select the verbal irony in the passage.\nas i started forward practically the whole population of the…

select the verbal irony in the passage.\nas 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.\nfrom george orwell, \shooting an elephant.\ copyright 1946 by george orwell

select the verbal irony in the passage.\nas 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.\nfrom george orwell, \shooting an elephant.\ copyright 1946 by george orwell

Answer

Brief Explanations:

Verbal irony occurs when the speaker says something but means the opposite. In the passage, the crowd is excited about the elephant being shot. However, the real reasons are not noble - they want meat and a bit of fun. The initial excitement (claiming to care about the elephant situation) versus the true, trivial motives (meat and fun) shows verbal irony.

Answer:

The crowd was excited about the elephant being shot, claiming it was a significant event (implied importance), but their real motives were just wanting meat and a bit of fun (trivial, opposite of the implied significance), which is verbal irony.