Analysis Of A Hanging By George Orwell

1. “He thought of her naked, youthful body, as he had seen it in his dream. He had imagined her a fool like all the rest of them, her head stuffed with lies and hatred, her belly full of ice. A kind of fever seized him at the thought that he might lose her, the white youthful body might slip away from him! What he feared more than anything else was that she would simply change her mind if he did not get in touch with her quickly (Orwell 109)”

King develops and refines his ideas in “The Letter From Birmingham Jail” to purify and increase the power of his argument. In multiple paragraphs, this technique is used to persuade the reader into looking at the point of view King presents. King uses this technique by inserting many rhetorical questions, allusions, anaphoras.

n this excerpt of 1984 written by George Orwell (1948), Orwell describes about the forced indifferent emotions of Winston Smith after he was mentally tortured by the betrayal of Julia. Orwell builds his argument by initially using euphemism, and then describes how Winston festers, in a chronological pattern. He uses superfluous diction to support his main claim- how the argument between Julia and Winston contributed to Winston’s current emotional state. From his choice of diction, he seems to target people who are interested in History and old Literature.

Whether Orwell is recreating the ghastly atmosphere of fear and torture in Nazi Germany or in the most repressive part of the Stalinist regime, we see clearly the opposition between the charismatic leader and his inner corps of privileged lieutenants, and the collective mass of dehumanised persons who are no longer individuals. Paradoxically,

As we reach the end of the essay, Orwell’s clever message of being trapped by a system is made equivocally clear through his literary techniques of repetition and a cyclical structure as the man is hanged but the

Through his cleaver use of language techniques and word selection, Orwell evokes the reader's sympathy for the prisoner's struggles. He repeatedly shows that the prisoners are treated like animals. In the opening lines of the essay, the setting is described immediately highlights the inhumane conditions in which the prisoners are contained in. We notice this when the author is describing the cells, he states, "we are waiting outside the condemned cells, row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages" (Orwell 93). It is evident again when he is describing the way it took six guards to escort the prisoner. He says "it was like men handling a fish which is still alive and may jump out of the water" (Orwell 94). "The sprouting moustache, absurdly too big for his body" (Orwell 93), and "a puny wisp of a man" (Orwell 93) suggests malnourishment and neglect among this prisoner, but the reader can infer that this treatment is spread out amongst all the prisoners. In contrast with this sickly man, he describes the prison guards as "tall Indian warriors"(Orwell 93) and even describes one guard in particular as a "fat Dravidian" (Orwell 94). The details of these well-fed men in comparison to this ill man fuels a feeling of sympathy towards the prisoner. He provides these details to evoke sympathy for the prisoner to prove that killing a man is unethical.

In the first part of the passage Orwell writes, “which she called “talking by installments.””(128) The quotations are used to emphasize how they communicate, giving us the idea that they are surprisingly scared of the outer power, Big Brother. How they can’t just go through the street and be free the talk to each other. They couldn’t fall in love with each other because that would kill the party. So they had to find ways to communicate which represented the conditions in which the party made them live with. Not being able to be free made you rebel against the party, but at the end that will only kill you. Through the passage the use of repetition of the same idea of how difficult it was for them to communicate and even to exchange a kiss helps us understand how they things were under the control of Big Brother.

The thesis of the essay is that writing was Orwell’s inevitable and irresistible destiny, although shrouded by his attempts to abandon it. It had always been inexorably and intricately woven into his person, manifesting itself first at 5 or 6, and then ultimately impressing itself on his life with irrevocable and fulfilling finality.

One of Orwell’s distinctive characteristics is his emphasis of his emotional response to life and death in every situation. Orwell engages readers in his pieces because they feel

As a result, Adams establishes the British prisoners as those that must be saved, those whose rights are being compromised. This ties Beccaria’s quote to an element of his central argument -- that the protection of rights is the priority -- and clarifies that is the prisoners who are being subjected to tyranny. By appealing to the jury’s pathos and beliefs, who most likely feel that they themselves are victims of tyranny, he invites them to sympathize with this argument. The provocative diction -- words such as “agonies,” “fatal,” and “tyranny” are used -- triggers an emotional response from the jury, and allows them to make a connection between their own fervent defense of liberty and the liberty of the British soldiers (Ellis 2-3). Beccaria’s quote develops the logic of Adams’s argument by supporting the protection of the soldiers’ rights; it effectively plays on the values of the jury to appeal to pathos and make his claim more convincing.

George Orwell was born in 1903 in India, during the time of the British colonial rule. He was brought to England at a young age by his mother and educated there. Orwell moved to Burma in 1922, where he served as an assistant superintendent of police for five years before he resigned because of his growing dislike for British Imperialism or colonialism. He became a writer in 1927 and wrote one of his essays, “A Hanging”, in 1931, which is a prime example of an essay where he demonstrates his feelings

The writer implies the prisoner’s humanity by describing his emotions and ability to reason. After the execution, the Eurasian boy tells Orwell when the prisoner found out he would be hung,“ ‘he pissed on the floor of his cell’ ” (Orwell 102). The boy’s story signifies the prisoner’s human characteristics through his reaction, as he was so scared he urinated on himself. As John Rodden notes, this happening creates sympathy (73). The action humanizes the prisoner, connecting the readers to him. Likewise, George Orwell details the condemned man’s human-like traits by describing the prisoner avoiding a puddle directly before his execution. This simple act causes a realization that the prisoner is also human. John Rodden states, “The narrorator reinforces this point by drawing attention to the prisoner’s humanity, as he-a dead man walking-diligently sidesteps a puddle” (72). Rodden suggest that the “dead man” still has dignity to sidestep the puddle. The illustration of the prisoner’s response to his death sentence and his avoidance of the water brings to the reader’s attention that capital punishment is taking another human life.

In one of George Orwell’s famous works The Road to Wigan Pier the man famously quoted “In order to hate imperialism, you have to be a part of it. (goodreads.com)” This quote symbolizes George Orwell’s attitude toward imperialism that is clearly expressed in two of his most famous essays, Shooting an Elephant and A Hanging. The quote also makes one think about what being a part of imperialism really means; For example, in both stories George Orwell’s character is portrayed as an English figure of authority in the occupied area of Burma. In both of George Orwell’s writings the groups of people that are split from each other are the British and native Indians. Orwell used many Symbols throughout his two famous writings to describe

In the excerpt, Orwell uses the rhetorical device of repetition in order to create suspense. For example, right before the rats are going to attack, Winston says, “‘Do it to Julia! Do it to Julia! Not me! Julia! I don’t care what you do to her. Tear her face off, strip her to the bones. Not me! Julia! Not me!’” The repetitive screams for help from Winston reveals the tone as he is frantically begging for mercy. Another example of repetition is used is when Orwell writes, “To think, to think, even with a split second left--to think was the only hope” This reveals the tone as it reveals Winston only has a split second to save himself from the rats, and he must be able to think fast in order to do it.

“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.