Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" and Gideon's "No Witchcraft for Sale" both have one thing in common. They are each on the opposite ends of imperialism spectrum. Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" is an autobiographical essay about himself as a British police officer who works in the town of Moulmein located in Burma. He hates the Burmese authorities and the natives. Orwell is also under constant subject of the imperialists. Orwell states, "All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible." (pg. 139) Orwell is aware of the unequal treatment in society by the natives towards him, and he does not agree with it. Consequently, Orwell seems
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This conflict forces him to decide if he wants to be humiliated by the people of the Burmese empire, or if he wants to deal with his feelings, afterwards, about shooting the elephant. He is forced to choose to shoot a domesticated elephant believed to have injured a caretaker. He does not want to kill the elephant, but as the crowd grows larger, he feels pressured by the crowd to shoot the elephant, or face being humiliated. Humiliation is Orwell’s main concern. He did not intend to actually shooting the elephant to begin with. His true intentions were to use the gun for self defense in the event of an attack by the elephant. He declared, “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.” Orwell felt the pressure of the natives and he reasoned in his mind that if he did not shoot the elephant the natives would have lost respect for him. He chose to shoot the elephant. He replied, "soley to avoid looking a fool." (pg. 146) “No Witchcraft for Sale,” is a collection of African stories written by Doris Lessing. It is not an autobiography like "Shooting an …show more content…
Gideon administers the antidote to Teddy and within an hour, he is healed. “He said, "this will cure Little Yellow Head's eyes." (pg. 150) Later, Gideon is faced with the pressure of being forced to give his antidote to a doctor who plans to make money selling it. Unlike Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" Gideon does not give in to pressure. He refuses to reveal the antidote to the doctor. Gideon said, "He could not remember." (pg. 153) Gideon had a lot taken away from him, including his place in society, pay roll, and his freedom. The only thing the white people could not take away from him was his was his knowledge of traditional medicine. Gideon's ultimate decision to not share his knowledge is an assertion of dignity and worth of his culture. His strong, passionate desire to withhold information is what defines his dignity and separates him out from others; especially Orwell. Gideon’s knowledge of the antidote changes the social status between the Farquars and Gideon. He has something they want that he is not willing to give to them and that makes him distinctively different from
This conflict forces him to decide if he wants to be humiliated by the people of the Burmese empire, or if he wants to deal with his feelings, afterwards, about shooting the elephant. He is forced to choose to shoot a domesticated elephant believed to have injured a caretaker. He does not want to kill the elephant, but as the crowd grows larger, he feels pressured by the crowd to shoot the elephant, or face being humiliated. Humiliation is Orwell’s main concern. He did not intend to actually shooting the elephant to begin with. His true intentions were to use the gun for self defense in the event of an attack by the elephant. He declared, “The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.” Orwell felt the pressure of the natives and he reasoned in his mind that if he did not shoot the elephant the natives would have lost respect for him. He chose to shoot the elephant. He replied, "soley to avoid looking a fool." (pg. 146) “No Witchcraft for Sale,” is a collection of African stories written by Doris Lessing. It is not an autobiography like "Shooting an …show more content…
Gideon administers the antidote to Teddy and within an hour, he is healed. “He said, "this will cure Little Yellow Head's eyes." (pg. 150) Later, Gideon is faced with the pressure of being forced to give his antidote to a doctor who plans to make money selling it. Unlike Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant" Gideon does not give in to pressure. He refuses to reveal the antidote to the doctor. Gideon said, "He could not remember." (pg. 153) Gideon had a lot taken away from him, including his place in society, pay roll, and his freedom. The only thing the white people could not take away from him was his was his knowledge of traditional medicine. Gideon's ultimate decision to not share his knowledge is an assertion of dignity and worth of his culture. His strong, passionate desire to withhold information is what defines his dignity and separates him out from others; especially Orwell. Gideon’s knowledge of the antidote changes the social status between the Farquars and Gideon. He has something they want that he is not willing to give to them and that makes him distinctively different from