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A Hanging
A Hanging is a short non-fiction essay written by George Orwell about the execution of a criminal that he claimed to have witnessed.
Orwell served in the British Imperial Police from 1922 to 1927, and the cadet supervision of executions was commonplace at the time, "as a kind of initiation". The condemned man is given no name, nor is the crime that he allegedly committed explained. The sentence is carried out, after which the dead man is left hanging while those present leave the uncomfortable and macabre situation.
""It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains. A sickly light, like yellow tinfoil, was slanting over the high walls into the jail yard. We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot of drinking water. In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two."
Orwell served in the British Imperial Police from 1922 to 1927, and the cadet supervision of executions was commonplace at the time, "as a kind of initiation". The condemned man is given no name, nor is the crime that he allegedly committed explained. The sentence is carried out, after which the dead man is left hanging while those present leave the uncomfortable and macabre situation.
""It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains. A sickly light, like yellow tinfoil, was slanting over the high walls into the jail yard. We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot of drinking water. In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two."
5 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 1, 1931
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About the author
George Orwell
1,340 books51.3k followersEric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism (both fascism and stalinism), and support of democratic socialism.
Orwell is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture.
Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Room 101", "Newspeak", "memory hole", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime". In 2008, The Times named Orwell the second-greatest British writer since 1945.
Orwell is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture.
Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Room 101", "Newspeak", "memory hole", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime". In 2008, The Times named Orwell the second-greatest British writer since 1945.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
August 4, 2023
A chilling and atmospheric essay about the execution of a prisoner in Burma and the psychological effects this has on the people that have to do this job, the author included. A dog that appeared from nowhere was the only one to show sympathy for the prisoner while the men continued with their normal lives immediately after the execution, as nothing happened.
The author's opinion regarding death penalty can be guessed from the following phrases:
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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned — reasoned even about puddles. 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 — one mind less, one world less.
The author's opinion regarding death penalty can be guessed from the following phrases:
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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working — bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming — all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned — reasoned even about puddles. 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 — one mind less, one world less.
July 25, 2016
Some reviews have said that this story and Shooting an Elephant are similar in feeling and intent. I don't think so. To me they are radically different in feeling. The Hanging is the occupier, the White man, the representative of Empire just doing his job in a cold and dispassionate way. The Superintendant is a doctor, the man who heals, who does his best to preserve life. But here he is the man who cuts it off. He is from the land where timetables matter and it is already 8 minutes past the time ordained for the condemned man's death. As soon as he gives the order for the condemned Indian to hang, the deed is done, the Superintendant pokes the newly-dead man with a stick. He was scarcely human before, just a job to be done before breakfast, now he's not human at all, just a body, poke him with a stick. Now the job is done, the Superintendant is happier. The day's routine can proceed with scarcely a delay, almost no disturbance, it will be forgotten shortly, just another day.
Rewritten 25 July 2016
The observer, Orwell, doesn't feel like this, is horrified, this was a man right to the last second, and his life mattered. It was important, he was important. It is a terrible thing they are doing, taking away a life and a great worry to him. But the act of execution brings relief. No use crying about spilt milk. On with life!
In between Orwell and the Superintendant is the Eurasian. the man of mixed blood with one foot in each camp. He doesn't want to be identifed with the Indians who are the subject race and liable to be hung or commanded to execute one of themselves, he wants to be identified with those that wear pith helmets, white gloves and give the orders. And so he tells gruesome and slightly disgusting stories to ingratiate himself with the masters he wishes were his peers. If they laugh with him, he has gained a victory, he is one of them at least for the moment. And one moment can build upon another until amity if not equality may be achieved.
But to me Shooting an Elephant was all about Orwell as the reluctant representative of Empire and the only one allowed to bear arms, being forced into doing what the Indians wanted against his will. His strength was turned against him by the crowds who had no power other than pressure to force those in authority to follow the rules they had set down. He had a job to do and they were going to make him do it for their own benefit. In The Hanging, the Superintendant didn't give a damn for those around him whether beast or man, he had a job to do and didn't question it. This is Empire and this is how we proceed...
