Victims of Circumstances

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The human mind is a wide world, and like all others, faces a lot of difficulties; one of them, is the change of behaviour that occurs when put in tough situations. In The Lottery, Shirley Jackson portrays the things a person can do in favor of the needs of the many. Following this, George Orwell displayed the choice the police officer had made in order to preserve his image in Shooting an Elephant. Finally, The Stanford Prison Experiment proves the power of social situations when making decisions. By examining The Lottery, Shooting an Elephant and Stanford Prison Experiment, it will become evident that people are forced to do what they know is wrong when pressured by others, loose their principles to maintain their image, and become imperious when given power.
To begin with, in The Lottery, the towns’ people had let their own family members die for the need of others. For instant, Ms. Hutchinson was stoned to death in front of her family, yet none of them did anything to stop it. In a small village, people had to participate in an annual lottery, which the winner get sacrificed for some super stiches belief that by doing that, they would get a good harvest. People from the village stood there, throwing rocks at Ms. Hutchinson, watching her suffer. Her husband, children, and friends stood there looking at her cry in pain, listened to her bag for their help but did nothing. They chose their traditions over her, just because everybody else did. The towns’ people crave certainty; their beliefs consumed their minds and left them blind and ignorant. Blind enough to murder somebody every year and keep silent, because the voices of the people who support the idea of sacrifice are more powerful than family loyalties. In fact the power ...

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...iation. After the experiment, Dave was asked to explain his behaviour in prison, he said that he wanted to know how long it would take for someone under abuse to stand up for themselves. Mr. Eshleman didn’t appear to show any remorse or regret or what he did. Transformed from a decent man to an abusive prison guard, Davis had become authoritative after given some power.
Therefore, human behaviour can change according to the circumstances. Evidently, the Hutchinson family didn’t do anything to save their mother just because he sacrifice makes others feel good. Similarly, the police officer shot the elephant even though he knew it was wrong, in order to preserve his image. Last but not least, Dave abused his power after becoming a prison guard. In short, it’s the factors that surround us in our everyday life that determine our behaviour and shape our personalities.

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