Shooting an Elephant Test | Mid-Book Test - Easy

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Multiple Choice Questions

1. Orwell worries that liberty cannot exist without what?
(a) Its opposite - oppression.
(b) Censorship of expression.
(c) Liberty of thought.
(d) Laws that protect the populace.

2. How does Orwell feel about Gandhi's involvement in politics?
(a) He admires Gandhi's pacifist methods of enacting change.
(b) He feels that Gandhi's talents would have been wasted in any other field.
(c) He feels that Gandhi didn't really accomplish much in his political career.
(d) He feels Gandhi's saintliness may have been sullied by his involvement in politics.

3. How does Orwell propose to aid the English language?
(a) To inject clear thinking into the process aiding readers in fundamental remedies.
(b) He does not think there is anything that can be done.
(c) To appeal to writers of grammar books and dictionaries.
(d) To address the issue to teachers of the language.

4. According to Orwell, how does Gandhi compare to other politicians of his time?
(a) He accomplished much more.
(b) He didn't accomplish as much.
(c) He didn't focus on the same issues.
(d) He left a remarkably "clean smell" behind.

5. What is the narrator's profession?
(a) Firefighter.
(b) Police officer.
(c) Doctor.
(d) Judge.

6. Overall, how does Orwell feel about "Gulliver's Travels"?
(a) He understands, and sympathizes with, Swift's message, but thinks the books are poorly executed.
(b) He feels that the books have an important message, but are poorly executed.
(c) He likes the books, and has reread them many times.
(d) He is bored by them, and doesn't understand people's fascination with the story.

7. In "The Managerial Revolution", what does Burnham say about capitalism?
(a) That it will only survive if it changes to accommodate social classes.
(b) That it is alive and well.
(c) That it is dying, and will be replaced with a socialist pyramid.
(d) That it is dying, and will be replaced with communism.

8. According to Orwell, how did Swift offend Queen Anne?
(a) By writing a pamphlet that criticized dissenters from the church.
(b) By greeting her inappropriately when he met her.
(c) By criticizing a law passed by Parliament.
(d) By writing a satirical piece that made fun of the English government.

9. According to Orwell, what political structure fosters great literature?
(a) Totalitarianism.
(b) Oligarchy.
(c) Communism.
(d) Democracy.

10. What is in the prisoner's cell?
(a) A plank bed and water pot.
(b) A bedroll.
(c) Nothing.
(d) A cot and toilet.

11. What is the crowd's reaction to the prisoner's chant?
(a) It doesn't seem to have an effect on them.
(b) They try to help him escape.
(c) They want him to die quickly.
(d) They begin to feel some compassion for him.

12. What creature intervenes as the prisoner is being led to his execution?
(a) An elephant.
(b) A stray cat.
(c) A stray dog.
(d) A scorpion.

13. In principle, with whom does the narrator side?
(a) The Burmese.
(b) The prisoners.
(c) The British.
(d) The police.

14. What two groups does Orwell name as an example of people for whom Satyagraha would be an ineffective political tool?
(a) The Russians under Stalin, and the Italians under Mussolini.
(b) The Kurds under Hussein, and the Jews in Nazi Germany.
(c) The Jews in Nazi Germany, and the Russians under Stalin.
(d) The Jews in Nazi Germany, and the Burmese under the British Empire.

15. How do the police and magistrates feel after the prisoner's death?
(a) Elated.
(b) Guilty.
(c) Apathetic.
(d) Angry.

Short Answer Questions

1. What major change occurred in Tolstoy's life?

2. How much does Orwell think the managerial revolution, which Burnham writes about, has influenced the United States?

3. According to Gulliver, scientists should not concern themselves with what area of thought?

4. What does Burnham write about Stalin?

5. How does Gulliver believe science should be used?

(see the answer keys)

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