AQA-style Language Paper 2A: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives ELEPHANTS SOURCE A: George Orwell an Elephant” – “Shooting In this account, set in 1936, George Orwell is a young police officer serving in Burma, India, which was then part of the British Empire. He has been sent to deal with a troublesome elephant. 1 As I started forward practically the whole population of the quarter flocked out of the houses 2 and followed me. They had seen the rifle and were all shouting excitedly that I was going to 3 shoot the elephant. They had not shown much interest in the elephant when he was merely 4 ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to be shot. It was a bit of fun to 5 them, as it would be to an English crowd; besides they wanted the meat. It made me vaguely 6 uneasy. I had no intention of shooting the elephant I had merely sent for the rifle to defend – 7 myself if necessary and it is always unnerving to have a crowd following you. I marched down – 8 the hill, looking and feeling a fool, with the rifle over my shoulder and an ever-growing army of 9 people jostling at my heels. At the bottom, when you got away from the huts, there was a 10 metalled road and beyond that a miry waste of paddy fields a thousand yards across, not yet 11 ploughed but soggy from the first rains and dotted with coarse grass. The elephant was standing 12 eight yards from the road, his left side towards us. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd's approach. 13 14
AQA-style Language Paper 2A: Writers’ Viewpoints and Perspectives ELEPHANTS SOURCE A: George Orwell – “Shooting an Elephant” In this account, set in 1936, George Orwell is a young police officer serving in Burma, India, which was then part of the British Empire. He has been sent to deal with a troublesome elephant. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 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. It made me vaguely uneasy. 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. 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. At the bottom, when you got away from the huts, there was a metalled road and beyond that a miry waste of paddy fields a thousand yards across, not yet ploughed but soggy from the first rains and dotted with coarse grass. The elephant was standing eight yards from the road, his left side towards us. He took not the slightest notice of the crowd's approach.
Paper-2A-ELEPHANTS-MLY.docx