Or it was.
It's different now the map is no longer red and despite the vast propaganda machine of the BBC spreading the language and it's left-wing views, no one gives a damn with the Englishmen say any more, their authority has totally gone.
Rewritten 25 July 2016
The observer, Orwell, doesn't feel like this, is horrified, this was a man right to the last second, and his life mattered. It was important, he was important. It is a terrible thing they are doing, taking away a life and a great worry to him. But the act of execution brings relief. No use crying about spilt milk. On with life!
In between Orwell and the Superintendant is the Eurasian. the man of mixed blood with one foot in each camp. He doesn't want to be identifed with the Indians who are the subject race and liable to be hung or commanded to execute one of themselves, he wants to be identified with those that wear pith helmets, white gloves and give the orders. And so he tells gruesome and slightly disgusting stories to ingratiate himself with the masters he wishes were his peers. If they laugh with him, he has gained a victory, he is one of them at least for the moment. And one moment can build upon another until amity if not equality may be achieved.
But to me Shooting an Elephant was all about Orwell as the reluctant representative of Empire and the only one allowed to bear arms, being forced into doing what the Indians wanted against his will. His strength was turned against him by the crowds who had no power other than pressure to force those in authority to follow the rules they had set down. He had a job to do and they were going to make him do it for their own benefit. In The Hanging, the Superintendant didn't give a damn for those around him whether beast or man, he had a job to do and didn't question it. This is Empire and this is how we proceed...
Or it was.
It's different now the map is no longer red and despite the vast propaganda machine of the BBC spreading the language and it's left-wing views, no one gives a damn with the Englishmen say any more, their authority has totally gone.
June 21, 2024
Orwell witnesses a grim scene during his time in what was then Burma.
A man is sentenced to capital punishment. We do not know what he had done and why he was condemned to death. We know nothing as to what could motivate him to break the law. Along with the author, we see the man about to be hanged. The only creature that seems not to be shy about expressing some empathy towards the doomed human being is a dog.
This short essay can be regarded as a staunch argument against the death penalty. Orwell shows with close-up pictures, rather than trying to convince or change anyone's mind with words.
Consider just this excerpt.
"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 – one mind less, one world less."
Look closer at the moment when, on the last day of his life, the condemned man avoids a puddle. On his way to the gallows, he is still full of life.
The puddle episode affects the author in such a way that he realizes "what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man."
In another context, a puddle and a dog can be minor details. However, in this story, they hold our attention and make the scene unfolding before our eyes even more dramatic.
To sum up, in my opinion, the death sentence is always wrong and inhumane.
You can find the full text here.
A man is sentenced to capital punishment. We do not know what he had done and why he was condemned to death. We know nothing as to what could motivate him to break the law. Along with the author, we see the man about to be hanged. The only creature that seems not to be shy about expressing some empathy towards the doomed human being is a dog.
This short essay can be regarded as a staunch argument against the death penalty. Orwell shows with close-up pictures, rather than trying to convince or change anyone's mind with words.
Consider just this excerpt.
"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 – one mind less, one world less."
Look closer at the moment when, on the last day of his life, the condemned man avoids a puddle. On his way to the gallows, he is still full of life.
The puddle episode affects the author in such a way that he realizes "what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man."
In another context, a puddle and a dog can be minor details. However, in this story, they hold our attention and make the scene unfolding before our eyes even more dramatic.
To sum up, in my opinion, the death sentence is always wrong and inhumane.
You can find the full text here.
October 11, 2016
GEORGE Orwell's essay "The Hanging" describes in vivid detail about a Hindu prisoner who is being led to the gallows where he is to be executed by hanging. The criminal is accompanied by six Indian jail wardens. However, let me elucidate that the story takes place in Burma and not in India.
