Shooting An Elephant

Which statement describes the main theme of the essay?

• Attempting to exert your control over another person or creature will only result in violence and people’s eventual death.

• It is safer to act as other people expect you to, rather than to draw attention to the things that make you different.

• No one has a natural inclination towards violence and conquering, rather it is something that is taught and learned.

• In the process of trying to exert control over others, we can lose a sense of who we are and our own power.

Which detail from the text best supports the main theme?

• “All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil- spirited little beasts who tried to make my job impossible.” (Paragraph 2)

• “I had no intention of shooting the elephant — I had merely sent for the rifle to defend myself if necessary — and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you.” (Paragraph 5)

• “but in reality I was only an absurd puppet pushed to and fro by the will of those yellow faces behind. I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.” (Paragraph 7)

• “I felt that I had got to put an end to that dreadful noise. It seemed dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him.” (Paragraph 12)

Which statement best captures the author’s point of view in the narrative essay?

• First person point of view allows the author to describe the motivations of people in positions of authority.

• First person point of view allows the author to describe how people can recognize the value of all living creatures.

• Third person point of view allows the author to explain to readers that our moral codes are constantly changing.

• Third person point of view allows the author to explain to readers how all people have evil in them.

Which quote from the text best supports the narrator's point of view?

• “It was a tiny incident in itself, but it gave me a better glimpse than I had had before of the real nature of imperialism.” (Paragraph 3)

• “When I pulled the trigger I did not hear the bang or feel the kick — one never does when a shot goes home — but I heard the devilish roar of glee that went up from the crowd.” (Paragraph 11)

• “It seemed dreadful to see the great beast lying there, powerless to move and yet powerless to die, and not even to be able to finish him.” (Paragraph 12)

• “And afterwards I was very glad that the coolie had been killed; it put me legally in the right and it gave me a sufficient pretext for shooting the elephant.” (Paragraph 14)

Based on the diction (word choice) used in paragraph 12, what best describes the tone of the passage?

• sympathetic

• remorseful

• helplessness

• ambivalent