11/6/2022 0 Comments Theme in the hanging george orwellTHEME IN THE HANGING GEORGE ORWELL FULLHere, he continues to question the validity of capital punishment and illuminate the real tragedy of it – “cutting a life short when it is in full tide.” THEME IN THE HANGING GEORGE ORWELL SKINOrwell’s criticism towards capital punishment reaches its height when he realizes that the prisoner was also the same man “walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world.” As he describes the workings of organs still activated in the body of Hindu man – “bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming – all toiling away in solemn foolery” – Orwell emphasizes that the prisoner is the same human being as we are, and shows how wrong it is to take life from a human being, suggesting his implicit condemnation towards the execution. Orwell describes the prisoner as “a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes” that “yielded his arms limply to the ropes, as though he hardly noticed what was happening.” By characterizing the prisoner as weak and unthreatening, Orwell emphasizes the humane side of the prisoner the vivid description that contrasts the weak prisoner with harsh treatment helps to emphasize the cruelty, thus humanizing him. By showing the harsh conditions of the prisoner through the use of imagery, Orwell depicts the brutality of the execution, suggesting his apparent disapproval on capital punishment.īy the use of physical description, Orwell portrays the ruthlessness of capital punishment and humanizes the prisoner, pointing out the “unspeakable wrongness” of taking life from a human being and expressing hisoutrage towards it. Orwell then describes the condemned cells as “small animal cages” the comparison of cells and cages signifies the inhumane conditions of the prisonal, highlighting the cruelty and inhumanity of the execution. By portraying the jail shrouded in the bleak and overcast sentiments, the author stresses the cruelty of execution and elicits sympathy from the readers. The use of the pathetic imagery adds an omnious atmosphere, creating a somber and oppressive mood that indirectly represents the prisoner’s disconsolate conditions. He begins with a description of the weather that day – “a sodden morning of the rains” with “a sickly light, like yellow tinfoil” – to create a gloomy mood throughout the story. Orwell utilizes imagery to illustrate the inhumane conditions of the condemned man, thus highlighting the atrocity of capital punishment and evoking sympathy for his troubles. Orwell recounts the incident of a hanging of a Hindu man that became a turning point in his view towards capital punishment, as he writes, “I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.”In his 1931 essay A Hanging, Orwell uses imagery, physical description, and irony of apathy towards the death to depict the inhumanity and cruelty of the execution, thereby showing an implicit condemnation towards the issue of capital punishment and illuminating thebrutal reality of death. George Orwell’s “A Hanging” is a short essay about an execution of a prisoner, set in Burma during the 1920’s, when Orwell was stationed there as a member of the Indian Imperial Police for 5 years.
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