In the first para, Orwell lets the readers know what the jail looks like. The 10 by 10 feet cells look "like small animal cages". He goes on: "In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two."
With the comparison of the cells to small animal cages you can easily sense what the condemned prisoners must be going through. Animals and birds are never happy inside zoos and within their confined spaces. Their freedom is lost. I am sure you must have seen lions and tigers pacing up and down their cages. Apes scamper from one end to the other time and again. They can also be seen scratching their heads, as if in a fix where and what to climb or how to swing. Birds either sit tight on branches placed inside the cages or they keep flitting and fluttering within the small confines of their enclosures.
"Brown silent men" also lets us know that they are depressed and feeling melancholic. Their hanged faces tell the entire story.
When a prisoner is kept in a penitentiary it is hell. But when he knows that he has only seven more days to live that is even worse. All kinds of crazy thoughts must be coming to his mind. And what about the one who is to meet his death within five minutes? His heartbeat must be racing like a bullet train.
George Orwell writes so beautifully. He has a photographic memory. Not only this but he is well-read too. The following paragraph is the best where this essay is concerned: "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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working–bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming–all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned–reasoned even about puddles. 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–one mind less, one world less."
You can easily gather from this that Mr Orwell is totally against the death penalty. He feels for the condemned prisoner just like we feel for our sister/brother or our best friend when s/he is wronged.
Oh! Yes, I almost forgot to mention the stray dog who appears out of nowhere in The Hanging and plays a big part in uplifting the tempo of the story. This clearly shows us how much Mr Orwell loves animals. But then which reader does not! We all know that he wrote "Shooting the Elephant" and an entire novel called "Animal Farm".
I was surprised to read that some reviewers think that the ending of the story is ridiculous. It certainly isn't! After every war, every disaster, every sad incident life returns to normal. Sometimes gradually and sometimes immediately like in this story after the prisoner has been executed.
One more thing before I conclude my review. The only time we come to know that the condemned prisoner was scared is when the Eurasian boy tells Mr Orwell: "Do you know, sir, our friend (he meant the dead man), when he heard his appeal had been dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his cell. From fright."
This brilliant story is strongly recommended for all.
In the first para, Orwell lets the readers know what the jail looks like. The 10 by 10 feet cells look "like small animal cages". He goes on: "In some of them brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars, with their blankets draped round them. These were the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two."
With the comparison of the cells to small animal cages you can easily sense what the condemned prisoners must be going through. Animals and birds are never happy inside zoos and within their confined spaces. Their freedom is lost. I am sure you must have seen lions and tigers pacing up and down their cages. Apes scamper from one end to the other time and again. They can also be seen scratching their heads, as if in a fix where and what to climb or how to swing. Birds either sit tight on branches placed inside the cages or they keep flitting and fluttering within the small confines of their enclosures.
"Brown silent men" also lets us know that they are depressed and feeling melancholic. Their hanged faces tell the entire story.
When a prisoner is kept in a penitentiary it is hell. But when he knows that he has only seven more days to live that is even worse. All kinds of crazy thoughts must be coming to his mind. And what about the one who is to meet his death within five minutes? His heartbeat must be racing like a bullet train.
George Orwell writes so beautifully. He has a photographic memory. Not only this but he is well-read too. The following paragraph is the best where this essay is concerned: "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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs of his body were working–bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming–all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned–reasoned even about puddles. 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–one mind less, one world less."
You can easily gather from this that Mr Orwell is totally against the death penalty. He feels for the condemned prisoner just like we feel for our sister/brother or our best friend when s/he is wronged.
Oh! Yes, I almost forgot to mention the stray dog who appears out of nowhere in The Hanging and plays a big part in uplifting the tempo of the story. This clearly shows us how much Mr Orwell loves animals. But then which reader does not! We all know that he wrote "Shooting the Elephant" and an entire novel called "Animal Farm".
