Montaigne and Orwell

Orwell, Shooting an Elephant and Montaigne, That Men Should Not Judge of Our Happiness Till After Our Death was similar to the contemporary example, Out There, by Jo Ann. These stories all have to do with the value of life. In Montaigne's story they say that you cannot judge a man's happiness until he has lived his life.In Orwell's story a man undergoes a challenge that seems easy until he is face to face with the situation, which is whether or not to shoot an elephant. And in the story, Out There , a lady is almost run off the road by a man trying to kill her but she survives. All three stories are very different but similar because all three of the stories have to do with the value of life. Whether it be deciding to take an animal's life, watching someone attempt to take your life, or judging a mans life right before he dies, they all intertwine with the value of life.
I thought it was very interesting that Orwell and Alexie's stories consisted of racism. The boy speaks about his life as a Spokane Indian living on a reservation in eastern Washington. Where he was expected to be stupid. "They wanted me to stay quiet when the non-Indian teacher asked for answers, for volunteers, for help.We were Indian children who expected to be stupid"(Alexie.129). Orwell's story also consisted of racism. "The owner was furious, but he was only an Indian and could do nothing.The older men said i was right , the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a coolie,because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie."(Orwell.5) In both stories a certain race was discriminated whether it be the Indian boy who was expected to be stupid, or the man's life that meant less than an animals.