George Orwell's "A Hanging"

In George Orwell’s “A Hanging”, Orwell tells the story of what it was like to witness a man being hung. In this narrative there is a progression of emotions that can be seen in Orwell. In the beginning, Orwell sees the prisoner as an animal and his killing just a job that must be done. Then, Orwell experiences a realization about life when there is an incidence with a dog. This is the turning point in which Orwell realizes that it is not acceptable to kill a healthy human being. When the “job” is done and the man is dead, Orwell and his colleagues proceed to laugh and drink. At this point, Orwell is psychologically disconnecting himself from the harsh reality of what just happened. In this distance, Orwell finds solace. Orwell creates an effective argument against capital punishment by connecting the reader to the hanging, just as Orwell unintentionally became connected when the dog ran into the scene.

The essay starts out by describing the day as being “a sodden morning of the rains,” (19). Orwell describes the prison cells “like small animal cages” (19). Orwell continues with gloomy descriptions of the atmosphere. This creates a sa

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