Human Nature Described in "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell
Many people have tried to define what it really means to be human, and there is really still no definitive answer that everyone will accept. However, there have been many books and essays that have been written on the subject, and some of them will be discussed here. One of the most definitive essays on humanity and society, and one that is often overlooked, is "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell. Orwell's essay deals with how Orwell had to kill an elephant that was running around loose, not because it was really dangerous by the time he found it, but because the natives that he was around clearly wanted him to shoot it. It suffered for a long time after he shot it before it finally died, and even though he felt badly about it, he still was glad that he shot it because he did not want to look foolish in from of others. There were psychological, ideological, and social issues that were involved with shooting the elephant, and these will be addressed along with an examination of three books that also address the subject of what it truly means to be human, and why humans do things the way that they do them. In other words, the reasons behind the actions of humanity. Social and ideological issues were important in the ess
These same social and ideological factors come into play in so many of the interactions that are seen in human beings. For Orwell, the essay showed how much people want to be accepted by others, and how much it bothers them if they are not accepted simply for who they are and what they do. This seems strange, because what other people think of one really does not matter in the grand scheme of things, but human nature does not allow most human beings to ignore what others think of them. This is also seen in the work of Mary Midgely who, at the age of 50, wrote a book regarding the nature of human beings, and how close it was to the nature of animals (Midgely, 2002). It was believed at the time that there was no specific thing as human nature of instinct, but Midgely saw how wrong this was and attempted to show that the human 'animal' has a very distinct and important nature when it comes to how he or she responds to others. Midgely (2002) does not say, however, that animals and man are the same, but only that some of the very basic instincts that are seen in both of them are amazingly similar, despite the fact that many say that there is no common ground there. This type of choice is often what people are faced with, and even though they do not always make the right choices, they always make a choice. Author Todd May (2001) addresses the issue of making choices as well, because they are a very large part of what it means to be human. It becomes necessary, therefore, to understand fully and completely who one is and what that really means before one can understand the choices that one makes (May, 2001). Many people in this instance find that, like Orwell and his elephant, neither choice that they have is overly good, and since they are not really in favor of either choice, they make the choice that they feel is the 'lesser of the two evils.' Often, however, these people later see that the choice that they made was not the right one, and they reflect on this. Animals are unencumbered when it comes to these types of issues, and therefore do not feel any remorse based on wrong choices. This understanding of what has taken place and the realization of what was caused by the choice is the main thing that makes people truly human, and it shows their natur
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Approximate Word count = 1537
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)
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