In George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant,” the main character faces an internal struggle over right or wrong. Everyone, at some point or another, thinks “why am I doing this?” or “is this the correct decision?” Because we ask these questions of ourselves, this does not mean we necessarily have full control as interpreted by the French philosopher Louis Althusser. Ideological State Apparatuses such as law, religion, and politics are rife in "Shooting an Elephant" and George Orwell realizes that he has little control over the choices he elects to make. Orwell thinks he has a conscious free will, but in reality his choices are shaped by outside ideological state apparatuses that he has to factor into his decision-making process.
The narrator must choose between what he thinks is a morally correct choice and what the legal precedent is. George Orwell quite literally shoots the elephant …show more content…
Politics is sometimes defined by activities associated with the governance of the country, but in this instance social politics is perhaps the strongest influence that forces him to kill the elephant. Orwell knew that he had no reason to kill the elephant if the animal was acting calm and no longer in “must”. When he arrived to investigate the elephant, to his dismay, there were thousands of people watching him. The entire surrounding area was there and excited for him to kill the elephant because to them, this is “a bit of fun… besides, they wanted the meat” (Orwell 3). The narrator did not wish to defy mob rule. If he did not kill the elephant (whether he wanted to or not), perhaps the mob was going to get their fun in no matter what. As demonstrated by the quote: “I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind” (Orwell 4). He was pressured, by peers, to do something he did not necessarily want to do, because of social
The narrator must choose between what he thinks is a morally correct choice and what the legal precedent is. George Orwell quite literally shoots the elephant …show more content…
Politics is sometimes defined by activities associated with the governance of the country, but in this instance social politics is perhaps the strongest influence that forces him to kill the elephant. Orwell knew that he had no reason to kill the elephant if the animal was acting calm and no longer in “must”. When he arrived to investigate the elephant, to his dismay, there were thousands of people watching him. The entire surrounding area was there and excited for him to kill the elephant because to them, this is “a bit of fun… besides, they wanted the meat” (Orwell 3). The narrator did not wish to defy mob rule. If he did not kill the elephant (whether he wanted to or not), perhaps the mob was going to get their fun in no matter what. As demonstrated by the quote: “I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind” (Orwell 4). He was pressured, by peers, to do something he did not necessarily want to do, because of social