The story “A Hanging” by George Orwell is about an execution that occurred in Burma in the 1920s. The man being hung was a Hindu man. Also present were the Assistant Superintendent, head jailer, and other convicts. Before the actual hanging took place, George Orwell had an epiphany about the wrongness of capital punishment and how it is dehumanizing. Shortly after that Orwell became an Abolitionist and quit his job as Assistant Superintendent of Imperial Police. Orwell’s Abolitionist message, that capital punishment is wrong and that there is no reason to take another life, in the short story “A Hanging” is conveyed through the prisoner, the dog, the functionaries, their actions, words, and body language. The Hindu prisoner who was going
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His size and harmless appearance implies that capital punishment should not be the punishment that they should resort to because the prisoner might actually be innocent and then they would have killed an innocent man. Furthermore, his crime was not even mentioned in the story which could imply that he was either innocent or the crime he committed did not matter because no one deserves to have their life taken away. When the man was being taken out of his prison cell to get ready for the hanging his cell was described as an animal cage and that the man was like a fish who is a fish out of water (Orwell 99). The “animal cage” that the prisoner was in implies that capital punishment dehumanizes and treats humans as if they are animals and when the prisoner is described as a fish out of water it implies that he was still alive and was trying to escape death by trying to jump back in the water. Before he was going to be hung the man shouted out "Ram," which is a legendary god of Ancient India, which tells the readers that the Hindu man is either a decent person who has good in him or he is innocent (Orwell 101). When the prisoner said Ram it implied that he is not a bad person or deserves capital punishment because his chant either shows that he is a …show more content…
At first, when the dog first appeared it was all happy and wanted to lick the humans ' faces (Orwell 100). The affection that the dog shows the humans displays the unconditional love it has for all humans. Then the dog made a dash for the prisoner and tried to jump on him and lick his face (Orwell 100). The dog seems to somehow know that the prisoner is in need of some love and affection and that he is also a good person. Orwell notes, “I let go of the dog, and it galloped immediately to the back of the gallows; but when it got there it stopped short, barked, and then retreated into a corner of the yard” (102). The dog that had just witnessed them killing the prisoner, and once the dog realized what they had done was scared of the humans he once loved and saw the evil in the human’s actions. The dog’s actions imply that he is now scared of the humans and tried to get away from them. Orwell also mentions that the dog is half Airedale and half Pariah, Pariah is a breed of an Asian dog, but also stands for an outcast, which in this story the dog was an outcast because it is the only one who showed the prisoner affection (100). The dog’s breed could imply that the dog understands the wrongness of what they are doing and that the dog is the only one who outright shows its disgust with what is happening. The dog could stand for Orwell’s feeling about capital
His size and harmless appearance implies that capital punishment should not be the punishment that they should resort to because the prisoner might actually be innocent and then they would have killed an innocent man. Furthermore, his crime was not even mentioned in the story which could imply that he was either innocent or the crime he committed did not matter because no one deserves to have their life taken away. When the man was being taken out of his prison cell to get ready for the hanging his cell was described as an animal cage and that the man was like a fish who is a fish out of water (Orwell 99). The “animal cage” that the prisoner was in implies that capital punishment dehumanizes and treats humans as if they are animals and when the prisoner is described as a fish out of water it implies that he was still alive and was trying to escape death by trying to jump back in the water. Before he was going to be hung the man shouted out "Ram," which is a legendary god of Ancient India, which tells the readers that the Hindu man is either a decent person who has good in him or he is innocent (Orwell 101). When the prisoner said Ram it implied that he is not a bad person or deserves capital punishment because his chant either shows that he is a …show more content…
At first, when the dog first appeared it was all happy and wanted to lick the humans ' faces (Orwell 100). The affection that the dog shows the humans displays the unconditional love it has for all humans. Then the dog made a dash for the prisoner and tried to jump on him and lick his face (Orwell 100). The dog seems to somehow know that the prisoner is in need of some love and affection and that he is also a good person. Orwell notes, “I let go of the dog, and it galloped immediately to the back of the gallows; but when it got there it stopped short, barked, and then retreated into a corner of the yard” (102). The dog that had just witnessed them killing the prisoner, and once the dog realized what they had done was scared of the humans he once loved and saw the evil in the human’s actions. The dog’s actions imply that he is now scared of the humans and tried to get away from them. Orwell also mentions that the dog is half Airedale and half Pariah, Pariah is a breed of an Asian dog, but also stands for an outcast, which in this story the dog was an outcast because it is the only one who showed the prisoner affection (100). The dog’s breed could imply that the dog understands the wrongness of what they are doing and that the dog is the only one who outright shows its disgust with what is happening. The dog could stand for Orwell’s feeling about capital