1.  People eat elephants?

2.  How must it have felt to be white in Burma, or other exotic British colonies?

3.  How many bullets does it take to kill an elephant?

I will address the second question in this response.  This was a very interesting short story.  I liked it a lot, and it was an easy read.  It was crazy to get to see what is was like to be a European in Burma during this period of time.  Just think about it.  Here you are, an English citizen, working as a police officer in a foreign, exotic country thousands of miles away from home.  First of all, this is not your country.  Second of all, you are a police officer, and you, a foreigner, have more power, rights, and authority over everyone, including natives.  This must have been a weird feeling.  I wonder if the author ever got some kind of crazy feeling of superiority over the natives, or if he got some kind of sick power trip out of the whole thing.  Surprisingly, I don't think he did, because he also talks about despising imperialism and England as well.  I also thought it was funny that in the end of the story, he reveals that he only shot the elephant so he would not look like a fool in front of the two thousand plus group of Indians that followed him.  I think being an English citizen, especially in Burma, would have been a bittersweet feeling.  I think that he probably liked being in a superior, authoritative position over the natives, but the author does seem like he has a conscience.  In the end, I feel that he despises imperialism and what England is doing to its colonies a great deal.  If it were up to him, I think that he would like to see the English Empire collapse more than anything, including keeping his job in this exotic colony.