What does the narrator’s decision to shoot the elephant reveal about his character? Use examples from the text.

The narrator explicitly states in the last line that he only shot the elephant to avoid “looking a fool.”
In order to understand what the narrator means by this, you have to consider the situation the narrator finds himself in. He is a white, foreign police officer in Burma: already disliked by the locals because of his job. The narrator reveals that he hated this job and sees himself as anti-imperialist. This creates tension between the way the world perceives him and the way he perceives himself, which could suggest that the narrator has limitations of self-awareness.
When he encounters the elephant that has trampled a man, the narrator does what he believes is expected of him in his role as a police officer. According to the narrator, he feels pressure to act from the emotional audience of Burmans who have gathered on the scene. This shows he is nervous under pressure and wants to conform to social expectations.
Before shooting the elephant, he explains how he doesn’t want to because of the respect he has toward large, majestic animals like this one. This might indicate a basic decency in his character, but because he kills the animal anyway, the narrator’s decency is not one of his defining traits.
After pondering the alternatives, the narrator admits he had to shoot the elephant regardless because he had made too much of a spectacle out of preparing to shoot it. This suggests that the narrator is more concerned with looking “tough” and resolute than with doing what he feels is right.
This characterization mirrors the narrator’s earlier criticism of white imperialists who have to constantly prove their might as leaders. The narrator assumes the role he is supposed to even if it contradicts his personal feelings, which ultimately shows how well-suited he is to the role of “oppressor” that he denounces.