I believe that many people do things against their ethics when authority asks, simply because they either have to do it to keep their jobs, or because they think they will get into trouble if they don’t. A lot of people, more than one would think, are followers and not leaders. This means that they will follow what others do, or do what others ask them to do to feel accepted, or normal. A leader, on the other hand, will decide for themselves, and if it is morally or ethically wrong, they will decide not to do the item requested because of their values in…
Use of elephants as war animals has been dated back to as early as 331 BC by the Persians. King Darius the 111 of Persia was the first to use elephants in the battle of Guagamela, against Alexander the Great of Mecedon. Kind Darius' army consisted of 15 well trained Indian elephants which was used to frighten the opposition. War elephants were used in elephantry which involves a parade of elephants with military troops mounted on top. These elephants were used to charge at the enemy, separate their forces and inculcate a sense of fear in them. The many different attributes possessed by elephants made them useful in battles. Firstly Male elephants were used in the battlefield due to their aggressive nature. Female elephants were used for other purposes such as transportation and carrying of heavy loads. The massive…
Is there a definite right and wrong, or is that categorization a decision for society to impose on itself? In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, he addresses this question of ethics from the perspective of Huck, a growing boy sorting out his code of ethics for himself. Twain does an excellent job of making the reader feel sympathetic for Huck on multiple occasions throughout the novel with his use of a moral dilemma wherein Huck must reexamine himself and the conventions of the society in which he lives.…
Every decision made, will affect us, wether it’s in a negative or positive way. Everyone at some point in their lives will experience some form of peer pressure. Peer pressure is a very influential when we are making decisions. Peer pressure encourages other people to change the way they are or values to please those who are influencing us, which can be a group or an individual. In comparing and contrasting the essays “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell and “Group Minds” by Doris Lessing, the authors share homogeneous arguments, revealing the tendency for individuals to choose to comply to the majority of peoples beliefs against their own will. However,…
“The Allegory of the Cave” and “Shooting an Elephant” seems like two completely different stories. Both of them have their own ways of showing enlightenment and ways of perceiving realities. After reading both of these tales multiple times, I’ve drawn some conclusions on the different ways of enlightenment that are described throughout each story.…
Man must stay true to his own convictions and live his life with a clear conscience. In today's society people are often faced with situations in which they can choose to stand up for their beliefs popular or not. It is strange that in this modern world of open mindedness and acceptance of one other, people are far too afraid to defend what they know to be right. Standing up for what is morally right is seldom easy, but it distinguishes a good man from a great one. Morality is a necessity in this worldthe greatness of mankind depends on it.…
In the short story by George Orwell "Shooting an Elephant" the author unveiled to his audience the bureaucracy and his struggled with himself. As in so many other countries, bureaucracy and prejudice maybe found. However, in East Burma those days it was regiment. it appeared to be do as one says or pay the consequences of not doing the preferred choice.…
Throughout life there are moments where an individual must conform to society and the people around them in order to be accepted, however it is the individual actions and how the individual chooses to conform that creates their unique identity and place within that society. Ralph Ellison published the novel that follows a sense of outward conformity and obedience to an established order while at the same time invoking an inward questioning of the roles an individual plays within such an order. The main character is forced to conform to the cliché laws and expectations of the laws and expectations of the society that he lives in, in order to survive and function within them, while he privately goes against these societies in order to define themselves as individuals and uncover the truth about those societies that they live in. The outward conformity and inward questioning constantly clash, causing the character to doubt and confuse with what he knows is the truth and what he wants to believe is the truth.…
The fight for survival is a conflict that all species encounter. It is instinctive for all animals to put up their best defence and protect themselves when a threat is encountered. In higher order thinking animals such as us humans, confronting a challenging conflict requires elaborate cognitive thought processes. Depending on the individual’s own conscience, some people may succumb to compromising their values in order to protect themselves. In many instances, in both the fictional world and real life, an individual is put in a position where they must decide what is more important to them – self-preservation or moral values.…
