Free will is the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one’s own discretion. Although everyone has free will, people are not always given the opportunity to use it. Certain situations make it harder for individuals to express or use their free will than others. Society including peer pressure, judging each other, competition amongst others, and even bullying and embarrassing others has a huge impact on individuals not being able to use their free will as they should. In the film “Disconnect”, the short story “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, and the poem “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” by Eliot, the characters are given the opportunity to use their free will, but by the external factors
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When Orwell got there he was attacked by others telling him to kill the elephant who killed this man. He knew he could not do that. Orwell said, “As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shooting an elephant” (Orwell, 724). Orwell looked at the situation as murder if he killed the elephant and if possible wanted to avoid it. Orwell was already disliked by many and as he looked around at the crowd of thousands of people he started to second guess himself. “Suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I have to do it”, said Orwell (Orwell, 725). From the change of Orwell’s choice in killing the elephant shows that he did not have free will in killing this elephant. He chose to kill the elephant because he had to due to the crowd pressuring him. If there was no one around, he would probably not have done it. He could not stand there and not shoot the elephant to then get laughed at and humiliated by the population around him. Even after shooting the elephant Orwell felt bad. Orwell said, “In the end I could not stand it any longer and went away” (Orwell 727). This shows that he did not want to do it
When Orwell got there he was attacked by others telling him to kill the elephant who killed this man. He knew he could not do that. Orwell said, “As soon as I saw the elephant I knew with perfect certainty that I ought to shoot him. It is a serious matter to shooting an elephant” (Orwell, 724). Orwell looked at the situation as murder if he killed the elephant and if possible wanted to avoid it. Orwell was already disliked by many and as he looked around at the crowd of thousands of people he started to second guess himself. “Suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I have to do it”, said Orwell (Orwell, 725). From the change of Orwell’s choice in killing the elephant shows that he did not have free will in killing this elephant. He chose to kill the elephant because he had to due to the crowd pressuring him. If there was no one around, he would probably not have done it. He could not stand there and not shoot the elephant to then get laughed at and humiliated by the population around him. Even after shooting the elephant Orwell felt bad. Orwell said, “In the end I could not stand it any longer and went away” (Orwell 727). This shows that he did not want to do it