Name ______________________________ Date ________ Period ______
“Shooting an Elephant” Quiz (40 points; 2 points each)
DIRECTIONS: Circle the best answer for each question .
1.
Orwell takes great length in describing the elephant’s demise. What does his description foreshadow? a.
the rise of the empire b.
the fall of the empire c.
the prosperity of the empire d.
the birth of the empire e.
the dream of a new empire
2.
The speaker’s attitude toward shooting the elephant as revealed in paragraph 7 is one of: a.
incredulity b.
resignation c.
despair d.
divination e.
disillusion
3.
Each of the following quotations contains irony EXCEPT: a.
“The crowd yelled with hideous laughter.” b.
“The young Buddhist priests were the worst of all.” c.
“All these oppressed me with an intolerable sense of guilt.” d.
“All this was perplexing and upsetting.” e.
“Theoretically—and secretly, of course—I was all for the Burmese.”
4.
Orwell makes use of which of the following in paragraph 2?
I.
periodic sentence
II.
parallel structures a.
I only
III.
extended metaphor b.
I and II only c.
II only d.
I and III only e.
I, II and III
5.
What can one infer about Orwell’s feelings based on his use of such diction as
“puppet,” “dummy” and “mask” in paragraph 7? a.
He is overwhelmed by chaos. b.
He only does what he is told. c.
He believes the Burmese are puppets. d.
He feels constrained by his position as sahib. e.
He is in control of the situation.

6.
In the sentence, “The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong those two thousand Burmans would see me pursued, caught, trampled on and reduced to a grinning corpse like that Indian up the hill,” what word is parallel to
“caught”? a.
corpse b.
reduced c.
Burmans d.
Indian e.
mind
7.
Paragraph 3 includes all the following EXCEPT a.
colloquial diction b.
introduction of the incident c.
epiphany d.
antithesis e.
narration
8.
Orwell was reluctant to shoot the elephant at first because he knew the elephant was:
I.
no longer a danger after his bout of “must” had worn off.
II.
worth less than the “coolie” who had been killed. a. I only
III.
worth more alive than dead. b.
I and II only c.
II only d.
I and III only e.
I, II and III
9.
What rhetorical strategy does Orwell NOT use in paragraph 11? a.
variety in sentence length b.
onomatopoeia c.
paradox d.
simile e.
irony
10.
The quote, “He was dying, very slowly…damage him further,” in paragraph 12 contains an example of: a.
metaphor. b.
oxymoron. c.
figurative language. d.
theme. e.
irony.
11.
Paragraph 7 includes all the following, EXCEPT: a.
oxymoron b.
epiphany c.
simile d.
declaration of an important theme e.
derogatory diction

12.
What word best describes Orwell’s choice of diction in the following phrase:
“…grinning with an expression of unendurable agony”? a.
derogatory b.
colloquial c.
oxymoronic d.
understated e.
metaphoric
13.
The first two sentences of the passage perform which of the following functions?
I.
It states the main idea of the passage.
II.
It establishes the setting of the passage.
III.
It introduces the speaker’s attitude toward the Burmese a. I only b.
III only c.
I, II and III d.
I and II only e.
II and III only
14.
In the sentence, “There was a loud, scandalized , cry of ‘Go away, child! Go away this instant!’ and an old woman with a switch in her hand came round the corner…”, the best synonym for scandalized would be: a.
offended b.
shocked c.
slandered d.
outraged e.
agitated
15.
Which sentence best describes the theme of the essay? a.
“As a police officer I was an obvious target and was baited whenever it seemed to do so.” b.
“He becomes a sort of hollow, posing dummy, the conventionalized figure of the sahib.” c.
“I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” d.
“At that age I was not squeamish about killing animals, but I had never shot an elephant and never wanted to.” e.
“I perceived in this moment that when the white man turns tyrant it is his own freedom he destroys.”
16.
In paragraph 11, Orwell uses all the following except: a.
imagery b.
metaphor c.
simile d.
compound sentences e.
irony

17.
The natives influence Orwell’s decision to shoot the elephant in all the following ways, EXCEPT: a.
just punishment for the elephant killing the native. b.
the threat of native ridicule. c.
not being frightened in front of natives d.
by doing what the natives expect of him since he is a sahib e.
the presence of 2,000 natives created added pressure
18.
Orwell’s attitude toward shooting the elephant in paragraph 6 is best described as: a.
indifferent b.
unnecessary c.
inevitable d.
enthusiastic e.
None of the above.
19.
Paragraph 4 includes all the following EXCEPT: a.
simile b.
a quotation c.
allusion d.
derogatory diction e.
ironic contrast
20.
“Strohschein” means: a.
the appearance of sunshine. b.
the sauerkraut is ready. c.
farm animals consume straw. d.
strong German midfielder. e.
the appearance of straw.

7. D
8. D
9. C
10. C
11. A
12. C
13. E
14. E
15. E
16. B
17. A
18. B
19. C
20. E
“Shooting an Elephant” Quiz
KEY :
1. B
2. B
3. D
4. B
5. D
6. B