Analysis of Shooting and Elephant by George Orwell and Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Free Essay Example, 1000 words

A court order is issued forbidding demonstrations, but Luther still believes that only through the demonstrations that the rights of the minority group could be respected. The dilemma he encounters involves whether to follow his conscious thought and lobby for the rights of humanity through demonstrations or follow the negotiation forum; which he believes would not bear fruits. The former would break the law while the latter is acting within the provisions of the law. He decides to break the law, for the first time, in order to protect the rights of the minority. Amid criticisms by religious leaders, he responds to their letters in jail trying to justify the protests as the only way of having the grievances heard. Comparing the two narrations, George Orwell made the right decision. Killing the elephant demonstrated his respect for human life and adoration of the natives. If the animal was not killed, it would continue with the damages and would even kill more people of Burma. Some European administrators argued that the life of the elephant was more valuable than the life of the native who was killed by the animal. We will write a custom essay sample on Analysis of Shooting and Elephant by George Orwell and Letter From Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now Going by the natural law, human life is more valuable than animal life. It would also not be right to allow the animal to continue killing people because of its monetary value. The decision to kill the elephant was a good way of demonstrating to the oppressive European administrators that human life is equal by all means. However, if the elephant belonged to a European, the decision would be tougher for the narrator. The only alternative that he has of not killing the animal would be disastrous to the people if implemented because the elephant would continue causing more harm in the society. On the other hand, the decision made by Martin Luther King in â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail† was not right as far as the respect for human life is concerned. Unlike George Orwell’s alternative that would lead to loss of human life, the only alternative that Luther had would only delay justice but not deny it. Luther failed to consider the loss es associated with protests and demonstrations. In serious protests, people would be killed by the white administrators and property destroyed. At the same time, protesting is not a guarantee of justice. Even after the protests, the administrators may remain adamant and fail to heed to the grievances. Luther may have been influenced by the black Americans to protest since they were tired of negotiations. However, the protests were not a justification for the end of discrimination.