I was surprised to read that some reviewers think that the ending of the story is ridiculous. It certainly isn't! After every war, every disaster, every sad incident life returns to normal. Sometimes gradually and sometimes immediately like in this story after the prisoner has been executed.
One more thing before I conclude my review. The only time we come to know that the condemned prisoner was scared is when the Eurasian boy tells Mr Orwell: "Do you know, sir, our friend (he meant the dead man), when he heard his appeal had been dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his cell. From fright."
This brilliant story is strongly recommended for all.
June 10, 2021
One of Orwell's short essays - set in Burma, where Orwell spent time an an Imperial Policeman, when Burma was in British control.
The setting is a prison, and we are quickly introduced to an un-named prisoner, taken from his cell and secured as his is taken on his final walk to the gallows.
The narrator (Orwell, presumably) is a part of the police force, but doesn't play an active role in the execution, other than the holding of the dog, but we are treated to his description of events, and to hearing his thoughts on the death of the prisoner, and especially the effects of the execution on those tasked with the duty of officiating or carrying out the job.
No words are wasted, no redundant sentences, just excellent concise writing.
Four stars.
The setting is a prison, and we are quickly introduced to an un-named prisoner, taken from his cell and secured as his is taken on his final walk to the gallows.
The narrator (Orwell, presumably) is a part of the police force, but doesn't play an active role in the execution, other than the holding of the dog, but we are treated to his description of events, and to hearing his thoughts on the death of the prisoner, and especially the effects of the execution on those tasked with the duty of officiating or carrying out the job.
No words are wasted, no redundant sentences, just excellent concise writing.
Four stars.
December 28, 2014
Combine this short story with "Shooting an Elephant" and you might have the two best pieces writ by Orwell. It is clear that the seeds of Animal Farm and 1984 are contained in these works inspired by his time in Burma and the horrific display of humanity in its guises both corporate and personal. When an animal is anthropomorphasized to offer the only expression of sympathy, you know it is rough.
Worth the ten minutes to read. Here is "A Hanging"
http://orwell.ru/library/articles/han...
And here is "Shooting an Elephant "
http://www.online-literature.com/orwe...
Worth the ten minutes to read. Here is "A Hanging"
http://orwell.ru/library/articles/han...
And here is "Shooting an Elephant "
http://www.online-literature.com/orwe...
December 7, 2021
Read for uni
I never write reviews for books I have to read for college, but for this particular essay I had to hand in a prose analysis. I've pasted it below to look back on.
George Orwell's The Hanging centers around a Hindu prisoner that is sentenced to death. In this essay, Orwell omits information that seems crucial; for example, how the prisoner came to receive his death sentence, or what role the narrator has in the hanging. Orwell opens his story with the line "It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains" (p. 1), instantly pushing the reader head-first into a snapshot of an experience captured by an almost photographic memory. In that first line, he not only paints a picture of the physical setting, namely the country in which the hanging takes place, but also brings across the dreary, gloomy atmosphere that reflects the death that is to take place. This gloomy feeling is further brought up in the overall use of language in the first paragraph of the essay: "condemned men" (p. 1) are stuck in "small animal cages" (p. 1) that are "quite bare" (p. 1). The vocabulary Orwell uses to introduce the objects of the experience very clearly have a negative undertone, and are possibly chosen to hint at his own antipathy and disgust regarding the country's justice system and the inhumanity in death penalties.
Furthermore, Orwell's negative outlook on the hanging shines through in the way the prisoner is described. His word choice in detailing the characteristics of the man allows the reader to understand that this prisoner lacks the stereotypical qualities that one would expect a convict to have, such as a strong build, a frown, and an overall dangerous look. Instead of having that stocky build, he is described as a "puny wisp of a man" (p. 1), which signals physical weakness, giving him a sense of realness and depicting him as somebody that should be pitied by the reader. The narrator also finds that the convict has "vague liquid eyes" (p. 1). It is almost as if the narrator can already see the end of the prisoner's life, as human eyes always form a hazy film and become unfocused after death. Additionally, the man has a "thick, sprouting moustache, absurdly too big for his body, rather like the moustache of comic men on the films" (p. 1) — which is also a characteristic that one would not easily expect in a criminal. Moustaches often even signify creativity or dignity.
