Peer pressure

Orwell regrets falling to peer pressure, yet he understands that his youth made him more succeptable to caving in. He seems to hate the people for pressuring him, and hate himself for succumbing to it. Put yourself in his place. Would you have reacted the same? What would you have done differently?

Killing an Elephant - Orwell

Orwell, is both likable and hatable. What do you like and/or hate about him?

Killing an Elephant

I accidently ran over a cat once. It was mortifying. I knew then that I would never be able to be a hunter, although my husband has tried many times to get me to hunt. You hunters out there, share your stories of hunting. What are your thoughts when hunting? Do they mirror Orwell's?

Family

Inem's mother and father need money. Getting Inem "married off" is one way for them to get it. Perhaps they feel that Inem will have a better life; afterall she is marrying someone wealthier. If they are allowing it for good intentions, does that make it "less" wrong?

Muk

Muk cares about Inem. He is not much younger than her, and yet he understands that she is too young to marry, while Inem doesn't. Why is that?

last line

The last line of Inem is: "And Mother continued to uphold the respectability of her home." Do you think Muk feels that his mother is "respectable?" Or do you think this last line is saying something else? If so, what?

Inem's life

Inem is now able to be beaten by anyone because she has brought disgrace upon her family. Some people feel "disgraced" or even embarrassed by actions that someone else commits. Why do you think this is? Do you think it's possible to realize that what someone in your family (or not in your family) can act solely on their own and you should not be embarrassed by their actions? Or do you think it's human nature to feel embarrassment? Why?

Inem's Mother

Inem's own mother was unable to see beyond her own beliefs that Inem was old enough to marry. She seemed to think it was OK because that is what she had done and her mother before her. She couldn't see Muk's mother's point of view. Do you think Muk's mother could have done more to stop the marriage? Should she have? What should she have done?