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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In what stage of Tolstoy's life did this major change occur?
(a) Old age.
(b) Youth.
(c) Young adulthood.
(d) Middle age.

2. According to Orwell, what was Gandhi's youth like?
(a) He was the same as he was in adult life.
(b) He was a criminal, and committed many sins.
(c) He committed small sins.
(d) He didn't care about politics, and was pro-war.

3. 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.

4. In this story, Burma is a colony of what empire?
(a) The American Empire.
(b) The Japanese Empire.
(c) The British Empire.
(d) The Russian Empire.

5. What does Orwell say about Tolstoy's conversion?
(a) He did it to better his reputation, not because his belief was sincere.
(b) He was swayed by false prophets.
(c) He only exchanged one form of egotism for another.
(d) He never converted; it was a rumor.

6. What is Orwell's problem with phrases like "swan song"?
(a) It is an overused cliché.
(b) It anthropomorphizes a non-human entity.
(c) It makes use of alliteration.
(d) It is a dying metaphor.

7. According to Gulliver, scientists should not concern themselves with what area of thought?
(a) Philosophy.
(b) Sociology.
(c) Religion.
(d) Politics.

8. Why does the narrator hesitate to kill the elephant?
(a) It is a large and expensive piece of machinery.
(b) He feels compassion for it.
(c) He is afraid of the repercussions from the angry crowd.
(d) He doesn't want to lose face.

9. What sort of bath does the hospital staff give the narrator?
(a) They put him in five inches of warm water.
(b) They put him in a lukewarm bath.
(c) They hand him a bucket of cold water and a washcloth for him to bathe with.
(d) They swab his body with warm damp towels.

10. The narrator is a citizen of what country?
(a) Britain.
(b) Burma.
(c) Australia.
(d) India.

11. 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 Jews in Nazi Germany, and the Russians under Stalin.
(c) The Jews in Nazi Germany, and the Burmese under the British Empire.
(d) The Kurds under Hussein, and the Jews in Nazi Germany.

12. How do the Burmese treat the narrator?
(a) They are openly violent at times.
(b) They are respectful and grateful to him.
(c) They harass and insult him whenever they can.
(d) They are respectful to his face, but sneer at him behind his back.

13. According to Orwell, literature is in danger from censorship, and what else?
(a) The poor quality of public education.
(b) The corporate sponsorship of writers.
(c) A loss of interest in literature among young adults.
(d) The lack of affordable higher education.

14. What does Orwell feel can help to reverse the downward trend of the English language?
(a) Nothing.
(b) Better education.
(c) Common sense.
(d) Caring more.

15. In Orwell's opinion, what does Tolstoy do to the scenes he is presenting?
(a) He distorts them.
(b) He misquotes them.
(c) He misunderstands them.
(d) He takes them out of context.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does the elephant die?

2. What does the narrator call the hospital?

3. Which play did Tolstoy criticize most harshly?

4. Why does Orwell dismiss Tolstoy's criticism?

5. What is the symbol of Gulliver's aging?

(see the answer keys)

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