Sympathy is also evoked in the reader because of the prisoner's lack of resoluteness: he stands "quite unresisting, yielding his arms limply to the ropes" (p. 1) whilst warders get him ready for the gallows, "as though he hardly notice[s] what [is] happening" (p. 1). It is possible that he is in shock, and therefore does not have the energy to resist the warders; more likely, however, would be that the man has accepted his fate by this time, and therefore does not exude panic. The six warders may have noticed his acceptance of what is to come, as they have their "hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip" (p. 1), as opposed to a stronger grasp. Having the man crowded by so many guards seems unnecessary; especially because he is being so passive. This makes the reader feel the heaviness of the upcoming incident, the formality of the government's system, and the second-hand suffocation the narrator is feeling.
This suffocating feeling is also connected to the orderly way in which events are supposed to occur in The Hanging, and how they ultimately do not happen in that orderly way. At precisely eight o' clock, a "bugle call, desolately thin in the wet air, float[s] from the distant barracks" (p. 1), calling to attention a sort of schedule that the jail officers need to adhere to. Following this schedule appears to be more difficult than one would expect: "For God's sake hurry up, Francis" (p. 2), states the jail's superintendent. It is mentioned that the superintendent is an army doctor, which is information that makes it quite ironic that he would say that "the man ought to have been dead by this time" (p. 2). Paradoxically, he worries aloud that "the prisoners can't get their breakfast till [the hanging]'s over" (p. 2), which to the reader seems a silly utterance because the Hindu man is a prisoner himself. This shows that the jail system creates a hierarchy in which even prisoners are ranked according to their worth. A man whose life will end later in the day is not worth as much as men that are "due to be hanged within the next week or two" (p. 1).
The dog that appears and comes "bounding among [the magistrates] with a loud volley of barks" (p. 2) also acts as an obstacle in the schedule of the hanging. It makes "a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up trie[s] to lick [the prisoner's] face" (p. 2). The dog would not act like this if it were afraid of the prisoner — it might be sensing that the prisoner is not a bad man after all. Bystanders stand "aghast, too taken aback even to grab at the dog" (p. 2). The shock of the jail officers and the narrator can be seen by the reader as humorous, because a dog appearing is usually never regarded as something so dreadful, but Orwell may have wanted to make the moments leading up to the death of the prisoner as tense as possible. The sharp contrast between the dog and the jailers' moods make the unfeeling reaction of the convict saddening; he "look[s] on incuriously, as though this [is] another formality of the hanging" (p. 2).
When this dog is caught, the moral climax of the essay presents itself. The narrator watches the convict from behind as, "in spite of the men who [grip] him by each shoulder" (p. 2), the latter "step[s] lightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path" (p. 2). This action seems, at first glance, a strange thing for a condemned man to do, because his life shall end within minutes anyway. The minor inconvenience of wet shoes and socks is dwarfed by the upcoming hanging. The moral climax unfolds as the narrator realises that he, until that moment, "had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When [he sees] the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, [he sees] the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide" (p. 2). Upon reading this, the reader comes to realise that Orwell hones in on this particular moment in the story to illustrate how barbaric it really is to take the life of a man who is "not dying", but "alive just as we [are] alive" (p. 2).
