Short stories are perfect examples of pieces of writing that can influence us and teach us many valuable literary lessons. They can have the same effect as novels. Two very important short stories that have been studied are Shooting An Elephant and No Witchcraft for Sale. Both of these stories contain special accounts of the narrator’s experiences. Three messages from these two short stories are: Don’t let peer pressure make your decisions, know who your enemies are, and believe in yourself.
One message that these two short stories have in common is don’t let peer pressure make your decisions. This is particularly evident in Shooting an Elephant. The narrator of this story shares his account of being pressured by the native people of Africa to shoot an elephant. He does not want to look like an idiot in front of them, so he lets the pressure get the best of him. He shoots the elephant, even though he did not want to make that choice. On page 1323, George Orwell writes: “But I did not want to shoot the elephant.” In this case, he let peer pressure make him do something he didn’t want to do. …show more content…
This is a central message that can be found in both of these stories. Starting with No Witchcraft for Sale, The main character Gideon has a problem with his situation. A snake spits venom into Teddy’s eyes and he cures it for him. Because he does this, a scientist doubts Gideon’s actions and says that it is witchcraft. Gideon needed to know that man was his enemy. On page 1333, Doris Lessing writes: “The story eventually reached town; and perhaps it was at a sundowner party, or some such function, that a doctor, who happened to be there, challenged it, “Nonsense,” he said.” Gideon’s answer to this question was to know who his enemies are. This concept also applies to Shooting an Elephant because the people who were peer pressuring the narrator were his
One message that these two short stories have in common is don’t let peer pressure make your decisions. This is particularly evident in Shooting an Elephant. The narrator of this story shares his account of being pressured by the native people of Africa to shoot an elephant. He does not want to look like an idiot in front of them, so he lets the pressure get the best of him. He shoots the elephant, even though he did not want to make that choice. On page 1323, George Orwell writes: “But I did not want to shoot the elephant.” In this case, he let peer pressure make him do something he didn’t want to do. …show more content…
This is a central message that can be found in both of these stories. Starting with No Witchcraft for Sale, The main character Gideon has a problem with his situation. A snake spits venom into Teddy’s eyes and he cures it for him. Because he does this, a scientist doubts Gideon’s actions and says that it is witchcraft. Gideon needed to know that man was his enemy. On page 1333, Doris Lessing writes: “The story eventually reached town; and perhaps it was at a sundowner party, or some such function, that a doctor, who happened to be there, challenged it, “Nonsense,” he said.” Gideon’s answer to this question was to know who his enemies are. This concept also applies to Shooting an Elephant because the people who were peer pressuring the narrator were his