influential peer pressure can be. It takes a great affect on a person’s decision making process regardless if the person is a high powered official or just a regular human being.