The physical climax follows suit — the hanging of the prisoner. Orwell builds tension by writing about the man's cries for his god of salvation: "‘Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!’, not urgent and fearful like a prayer or a cry for help, but steady, rhythmical, almost like the tolling of a bell" (p. 3). The comparison to the tolling of a bell indirectly hints at the church, and the bells of the funeral procession the prisoner deserves, but will not receive. It feels as if minutes are passing by slowly, even though the hanging only takes up half a page of the essay. While the man continues crying out, a couple of the bayonets tremble, and all people present want the man to die: "(...) each cry another second of life; the same thought was in all our minds: oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!" (p. 3). The narrator really does not want the prisoner's life to end, but mentally cannot deal with the minutes dragging on and the prisoner awaiting his death with his cries. The man's life ends, and the jail officers all appear to be relieved. "Well, that's all for this morning, thank God" states the superintendent (p. 4).
After this second climax, the falling action begins. The relief of the men who witnessed the hanging turns into something almost brutal in the sense that they laugh about the barbaric event: "I found that I was laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing" (p. 4). This is, of course, a human reaction to fear or discomfort; also to be found in the way the other prisoners are perceived after the hanging. "It seemed quite a homely, jolly scene, after the hanging" (p. 4), the narrator states upon watching the other prisoners get their breakfast. Such a simple situation is heightened to loveliness because the narrator contrasts it with the death he witnessed. Several people even laugh when it is mentioned that the convict "pissed on the floor of his cell, from fright" (p. 4) when he heard that his appeal had been dismissed. In this part of the story, the narrator learns that the man had applied for a reversal of the condemnation — but more importantly, he finds out that the prisoner was indeed afraid.
I never write reviews for books I have to read for college, but for this particular essay I had to hand in a prose analysis. I've pasted it below to look back on.
George Orwell's The Hanging centers around a Hindu prisoner that is sentenced to death. In this essay, Orwell omits information that seems crucial; for example, how the prisoner came to receive his death sentence, or what role the narrator has in the hanging. Orwell opens his story with the line "It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains" (p. 1), instantly pushing the reader head-first into a snapshot of an experience captured by an almost photographic memory. In that first line, he not only paints a picture of the physical setting, namely the country in which the hanging takes place, but also brings across the dreary, gloomy atmosphere that reflects the death that is to take place. This gloomy feeling is further brought up in the overall use of language in the first paragraph of the essay: "condemned men" (p. 1) are stuck in "small animal cages" (p. 1) that are "quite bare" (p. 1). The vocabulary Orwell uses to introduce the objects of the experience very clearly have a negative undertone, and are possibly chosen to hint at his own antipathy and disgust regarding the country's justice system and the inhumanity in death penalties.
Furthermore, Orwell's negative outlook on the hanging shines through in the way the prisoner is described. His word choice in detailing the characteristics of the man allows the reader to understand that this prisoner lacks the stereotypical qualities that one would expect a convict to have, such as a strong build, a frown, and an overall dangerous look. Instead of having that stocky build, he is described as a "puny wisp of a man" (p. 1), which signals physical weakness, giving him a sense of realness and depicting him as somebody that should be pitied by the reader. The narrator also finds that the convict has "vague liquid eyes" (p. 1). It is almost as if the narrator can already see the end of the prisoner's life, as human eyes always form a hazy film and become unfocused after death. Additionally, the man has a "thick, sprouting moustache, absurdly too big for his body, rather like the moustache of comic men on the films" (p. 1) — which is also a characteristic that one would not easily expect in a criminal. Moustaches often even signify creativity or dignity.
Sympathy is also evoked in the reader because of the prisoner's lack of resoluteness: he stands "quite unresisting, yielding his arms limply to the ropes" (p. 1) whilst warders get him ready for the gallows, "as though he hardly notice[s] what [is] happening" (p. 1). It is possible that he is in shock, and therefore does not have the energy to resist the warders; more likely, however, would be that the man has accepted his fate by this time, and therefore does not exude panic. The six warders may have noticed his acceptance of what is to come, as they have their "hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip" (p. 1), as opposed to a stronger grasp. Having the man crowded by so many guards seems unnecessary; especially because he is being so passive. This makes the reader feel the heaviness of the upcoming incident, the formality of the government's system, and the second-hand suffocation the narrator is feeling.
