A Hanging By George Orwell

"A Hanging" by George Orwell is a shocking non-fiction text describing Orwell's experience as a police officer in Burma in the 1930's. following the story of a Hindu man on his way to his execution through the eyes of Orwell as he discovers the great value of human life as he is a witness to the mistreatment of the Burmese prisoners. He expresses his views through symbolism, structure, setting and turning point to convey the horrific reality of capital punishment.

Orwell establishes the poor treatment of the prisoners at the very beginning of the text by using setting as he describes " A sodden morning of the rains" This gives the reader a very clear image of a dark and dreary jail yard as "sodden" suggests something wet and cold. Orwell continues

Oddly he uses a dog to express this. "A dog come goodness knows whence" This dog embodies one of the only emotional responses towards the execution. The dog, "wild with glee" makes an instant "dash for the prisoner" The dog's reaction to the situation largely contrasts with the guard's dismal mood and emphasizes how a dog has more humanity than the humans as it treats the prisoner as an equal. Eventually when the dog is caught the hanging begins and once the prisoner is dead the dog retreats, "Looking timorously" This incredibly powerful symbolism demonstrates how a simple minded dog shows more remorse towards the situation than any of the humans. This helps grow Orwell's opposition towards capital punishment as he begins to realize how outrageous the proceedings

The gallows being the main focus. The distance between the jail yard and the gallows is precisely measured by Orwell in order to build tension. " We set out for the Gallows" This is the beginning of the time frame towards the prisoner's inevitable death. Each step increasing the tension and focus on Orwell's views on the situation as he becomes increasingly reflective. Before we know it "The Gallows stood in a small yard" Finally we had arrived and in a few moments a life would be lost, but there is a delay in this death as the prisoner begins yelling "Ram! Ram! Ram!" This continuing sound is eerie and disconcerting as even the prison guards had "gone grey like bad coffee" This simile highlights their discomfort to the situation as the alliteration suggests the suddenness in their distress as the execution party are forced to take part in an action they know is morally