Sometimes we are faced with difficult decisions
Sometimes we are faced with situations that put us in dilemma on what decision we should take. In such situations we might end up making either the correct decisions or the wrong ones. Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation” and George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” are two pieces of literature that depict situations where characters are supposed to make choices that determined the course that the literary works took. The climax of both stories is marked by killings orchestrated by characters who had to make hard choices between doing what could be considered a reasonable act or acting as per their duties.
Thesis: We must act with empathy to avoid making wrong decisions
Thesis: Although some situations demand of us to make choices in relation to the duties we are obliged to engage in, we ought to try and act with empathy else we are going to make the wrong decisions that could have immediate or long-term consequences.
Inner struggle between empathy and duty
Both characters who engage in the killings in the two pieces of literature experience an inner struggle between empathy and duty before engage in the killings. The motives behind the killings are also similar as both characters linked to the killing in the two short stories do so in order to impress the people or nationalities they serve. Orwell’s shooting of the elephant in George Orwell’s short story and the killing of Belcher and Hawkins by Donovan in O’Connor’s story both depict how some of the dilemmas as a result of external pressure can lead one to making the wrong choices that sooner or later have consequences in one’s life. Orwell’s act of shooting the elephant was fueled by the urge to satisfy the expectations of the natives. Though he had no intentions of using violence against the elephant, he was forced to choose between acting reasonably in the situation or going by the expectations of the natives. Orwell had a choice of using less lethal force on the elephant since at the time he had approached the elephant, the animal seemed calm and was no longer a threat. Other than the fact that he was yielding to the pressure by the local to kill the elephant, the actual motive behind the killing by Orwell was because he felt that he was acting within the confines of his duties as a warden and also to pronounce the dominance of the British Imperialist whom he was serving. The consequence of the killing is the guilt that haunted Orwell for killing the elephant who at the time of the killing had not shown any sign of being a threat.
The struggle between empathy and duty in Donovan
Donovan from O’Connor’s story was engaged in a struggle between hidden powers of empathy and duty. At the end, he chose to shoot and kill the Englishmen, Belcher and Hawkins. The motive behind his act was basically out of the pressure that it was his duty as a soldier to execute their enemies since he was an Irish and his prisoners were English. He was also following orders from his superiors and the rumor that some of the Irish soldiers had been executed by British soldiers. Despite the narrator, Bonaparte who was also one of the Irish soldiers trying to discourage Donavan from engaging in the murderous act, Donovan choose to disregard his innate pressure to empathize with the Englishmen and killed them as the story comes to an end. Donovan had a choice of acting humanely and sparing the lives of the two Englishmen since at the beginning of the story they are depicted to have shared a close relationship and even played cards together discussing about politics. Similarly, the quilt of killing people he knew and shared some experiences was the long-term consequence that Donovan had to face.