This suffocating feeling is also connected to the orderly way in which events are supposed to occur in The Hanging, and how they ultimately do not happen in that orderly way. At precisely eight o' clock, a "bugle call, desolately thin in the wet air, float[s] from the distant barracks" (p. 1), calling to attention a sort of schedule that the jail officers need to adhere to. Following this schedule appears to be more difficult than one would expect: "For God's sake hurry up, Francis" (p. 2), states the jail's superintendent. It is mentioned that the superintendent is an army doctor, which is information that makes it quite ironic that he would say that "the man ought to have been dead by this time" (p. 2). Paradoxically, he worries aloud that "the prisoners can't get their breakfast till [the hanging]'s over" (p. 2), which to the reader seems a silly utterance because the Hindu man is a prisoner himself. This shows that the jail system creates a hierarchy in which even prisoners are ranked according to their worth. A man whose life will end later in the day is not worth as much as men that are "due to be hanged within the next week or two" (p. 1).
The dog that appears and comes "bounding among [the magistrates] with a loud volley of barks" (p. 2) also acts as an obstacle in the schedule of the hanging. It makes "a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up trie[s] to lick [the prisoner's] face" (p. 2). The dog would not act like this if it were afraid of the prisoner — it might be sensing that the prisoner is not a bad man after all. Bystanders stand "aghast, too taken aback even to grab at the dog" (p. 2). The shock of the jail officers and the narrator can be seen by the reader as humorous, because a dog appearing is usually never regarded as something so dreadful, but Orwell may have wanted to make the moments leading up to the death of the prisoner as tense as possible. The sharp contrast between the dog and the jailers' moods make the unfeeling reaction of the convict saddening; he "look[s] on incuriously, as though this [is] another formality of the hanging" (p. 2).
When this dog is caught, the moral climax of the essay presents itself. The narrator watches the convict from behind as, "in spite of the men who [grip] him by each shoulder" (p. 2), the latter "step[s] lightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path" (p. 2). This action seems, at first glance, a strange thing for a condemned man to do, because his life shall end within minutes anyway. The minor inconvenience of wet shoes and socks is dwarfed by the upcoming hanging. The moral climax unfolds as the narrator realises that he, until that moment, "had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When [he sees] the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, [he sees] the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide" (p. 2). Upon reading this, the reader comes to realise that Orwell hones in on this particular moment in the story to illustrate how barbaric it really is to take the life of a man who is "not dying", but "alive just as we [are] alive" (p. 2).
The physical climax follows suit — the hanging of the prisoner. Orwell builds tension by writing about the man's cries for his god of salvation: "‘Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!’, not urgent and fearful like a prayer or a cry for help, but steady, rhythmical, almost like the tolling of a bell" (p. 3). The comparison to the tolling of a bell indirectly hints at the church, and the bells of the funeral procession the prisoner deserves, but will not receive. It feels as if minutes are passing by slowly, even though the hanging only takes up half a page of the essay. While the man continues crying out, a couple of the bayonets tremble, and all people present want the man to die: "(...) each cry another second of life; the same thought was in all our minds: oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!" (p. 3). The narrator really does not want the prisoner's life to end, but mentally cannot deal with the minutes dragging on and the prisoner awaiting his death with his cries. The man's life ends, and the jail officers all appear to be relieved. "Well, that's all for this morning, thank God" states the superintendent (p. 4).
After this second climax, the falling action begins. The relief of the men who witnessed the hanging turns into something almost brutal in the sense that they laugh about the barbaric event: "I found that I was laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing" (p. 4). This is, of course, a human reaction to fear or discomfort; also to be found in the way the other prisoners are perceived after the hanging. "It seemed quite a homely, jolly scene, after the hanging" (p. 4), the narrator states upon watching the other prisoners get their breakfast. Such a simple situation is heightened to loveliness because the narrator contrasts it with the death he witnessed. Several people even laugh when it is mentioned that the convict "pissed on the floor of his cell, from fright" (p. 4) when he heard that his appeal had been dismissed. In this part of the story, the narrator learns that the man had applied for a reversal of the condemnation — but more importantly, he finds out that the prisoner was indeed afraid.
