A Case where Human Morality hangs in the balance George Orwell, one of the most perceptive writers of his age, portrays the inherent wrong of capital punishment in his short prose work, “A Hanging”. More specifically, Orwell’s story relates a dramatic experience of the writer while he was working in the Indian Imperial Police in 1920’s colonial Burma. That’s why John Rodden figures out how depressed he was there as he mentioned, “after he returned from what lie called ‘five wasted years’ as a policeman in British- occupied Burma, it is based on Blair-Orwells experience of working in the Indian Imperial Police” (qtd. in Rodden 70). The story recounts the dramatic scene of an unnamed prisoner in his last hour. It also …show more content…
Not just the prisoner were “The narrator reinforces the point by drawing attention to the prisoner’s humanity, as he accidentally urinates on hearing his death sentence” (qtd. in Rodden 72). This scenario of the prison indicates there was no room for humanity behind those prison walls. It also shows the injustice that capital punishment provides to innocent convicts as well. Throughout the story, the prisoner is presented by Orwell as an innocent one who became a victim of capital punishment. The author describes the prisoner as “a Hindu, a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes. He had a thick, sprouting moustache, absurdly too big for his body, rather like the moustache of a comic man on the films” (Orwell 99). His looks suggest to the reader that he is perhaps incapable of committing a capital crime.The reality of the situation at hand was sparked in one incident that the author observes. It is presented when the author was confused and views that “it is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide” (101). Those words visibly described how astonished he was when he saw a convict who even tries to escape the puddle was going to
The essay “A Hanging” by George Orwell speaks to the reader about the author’s stance on capital punishment. I believe that Orwell was able to communicate his point, without actually saying I’m against capital punishment, through three steps. The first step is to set the mood and bring you into his perspective. From the dreary description of the morning to the slow procession of the condemned man to the gallows, Orwell puts the reader in a mood that conveys the experience of watching a man die. The second step is to compare himself to the condemned man, showing how we are all equal. A life is a life, whether you are a condemned man or not. The third step is to show how everyone tries to cope with the aftermath of the execution. This
I found this passage interesting because it left me thinking and analyzing it for some time. I didn’t quite understand it at first, especially the screaming part. Initially I thought it was the prisoner's form of suicide, but after a while I realized that it was only after he stared at his reflection for a couple seconds, that he let out the blood curdling scream. This lead me to conclude, that the man yelled out of shock and fear because he no longer recognized himself. When we
The Book is written by a former radio reporter, Mumia Abu-Jamal who, during the time in the book is in a Pennsylvania prison awaiting his execution. He was convicted and sentenced to death in 1982 for the murder of a Philadelphia police officer. Live from Death Row is a collection of writings while he was in prison which tells a passionate and emotional account of the brutalities and humiliations of prison life. He explains the rules and regulations and day to day life in prison, on death row. He goes into detail about not only his feelings about prison life, but almost the feeling of life in general after being in prison compared to life out of prison. He explains what rules are enforced and which rules he violates and what is the outcome. He speaks of racism and political bias not only in America but mainly in the American justice system which he experiences first hand. He tells of instances of controversy surrounding the death penalty and freedom of speech against himself and others. This book is a compilation of the notes Mumia has taken over the years he was in prison and he highlights specific incidents to show readers what the life of a prisoner on death row is like. This volume is a collection of his writings, which documents the life in prison from his first-hand experience. I, like many I believe found this book fragmented as it is broken up into many short areas of topics and thought processes which he articulates and attempts to explain one issue after another to
“All work is stopped, all assemble there, nobody leads the cows out, the cows are there with the rest. At midday, the roll of drums. Soldiers have marched into the prison in the night, and he is in the midst of many soldiers. He is bound as before, and in his mouth there is a gag—tied so, with a tight string, making him look almost as if he laughed.” He suggested it, by creasing his face with his two thumbs, from the corners of his mouth to his ears. “On the top of the gallows is fixed the knife, blade upwards, with its point in the air. He is hanged there forty feet high—and is left hanging, poisoning the water.”
The death penalty is a very controversial topic that has been the top of discussion for years around the world. It is a topic that many individuals feel very strongly about. Christopher Hitchens, a political journalist in Washington D.C., writes an essay entitled “Scenes from an Execution” in which it is clear that he is against it. To get his views across in the essay, he uses light humor rather than very serious scenarios directed toward it, although it is a very serious topic. Instead of ranting about opinions, Hitchens writes about his experiences and how others as well as himself were affected. He uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, logos, and pathos to attack capital punishment.
