Analyzing Peer Pressure in George Orwell's Shooting an Elephant
Shooting an Elephant SOAPS
Subject
The subject of “shooting an Elephant” is to show how people can be manipulated into doing actions that they would otherwise not do, to preserve their social image. This is exemplified by the group of people that followed the man to watch him shoot and kill the elephant. the thousands of people represented the large amount of pressure on the man. Occasion:
Shooting an Elephant is written in 1963 when the British were fighting Burma.
The setting of this piece was in Burma; we know this because that author mentions it in the essay and he also mentions the people as Burmese. These two things let us understand where the story is taking place.
Audience
The audience for this writing is for people who might be influenced by their peers or by social standards if they don't want to do something in the first place. This theme is usually centered towards younger audiences because weighing decisions can be harder for younger people.
Purpose
The purpose in this essay is to not be influenced by your peers because it is not always for the better. He makes it clear that he wants to show this audience that doing what is expected isn't always right because of how he said “...I could not stand it any
longer and went away.” which would show the reader that it is not always a feel good experience. Speaker
The speaker is George Orwell. He was part of the British Imperial Police for several years and disliked the aspects of British Empire. Orwell’s mentality was that a person’s image should not have to affect unrelated others.
Tone
The tone was critical and full of remorse. The story shows that he was not happy with shooting an elephant. These attitudes were expressed through a range of phrases throughout the story and how he looked at his actions in a negative light. The tone was made clear so he could get the purpose of his essay off to show the reader that doing what other people want is not path one
Subject
The subject of “shooting an Elephant” is to show how people can be manipulated into doing actions that they would otherwise not do, to preserve their social image. This is exemplified by the group of people that followed the man to watch him shoot and kill the elephant. the thousands of people represented the large amount of pressure on the man. Occasion:
Shooting an Elephant is written in 1963 when the British were fighting Burma.
The setting of this piece was in Burma; we know this because that author mentions it in the essay and he also mentions the people as Burmese. These two things let us understand where the story is taking place.
Audience
The audience for this writing is for people who might be influenced by their peers or by social standards if they don't want to do something in the first place. This theme is usually centered towards younger audiences because weighing decisions can be harder for younger people.
Purpose
The purpose in this essay is to not be influenced by your peers because it is not always for the better. He makes it clear that he wants to show this audience that doing what is expected isn't always right because of how he said “...I could not stand it any
longer and went away.” which would show the reader that it is not always a feel good experience. Speaker
The speaker is George Orwell. He was part of the British Imperial Police for several years and disliked the aspects of British Empire. Orwell’s mentality was that a person’s image should not have to affect unrelated others.
Tone
The tone was critical and full of remorse. The story shows that he was not happy with shooting an elephant. These attitudes were expressed through a range of phrases throughout the story and how he looked at his actions in a negative light. The tone was made clear so he could get the purpose of his essay off to show the reader that doing what other people want is not path one