He has experience handling elephants.

The mahout has requested his assistance.

Only the British police force has weapons.

The Burmese refuse to control the elephant.

He fears an imminent armed uprising of the Burmese.

He sees the abuse of Burmese prisoners

He sees how badly the Empire govern the Burmese.

He is poorly paid.

He is disliked and insulted by the Burmese people.

The elephant can no longer hurt anyone, so Orwell has no reason to stay.

He can no longer stand to see the elephant suffer and not be able to do anything about it.

Because the Burmese crowd is angry, he thinks it best to leave before they turn on him.

He knows the Burmese are only waiting for him to leave so they can kill and butcher the elephant.

accept

replace

abandon

influence

Government officials are chosen in popular elections.

Government positions are based on family heritage and succession.

The head of the government’s power is strictly limited by constitutional law.

The government leader rules through martial law and usually has only his own interests in mind.

realistic

indifferent

determined

discouraged

Because they hold all the power, Anglo-Indian officials remain immune to the feelings of the Burmese.

Anglo-Indian officials are able to remain objective about the empire’s rule and its relationship to the local people.

Anglo-Indian officials feel guilty for upholding the empire’s authority, while at the same time they despise the local population.

Anglo-Indian officials are sympathetic to the Burmese people because the natives treat them better than their British superiors.

The Burmese population had no weapons and were quite helpless against it. It had already destroyed somebody's bamboo hut, killed a cow, and raided some fruit stalls and devoured the stock; also it had met the municipal rubbish van and, when the driver jumped out and took to his heels, had turned the van over and inflicted violences upon it.

They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot. It was a bit of fun to them, as it would be to an English crowd....

I marched down the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of people jostling at my heels.

And suddenly I realized that I should have to shoot the elephant after all. The people expected it of me and I had got to do it; I could feel their two thousand wills pressing me forward, irresistibly.

But at that moment I glanced round at the crowd that had followed me. It was an immense crowd, two thousand at the least and growing every minute.

I looked at the sea of yellow faces above the garish clothes—faces all happy and excited over this bit of fun, all certain that the elephant was going to be shot.

I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom that he destroys.

The crowd grew very still, and a deep, low, happy sigh, as of people who see the theater curtain go up at last, breathed from innumerable throats. They were going to have their bit of fun, after all.

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.

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.

I heard later that it took him half an hour to die. Burmans were bringing dahs and baskets even before I left, and I was told they had stripped his body almost to the bones by the afternoon.

Besides, legally I had done the right thing, for a mad elephant has to be killed, like a mad dog, if its owner fails to control it.

The British civil service was a model of efficiency.

Rarely can anyone fully understand another culture.

An individual’s livelihood is as important as public safety.

Working for an imperialist power is morally compromising.

Orwell professes to be a pacifist.

The Burmese do nothing to personally hurt him.

Orwell believes the Burmese are naturally superior.

Orwell sees the Burmese as victims of British oppression.

Orwell objects to the term sahib.

Orwell does not appear resolute in front of the crowd.

Although he knows his own mind, Orwell cannot do what he thinks he should.

Orwell cannot make a decision about the elephant, even though he knows that he should.

He sees the damage the elephant caused, and he shoots it as a result.

He realizes that the villagers are excited to see him kill the elephant, and so he does.

He feels regret for killing the elephant yet is relieved that he had a valid reason for shooting it.

He recognizes that the elephant is very valuable property, but he shoots it because the owner has not controlled it.

pushy

insistent

assertive

ambitious

inflexible

obstinate

stubborn

determined

Both essays focus exclusively on an upsetting yet important incident

Both essays present solutions to an ongoing problem of exclusion

Both essays look at the causes and effects of racism

Both essays cover a small period of time..

Levy shares the perspective of the colonized, while Orwell gives the viewpoint of a colonizer.

Levy embraces the English perspective, whereas Orwell presents his discontent as a British authority.

Levy expresses the confusion of her young adulthood, while Orwell is steadfast in his evaluation of the British Empire.

Levy gives an objective and academic account of events, while Orwell presents a perspective of an angry young man.

He is indifferent to the plight of the Burmese.

He is deeply conflicted between his duties and his morals.

He enjoys the power his position grants him over others.

He is primarily concerned with his reputation among the British.

It makes him reconsider the morality of his actions.

It pressures him into acting against his better judgment.

It has no effect on his decision; he acts solely on logic.

It encourages him to find a non-violent solution.

The unpredictability of nature.

The burden of leadership.

The complexities of colonialism and power.

The importance of cultural understanding.