There are many ethical dilemmas that occur daily in our hospitals across the world. Not everyone agrees with standards and policies that are required in hospitals or even with the law. If not everyone obeys the law, ethical cases form. In Springfield, Missouri, a holistic nurse got fired for fighting against Cox South hospital policies. Carla Brock has been a nurse at Cox South hospital and not only refused the flu shot, but also refused to wear a mask. She refused due to religious beliefs, she gets short of breath while wearing the mask, and she feels the mask is meant to intimidate and humiliate those who refuse the shot. The ethical question in this case study is to decide if Carla should have been fired for not wearing a mask after refusing the flu shot and what are other potential proposals. The four-way method will separate out what are the truths, consequences, fairness, and character, of this ethical case study.
Every year, millions of people sit down and watch college athletes play the sport they love. These players are some of the best in the nation, and even the world. They do their jobs on the court or field, while their schools rack up the money. These players practice almost two times every day, go to class, and at the end of the day still have homework. An average student athlete spends about forty hours a week on athletics (Jacobs).
Mass executions occur under the delusion of creating a “purer society” under the “will of God.” Orwell witnessed these horrors of the Second World War and served even for the Spanish Civil War during the authoritarian rule of Franco (CITE).
Capital punishment, also frequently referred to as the death penalty, is a government certified practice where a person is put to death by the state as a form of punishment for a crime they have committed (Henderson, 25). Crimes that are found punishable by death are referred to as capital crimes or capital offences, and commonly include offences such as murder, treason, war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide (Henderson, 48-9). The term capital is derived from the Latin term capitalis meaning "of the head" which alludes to executions that were carried out by beheading (Kronenwetter, 202). This paper will discuss the complexities of capital punishment’s history and methods as well as its economic, political, and
“A Hanging” by George Orwell is an influential, autobiographical essay, in which the subject of capital punishment is powerfully examined. The essay is based on a prisoner’s execution in a Prisoner of War camp in Burma during the Second World War. In the essay, Orwell is a prison guard for the camp and carefully illustrates his views on capital punishment. The structure of the essay is of three distinct sections. These sections provide the reader with contrast and repetition, and are grounded in reality but with emphasis on the creative,
Through the appeal of pathos, we can empathize with George Orwell. Orwell never states in the essay as to why the Hindu man was to be hanged. He does not want the reader to form an opinion on whether or not the prisoner should be executed or not. Instead, he builds his essay in a way in which he directs us to a path that only argues that taking a life is wrong, no matter the crime. When he says "till that moment, I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy conscious man" (Orwell 95), the reader is able to empathize with him. Before he says this, the reader
reader of the “unspeakable wrongness” of capital punishment, it also gave a critical view of British
George Orwell conveys the prisoner as human in order to emphasis the dehumanization of capital punishment. As George Orwell states, “He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding, the same world, and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone” (101). Orwell implies the prisoner is no different from him; yet, by killing the condemned man he is taking away his humanity. The author explains the prisoner’s gait and stance as steady, bobbing from side to side with his knees bent. He does not protest, as he has accepted his fate.
In George Orwell’s “A hanging”, George uses his personal experiences as an Assistant superintendent in the British Imperial Police from 1922 to 1927 to convey his argument against capital punishment. Orwell as an officer of the law is sworn to enforce the laws of the state, even if he disagrees with them morally. Orwell wrote “A Hanging” using an event he acted in to describe his point on why capital punishment is a crime against nature. Although as a police man he could not oppose the law, his story “A Hanging”, Orwell shows his opposition through many symbolic forms. Like Orwell I too am against capital punishment, by writing “A Hanging” George Orwell shoes the unjustness he sees with the use of the dog, the overall setting and tone of the story, the words which he uses to describe actions taking place, and the words he uses to describe the characters.
“A Hanging”, composed by George Orwell, is a personal testimony set in the 1920’s in Burma. The narrative depicts the death of an unknown prisoner and the role of those who enforce the death sentence. Through the process of the execution, Orwell illustrates the effects of capital punishment on the executioners and the executed in an attempt to convey an Abolitionist message. While stated only once in his story, Orwell takes an emphatic position against capital punishment. The author does not use the classic argumentative style; instead, he uses implications of his characters to present the four main points against capital punishment. George Orwell’s Abolitionist message in “A Hanging” is conveyed through the prisoner, dog, functionaries, and their actions, words, and body language.