A Hanging: Story Analysis

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It is truly said by Norman Cousins “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live”. In the story “A Hanging” writer George Orwell wants to represent his feelings about an incident that happened in Burma jail. The title of the story indicates Capital punishment. The setting of the story shows the earlier time of the twentieth century when Indians were ruled by Empires and how rules were cruel and hard for Indian people before independence and how the prisoners were treated badly against human nature

The story evokes rules before the 1947s. and how officers used to cruel and do prejudiced behaviors with prisoners. However it is not clear that why the prisoner was hung out but the way of treating with him was not humanistic and ideal. As it shows when the superintendent came it was time 8’oclock and he got irritable and said “The man ought to have been dead by this time. Aren’t you ready yet?”. Furthermore, the behavior of the superintendent shows extremely awful when he went into the puddle to check the man is dead or alive, he checks with a stick and said: “Heis all right”. Which shows he has no feeling of humanity.

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Moreover, in this story writer prefers to demonstrate his feeling towards the prisoner’s life in jail. He feels unhappy and disappointed when the wardens and jail’s superintendent treat badly with prisoners. He believes the life of a prisoner in jail as a “ small animal cage”. Along with this, he is dissatisfied with the harsh attitude of wardens how they cover him from all sides even he is“ chained”. However, the Hindu man is quiet even he is going to die and they handling him like “ a Fish which is still alive and may jump back into the water”. Along with this author also uses irony to clarify tragedy of capital sentence. When a dog departure into the prison yard. It shows that treatment of animals is better and their life is better than the life of prisoners. As well as the behavior of dog with a prisoner shows sympathetic and loveable when dog “it had made dash for the prisoner and jumping up tried to lick his face ”. It makes good understanding that dog understands that the death is coming and emotional event is going to happen.

In conclusion, according to my point of view capital punishment is not good and nobody has right to kill other person. Capital punishment not only affects an individual but also others who see the person. Death does matter to others’ life.  

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