Q 01/05

By the final line of 'Shooting an Elephant', why does the narrator admit he really pulled the trigger?

A) To protect the town

B) To save face

C) To obey his orders

D) To avenge a death

Answer · why

B) To save face

To save face: he acted only so the watching crowd would not laugh at him, and he wonders whether any other European ever guessed.

Q 02/05

What job does the narrator of 'Shooting an Elephant' hold in the Burma town where crowds jeer him?

A) Army surgeon

B) District judge

C) Railway engineer

D) Police officer

Answer · why

D) Police officer

Police officer was George Orwell's own job in Burma from 1922 to 1927, which is why readers still argue over how much of the essay really happened.

Q 03/05

Facing the expectant crowd in 'Shooting an Elephant', the armed narrator decides he is really what kind of figure?

A) A puppet

B) A prophet

C) A shepherd

D) A jailer

Answer · why

A) A puppet

A puppet, he says, moved back and forth by the will of the people behind him: the ruler holding the gun turns out to be the one being controlled.

Q 04/05

Besides the entertainment, what does the crowd in 'Shooting an Elephant' want from the animal's death?

A) Its ivory

B) A cash reward

C) Its meat

D) Its hide

Answer · why

C) Its meat

Its meat: people turn up with baskets and blades before the narrator has even left, and by afternoon the carcass is stripped almost to the bone.

Q 05/05

During which sport is the narrator of 'Shooting an Elephant' tripped while the referee looks the other way?

A) Cricket

B) Football

C) Polo

D) Rugby

Answer · why

B) Football

Football gave the town a safe way to get back at a European: the foul goes unpunished and the spectators roar with laughter.