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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is the Burmese jail described?

2. In what stage of Tolstoy's life did this major change occur?

3. Where do the magistrates and police convene after the prisoner's death?

4. How did Gandhi feel about Satyagraha?

5. What does the creature do as the prisoner is being led to his execution?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Orwell's opinion about book reviews?

2. According to Orwell, why don't people read?

3. According to Tolstoy, how did Shakespeare get such a grand reputation?

4. Why did Orwell kill the elephant against his will?

5. What is Orwell's problem with the use of words like "romantic" or "vitality"?

6. What happens after the prisoner's death?

7. What is Tolstoy's main target in his Shakespearean criticisms, and why?

8. What is the meaning of "Satyagraha"?

9. Whom does Orwell name in Chapter 17 as a well-known nonsense poet?

10. What factors are ruining literary freedom, according to Orwell?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss Tolstoy's criticism of Shakespeare's work. What criticisms does Tolstoy offer? What evidence does he present to back up his criticisms? Is the evidence he presents accurate? How does Orwell respond? Do you agree with Orwell, or Tolstoy? Why? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your position.

Essay Topic 2

Orwell defends freedom of the press by saying that freedom of the political writer, and freedom of the non-political writer go hand-in-hand. Do you agree? Is it possible to have freedom of speech without freedom of the press, or vice versa? How does Orwell feel about the current trend of literary freedom? Do you agree? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text to support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Orwell bemoans the lack of good contemporary murder literature. Do you agree that this situation is due to a lack of "perfect" murders? Do you think that, in the presence of more "perfect" murders, there would be more quality murder literature? Is this a desirable situation? Given media access to crime details and how they are printed much more so than in his life time, do you think Orwell's opinion may be different now? Be sure to cite specific examples from the text in defending your conclusions.

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