The character that I identify with his struggles and conflicts is Orwell from "Shooting the Elephant".The reasons why i relate to him because he had to…
Character plays a role in who I am and who I seek to be. My parents taught me to be obedient and listen to others. At first, I thought being obedient means to follow rules so you would not get in trouble. In school, I would be the student who always followed the rules: no talking when the teachers talking, clean up after yourself, and finish your work at the proper time. Every year from kindergarten to middle school, I would get recognition…
According to my results, I tend to base my ethical perspective in what is good to be rather than what is good to do. This is correct; I strongly believe that ethics focus in ways to achieve moral excellence. I know that our actions are the reflection of our character, but at the same time I believe that we must look beyond the actions to determine the individual’s character. Our actions can be motivated or influenced by different circumstances: the desire to belong and be accepted in a group, in order to obtain a benefit, in order to gain a reputation and our actions can be manipulated. However, the actions can’t make us an ethical person if we don’t believe in honor, justice and a sound moral character. Ethics relies in the individual’s ability to make sound moral judgments. Is not just about choosing right from wrong according to a norm, but to be able to make difficult choices aid by a good character conformed to wisdom and integrity.…
Immanuel Kant (notice that he lived in the 1700’s and people likely had different views back then), a philosopher, believes that using reason, one can make a list of ethical actions. Kant says that one must generalize the certain action he is about to do to see if it is reasonable. For example, you ask yourself “should I cut the line in the cafeteria?” The way you can answer this question is by asking yourself “What if everyone cut the line?” Of course, if that happened then there would be chaos, so you shouldn’t cut the line. This also applies to stealing, murdering, and keeping promises. He basically says that everyone is equal and you shouldn’t justify your actions to yourself because you are not special and you wouldn’t want others to do that to you. “Treat others as you would have them treat you.” Golden Rule. But, if only you do this and no one else does you are going to get eaten up by the world. This may contradict a person’s…
In “An Elephant Crackup?”, Charles Siebert partly attributes the belligerence of the recent generations of elephants, the animals considered to be among the most intelligently advanced, to the lack of a matriarch, a powerful female figure. He takes an example of the case of the last elephant survivors at Queen Elizabeth National Park, where the elderly female elephant was the one who “gathered the survivors together from their various hideouts”, “led them back out as one group”, and “held the group together [as] the population all the while slowly beginning to rebound” (Siebert 358). The idea that the sustainability of the group is dependent on its leading female is rather surprising, in the sense that in the wilderness, where the determination of roles among the members of the herds is largely, or even solely, influenced by physical ability, it would be more logical that the males are in control. Surprisingly, there are several researches that prove the opposite, that despite lacking physical advantage, female leaders are vital to the behavior and existence of the group itself. This phenomenon is not only interesting, but also very useful and fundamental to the effort of improving the aggression of the elephants, and through that, the relationship between elephants and humans. Also, there are certain ways that the “political” and social order of the matriarchal societies in elephant can be held accountable for the sake of this process.…
A fictional character that directly influenced me was Oscar Wilde's Dorian Gray. Dorian taught me to never let the influence of others deflate who I am as a person. Dorian's trusting disposition was his true downfall. His looks only mattered to him once he had been fooled into valuing them. He taught me to never lose sight of who I am, or who I intend to be. The character Dorian Gray also taught me wisdom. I learned to determine who my real allies are before I allow the synthetic ones to betray me. Dorian's naïve attitude sealed his fate. From him I learned that trust should be the fore runner in all of my relationships. Dorian's countless transgressions and iniquities taught me to always concern myself with the preservation of my own integrity. Dorian's tragic tale forced me to create a code of ethics for myself out of fear that I could one day become the mishap that he became. In life, we must all slay our “dragons”. The most important part of slaying our “dragons” is the way that we do it. We must do this in a way that does not compromise who we are as human beings. Dorian allowed his self to be transformed into his own dragon, which eventually led to him slaying his self. In summation, Oscar Wilde's fictional character Dorian Gray from the book The Picture of Dorian Gray had a largely direct influence on me. Dorian Gray taught me to treat myself like a sentimental keepsake. He taught me to never allow the influence of others to taint my integrity and to trust my own moral compass. Dorian Gray made me who I am today, and without him, I shutter at the thought of who I would have been.…