Adrian
English 112-Asp4
Prof. Henderson
Critical essay- Final Draft
The Pressure of Acceptance Throughout the years many have felt the pressure of being accepted by others. This theme of acceptance is shown in many works of literature. Two specific works of literature that this theme is portrayed in is “Salvation” by Langston Hughes and “Shooting an Elephant,” by George Orwell. In “Salvation” Hughes is pressured by the whole church to feel something that he couldn’t; in “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell is pressured by the town natives kill an animal he felt was harmless. In other words they both did something they are not proud of in order to please the majority. In “Shooting an Elephant” Orwell shows the consequences of not being accepted and pressures of being accepted. “All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited little beast who tried to make my job impossible”. (Orwell pg. 296) Not only does this quote show the unacceptance Orwell received but also that he was indecisive of whose side he was on, whether it was the empire or the town people. The natives hated him because of his position, but he hated his position, too, which shows they had some kind of common ground. Then there came a time when the town people were in need of him: a “sub-inspector at a police station the other end of the town rang me up on the phone and said that an elephant was ravaging the bazaar. Would I please come and do something about it? ” (297) this was an opportunity that only comes once in a life time: a chance to be hero and be accepted by the people. As Orwell went to the area the body of a dead man was discovered and he had made the decision to at least to check out the elephant. This is when he got his first little taste of acceptance. “I had no intention of shooting the elephant – I had merely sent for the