Save Face or Do What’s Right?

Eng. 12 Essay #3 Revision

Save Face Or Do What’s Right?

In the essay "Shooting an elephant" George Orwell describes an incident he had while working as an Imperial Police officer in Burma. An elephant had gone out of control and was loose in a town. He was forced to make a decision on whether to follow the will of the local people, or to save the elephant's life.

Orwell knew it was wrong to kill the elephant. He had not wanted to from the beginning. He had brought a gun just in case he might need it. When he finally came to the elephant, who was peacefully eating outside of the town it no longer posed a threat. But, a large group of people had formed behind him, and they were now expecting him to kill the elephant, giving them a show and some food. The people who had abused him the entire time he had been in Burma now found him worth some interest. If he didn't kill the elephant, he would be disappointing all of the people. He considered it his job at that point to impress the people. So he killed the elephant for the people, hoping to gain respect from them.

In my personal experience, I was once faced with a situation like Orwells. I was put in a situation where I had the choice of saving face or doing what was right, unlike Orwell I chose to do what was right. This passed week it happened, A couple of friends were going