Post by Jasmine West on Aug 1, 2015 0:12:31 GMT
"A Hanging", written by George Orwell, is a short story addressing the questions of human morality and the changes people undergo when given a position of power. Through the use of a man sentenced to be hung, the reader experiences the cruelty and the lack of empathy from others. At first glance, the story seems simple. A man dies and prison guards justly do their jobs, but if you make the connections between the words and actions performed by each individual, you see the depth in which the author conveys his idea of corruption through human behavior and psyche.
Immediately, the narrator creates a tone of dragon darkness with the use of diction such as: sickly, condemned, bear, and cages, thus giving the reader and understanding of his this taste toward being witness to a hanging in the prisoners' treatment. Even with his convenience of distaste, prisoners are depicted as nothing more than wild animals. These men are mistreated by the guards believe them to be nothing. An army doctor makes the remark, "Well, quick march, then. The prisoners can't get their breakfast till this job's over." Not only is this remark to humanizing, it is a perfect example of negativity in today's society. Those with power tend to ignore morality behind their actions when accustomed to the upper hand they possess over others. The doctor's position makes him see the prisoners as easily disposable. Caring more about breakfast then the life he was about to take, makes him more of the "wild animal" then the prisoners.
The realization of the prisoner being an actual person hits the narrator when the man was being escorted to the gallows. "And once, in spite of the men who grabbed him by each shoulder, he step slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path. It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy healthy, conscious man." With this revelation, so to speak, the narrator is finally able to sympathize with the prisoner. He makes the connection that we are all the same and taking the life of a person takes away a part of yourself as well.
The element of incorporating the dog is a comic relief was properly done. The dogs innocence was a breath of fresh air in the gloomy atmosphere. Not only that, the use of yardage as a double entendre was clever as well. As the narrator literally gets closer to the time of the prisoners death, the clarity of the situation severity eats away at his conscience. After the hanging, as he gets further away from the scene, the events that just occurred way less and less on his mind. "The dead man was 100 yards away." By surrounding himself with the ignorance of the other guards, he begins to care less about the prisoners life and humanity in general. This blind ignorance took over just as quickly as the clarity came, and ending the story on this note leads the reader to question one's own morals.
Immediately, the narrator creates a tone of dragon darkness with the use of diction such as: sickly, condemned, bear, and cages, thus giving the reader and understanding of his this taste toward being witness to a hanging in the prisoners' treatment. Even with his convenience of distaste, prisoners are depicted as nothing more than wild animals. These men are mistreated by the guards believe them to be nothing. An army doctor makes the remark, "Well, quick march, then. The prisoners can't get their breakfast till this job's over." Not only is this remark to humanizing, it is a perfect example of negativity in today's society. Those with power tend to ignore morality behind their actions when accustomed to the upper hand they possess over others. The doctor's position makes him see the prisoners as easily disposable. Caring more about breakfast then the life he was about to take, makes him more of the "wild animal" then the prisoners.
The realization of the prisoner being an actual person hits the narrator when the man was being escorted to the gallows. "And once, in spite of the men who grabbed him by each shoulder, he step slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path. It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy healthy, conscious man." With this revelation, so to speak, the narrator is finally able to sympathize with the prisoner. He makes the connection that we are all the same and taking the life of a person takes away a part of yourself as well.
The element of incorporating the dog is a comic relief was properly done. The dogs innocence was a breath of fresh air in the gloomy atmosphere. Not only that, the use of yardage as a double entendre was clever as well. As the narrator literally gets closer to the time of the prisoners death, the clarity of the situation severity eats away at his conscience. After the hanging, as he gets further away from the scene, the events that just occurred way less and less on his mind. "The dead man was 100 yards away." By surrounding himself with the ignorance of the other guards, he begins to care less about the prisoners life and humanity in general. This blind ignorance took over just as quickly as the clarity came, and ending the story on this note leads the reader to question one's own morals.