When decisions are made, people would like to deal with it the way they want to.
However there always are some situations that force people to make the are opposite to their own will since people live in society and they need to consider other people’s opinions and ideas. No matter if people see it or not, it is hard to make decisions totally in depending on if they like it or not, because there are many factors they need to take in consideration like moral and ethics and the effect society has on them and other people’s opinions. Both George Orwell and Claire McCarthy faced the problem of making a choice between what they wanted to do and what others wanted them to do. In ” Shooting an Elephant” Orwell describes an elephant that got loose and destroyed people’s homes and also killed a man. The villagers wanted him to shoot and kill the elephant since he is a officer. Orwell did not want to kill the elephant but he did it anyways because other people wanted him to do and and really pressured him on killing the elephant. McCarthy faced a similar problem in her story “Dog Lab” she knew the lab would be a way for students to learn something valuable but she felt like it wasn’t right and uncomfortable with killing dogs. Some people agree with dog lab as a way she learned, However McCarthy had morals and she couldn’t kill the dog.
The two authors had no choice really, Orwell killed the elephant because he wanted to show that he’s in charge and he’s the leader to the Burma people. McCarthy killed the dog because it will prepare her for the future since she will be operating on people instead of dogs. Making a decision is never easy especially when they are faced with their own morals or ethical decisions. The choices they make could affect people’s lives in a bad way. It could lead to regret and guilt. But making that hard choice usually benefits them in some way or shape. Orwell experienced a conflict ” To come all that way, rifle in hand. With two thousand people marching at my heels.
The crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man’s life in the east, was one long struggle not to be laughed at. But I didn’t want to shoot the elephant” ( Pg 461) Orwell being white police officer, he needed to act like the way he should be and needed to show his responsibility. Even though he killed the elephant, he did not want to kill the elephant at all because he thought the elephant did nothing wrong and didn’t deserve to die. These two sides caused a lot of conflict. McCarthy and Orwell had a similar situation, where two innocent animals and it was their own choice. McCarthy state’s ” I didn’t like the idea of doing the lab; it felt wrong. Yet for some reason I was embarrassed that I felt that way, and the lab seemed so Important.
The more I thought about it the more confused I became” ( Pg 482) McCarthy left uncomfortable with the dog lab. It wasn’t fair to take others life because they did nothing wrong.Yet again, this is a great way to learn as a medical student and she didn’t want to give up her only chance.
Both Orwell and McCarthy needed to make the choice of killing the animal or not. Decisions like this are tough because its relates to our morals and ethics and most it’s a conflict between whether you should do it or not. Listening to the little voices in your head is important when making a decision because in most cases it connects to our morals. No matter which side people end up picking they always have to face and accept the consequences their decision caused, it isn’t okay for a person to pick a certain side because others wanted them to make a certain decision.
When both Orwell and McCarthy both made their decision it was based off other peoples voices. Orwell stated, ” And suddenly I realized that i should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly… that I first grasped the hollowness, the futility of the the white man’s dominion in the east.” (461) Even though Orwell didn’t want to kill the elephant he still did because he tried to act dominate, if Orwell didn’t kill the elephant the Burmese people would have seen him as weak and unstable. McCarthy chose to part take in the dogs lab after many hours of thinking and thought it was best to do the lab ” I was quiet during these discussions.
I did not want to kill a dog, but I certainly wanted to take advantage of every learning opportunity offered me… Doing well had become so important that I was afraid to trust anyone; doing well had become more important than anything.”(481) Although McCarthy felt uncomfortable to kill the innocent dog she wanted to learn about the cardiovascular system so in a way it really helped her, because if she wouldn’t have done the lab and other students would have the would have more knowledge than her which is never okay. Both authors take the consequences of their actions into perspective and then made the better choice because makes these decisions aren’t easy.
Each decision made will have a cause and effect like outcome where people will need to take responsibility for when they make a decision. Orwell states ” I waited a long time for him to die, but his breathing don’t weaken. Finally i fired my remaining two shots into spots where i thought his heart must be.
But he still did not die… I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise.” (463) orwell being the officer decided to kill the elephant, he took the responsibility for that elephants life. After shooting the elephant Orwell wanted to end its life soon and didn’t want it to suffer from the pain. Even thought that didn’t happen he took the responsibility for killing the elephant but regretted it. McCarthy behave in a similar way like Orwell died after killing the elephant, she killed the dog and said ” Helping with the anesthesia, I thought, would be taking full responsibility for what i was doing, something that was very important to me. I was going to face something I was doing… Maybe in part I thought of it as my penance.” (482) McCarthy really struggled killing the dog and when she did she carried the responsibility with it which also ended up leaning to regret.
After the expernace McCarthy began to think the lab was a wrong choice and she regretted her decision and wished she would have changed it because it was really against her morals and ethics. Society there’s always conflicts between what a person wants to do and what others want them to do.
