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

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

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

Answer

Brief Explanations:

Verbal irony involves a contrast between what is said and what is meant, or a situation where the outcome is contrary to expectations. Here, the locals showed little interest when the elephant was damaging their homes (a serious situation) but became excited when the elephant was to be shot (treating it as "a bit of fun" and wanting the meat). The irony lies in their changed attitude: they didn't care about the elephant ravaging their homes but were eager for the shooting, which is a contrast between their apathy toward the elephant's destruction and their enthusiasm for its killing. The relevant part is "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".

Answer:

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.