Can somebody tell me where the irony is in this quote from "Shooting an Elephant"?"The sole thought in my mind was that if anything went wrong...

The irony in the situation lies in the gap between
appearance and reality. Here is George Orwell, supposedly given power and prestige
because of his colonial position, and he is in charge of shooting the elephant. Yet, it
is shown that the real power is held not by George Orwell, but by the people he is
supposedly in charge of. His fear of being laughed at actually gives them the real
power, forcing him to shoot the elephant even though he does not want to and sees no
need to do it. This is a further example of how, "when the white man turns tyrant it is
his own freedom that he destroys," which could be said to be the central theme of this
excellent essay. "Turning tyrant," or taking power, in theory gives the man a position
of leadership and authority. However, as George Orwell experiences, it also potentially
exposes them to ridicule, which is to be avoided at all
costs:

The
crowd would laugh at me. And my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one
long struggle not to be laughed
at.

Thus it is that through
the fear of mockery, it is the natives who actually have the power, and force Orwell to
do what he does not want, destroying his own freedom in the
process.