Bondage
Illustration★★★★In the jungles of Thailand, when a wild elephant is captured, hunters tie one end of a thick chain around the elephant’s feet. The other end is tied to a large banyan tree. The huge beast pulls with all its strength, but it can’t budge the banyan tree. Finally, after struggling for days and weeks, the elephant sur- renders to the chain. At this point, they take the elephant and chain it to a small iron stake by a circus tent. The elephant doesn’t attempt to pull away because it still thinks it is chained to the tree. It never realizes how easily it could achieve freedom. It has become a slave to habit. Brotherhood 31
The point
A captured elephant that gives up struggling against a chain tied to a tree can later be held by a small stake alone, because it has been conditioned to believe escape is impossible, illustrating how people remain enslaved to old habits long after they could break free.