Shooting an Elephant

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What does the elephant demonstrate by rising up one final time before dying? (Paragraph 11)

A) Its enduring power, even in death

B) The symbolic rising of Burma against the narrator

C) How powerful the narrator desires to be

D) The strength of the British Empire

2. Why does the author foreshadow the end of his essay with the title, “Shooting an Elephant”?

A) To warn readers of the graphic nature of the ending of the story

B) To make a symbolic message about violence toward others

C) To build suspense as the narrator decides what to do

D) To offer a paradox about the nature of survival

3. Why does Orwell find his treatment by the Burmese “perplexing and upsetting”? (Paragraph 2)

A) He is young and ill-educated, so he feels they should be more sympathetic of his ignorance.

B) He is secretly anti-imperialist and favors self-governance for the Burmese.

C) He is doing them a favor by playing football with them, so this behavior is unwarranted.

D) He is convinced that without British rule, Burma would have dissolved into anarchy.

4. How does Orwell approach the request for help with the elephant?

A) Uncertainly

B) Nonchalantly

C) Determinedly

D) Curiously

5. At which point does Orwell first decide he will kill the elephant?

A) When the sub-inspector phones him from the police station.