ENC 1101
Due 9/4
Too Young
In the narrative, Shooting an Elephant, George Orwell shares his personal experience of a moral challenge he has faced. Orwell was an officer in a poverty infested place called Burma and was hated by many of its citizens. Burmese people saw him as an evil white imperialist. But one day, when a raging elephant tore through the Burmese town the citizens looked towards Orwell with burning eyes that persuaded him to shoot the beast. Every inch of Orwell’s body screamed out “Don’t shoot! It’s just a helpless animal!” But, he wanted so badly for the Burmese to accept him. He caved in to the pressure and tossed his own beliefs to the wind.
Have you ever done something against your own morals and beliefs? I personally have a difficult time recalling a time I have done so. I am usually head strong when it comes to peer pressure and such. Although, when I was younger I was still learning about right and wrong. My moral foundation was only just beginning.
Sunday mornings were always a ritual. My mom, dad, brother, and I woke up early, got ready, and attended church at Bethel Baptist. Our church was your typical small town Baptist church; everyone knew everyone as well as everyone’s business. We sang hymns, listened to the preacher relate God’s word to everyday life, prayed, and congregated in the dining hall after service. Nothing unusual at all happened in this church. Soon, my brother began middle school. His classmates invited him to attend a youth group at Victory’s Assembly of God Church. He became more and more involved with his youth group, so my parents made the decision to switch churches. We began to attend church at Victory and at first we loved it. The only thing substantially different was that occasionally people in the audience sometime spoke out in tongues and then a member of the church would interpret what was said. We were a little uncomfortable with this at first but we got used to it and were all very happy with the change we made.
Subsequently, I decided to join in with the kids’ church they provided. Kids’ church was the coolest in the world to me. This new church had everyone in one ginormous room that looked like the inside of some sort of night club. There were neon lights of all colors, Christian/Pop music playing when you walked in, and after our bible lesson we either played games or did a God-related craft. I looked forward to