Upon first glance of Hughe’s “Salvation” and Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”, one would think the two non-fictional stories would be quite different when compared to the other. After all, the settings are as contrasting as the characters themselves. Langston Hugh’s “Salvation” takes place mainly upon a church pew in the presence of a church congregation, in Missouri, with the main character being a twelve-year-old boy. Meanwhile, George Orwell’s “Shooting of an Elephant” takes place in a foreign country where he notes that children do not even wear clothes: “…violently shooing away a crowd of naked children.” (Orwell. ) Orwell, a police officer and the main character of this story, is a man who was well traveled and educated. How is it possible
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While reading, you hope each character will be able to withstand the pressure and stand up for themselves! You do not want to see them cave in and do something just because others say you must! You pull for what you feel they should have been able to do, speak the truth! But sadly, this was not the case for either character. Hughes, at the sobbing pleas of his Auntie Reed, "Langston, why don't you come? Why don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don't you come?" relented and joined the other children on the stage, falsely declaring his salvation. (Hughes. ) This was a decision which haunted Hughes later that evening, only the second time the young twelve-year-old had ever found himself crying. Oh, the paradox of desiring to truly want to see Jesus appear before him and the reality of Christ-followers not caring about the pureness of his spirit, pressuring him into a false salvation. Meanwhile, the elder Orwell, fared no better, as he not only shot the elephant because of the fear of being mocked by the unarmed, peasant-filled crowd, he had to shoot the elephant repeatedly, because the elephant, in all of his greatness, refused to die easily. “I felt that I had to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him.” (Orwell.
While reading, you hope each character will be able to withstand the pressure and stand up for themselves! You do not want to see them cave in and do something just because others say you must! You pull for what you feel they should have been able to do, speak the truth! But sadly, this was not the case for either character. Hughes, at the sobbing pleas of his Auntie Reed, "Langston, why don't you come? Why don't you come and be saved? Oh, Lamb of God! Why don't you come?" relented and joined the other children on the stage, falsely declaring his salvation. (Hughes. ) This was a decision which haunted Hughes later that evening, only the second time the young twelve-year-old had ever found himself crying. Oh, the paradox of desiring to truly want to see Jesus appear before him and the reality of Christ-followers not caring about the pureness of his spirit, pressuring him into a false salvation. Meanwhile, the elder Orwell, fared no better, as he not only shot the elephant because of the fear of being mocked by the unarmed, peasant-filled crowd, he had to shoot the elephant repeatedly, because the elephant, in all of his greatness, refused to die easily. “I felt that I had to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him.” (Orwell.