Question

Read this passage from “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell. What irony does the narrator point out?

As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to shoot the elephant. 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; besides they wanted the meat.


The Burmese natives are following him as he tries to find the elephant.


The natives did not care about the elephant destroying their homes.


The native Burmese and English crowds both like to be entertained.


The native Burmese people wanted elephant meat.

Answer 1

im pretty sure it would be the burmese natives are following him as he tries to find the elephant because they thought the elephant was boring at first

Answer 2

The natives did not care about the elephant destroying their homes.

Step-by-step explanation:

This is the irony that the speaker tries to highlight in the passage. In this text, the speaker feels concerned and overwhelmed at the idea of shooting the elephant. He does not want to do it, but feels forced to because the natives demand it. However, ironically, there does not seem to be any good reason to do so besides the spectacle, as the natives did not seem particularly upset when the elephant was destroying their homes.