August 14, 2025
Olhámos para o homem amarrado e encapuçado no cadafalso, e escutámos os seus gritos – cada grito um segundo mais de vida; o mesmo pensamento estava em todos os espíritos: oh, matem-no depressa, acabem com isso, parem esse ruído abominável!
“Um Enforcamento” foi um artigo que George Orwell publicou em 1931 na revista literária “The Adelphi” e assinou com o seu verdadeiro nome, Eric A. Blair, remetendo para a época em que fez parte da polícia colonial britânica, colocado na antiga Birmânia, actual Myanmar.
Enquanto um prisioneiro hindu é escoltado pelos carcereiros para ser enforcado, dois incidentes despertam o narrador para a sua humanidade durante o percurso que separa a cela do patíbulo. Primeiro, um cão vadio que aparece do nada e tenta lamber o rosto do condenado e, depois, a dignidade com que este se afasta de uma poça de água.
É curioso, mas até esse momento nunca me apercebera realmente do que significa destruir um homem saudável e consciente. Quando vi o prisioneiro afastar-se para evitar a poça de água, vi o mistério, o mal indizível de cortar a vida de um homem quando está em pleno florescimento.
No final, passado um momento de tensão em que o condenado clama pelo seu deus, colonizadores e colonizados acabam a beber e a rir. Afinal, o enforcamento correu bem comparado com outros e o preso teve a cortesia de mostrar medo somente na privacidade da sua diminuta cela.
“Um Enforcamento” foi um artigo que George Orwell publicou em 1931 na revista literária “The Adelphi” e assinou com o seu verdadeiro nome, Eric A. Blair, remetendo para a época em que fez parte da polícia colonial britânica, colocado na antiga Birmânia, actual Myanmar.
Enquanto um prisioneiro hindu é escoltado pelos carcereiros para ser enforcado, dois incidentes despertam o narrador para a sua humanidade durante o percurso que separa a cela do patíbulo. Primeiro, um cão vadio que aparece do nada e tenta lamber o rosto do condenado e, depois, a dignidade com que este se afasta de uma poça de água.
É curioso, mas até esse momento nunca me apercebera realmente do que significa destruir um homem saudável e consciente. Quando vi o prisioneiro afastar-se para evitar a poça de água, vi o mistério, o mal indizível de cortar a vida de um homem quando está em pleno florescimento.
No final, passado um momento de tensão em que o condenado clama pelo seu deus, colonizadores e colonizados acabam a beber e a rir. Afinal, o enforcamento correu bem comparado com outros e o preso teve a cortesia de mostrar medo somente na privacidade da sua diminuta cela.
October 14, 2024
One felt an impulse to sing, to break into a run, to snigger.
Orwell spent time in what was then Burma, serving in the colonial administration. Two of his most powerful essays are based on that experience: A Hanging, and Shooting an Elephant.
This short work of what is now called "creative non-fiction" is memorable and unsettling. There is also a dog who interrupts the proceedings and adds a slightly absurdist element.
“Pulling someone’s leg” as a euphemism achieves new meaning here, while everyone is in a state of shock.
Orwell spent time in what was then Burma, serving in the colonial administration. Two of his most powerful essays are based on that experience: A Hanging, and Shooting an Elephant.
This short work of what is now called "creative non-fiction" is memorable and unsettling. There is also a dog who interrupts the proceedings and adds a slightly absurdist element.
“Pulling someone’s leg” as a euphemism achieves new meaning here, while everyone is in a state of shock.
January 23, 2026
Bir İdam küçük ama etkisi büyük bir kitap. Orwell hiç süs yapmadan, akıllı ama gösterişsiz bir dille yazıyor; o yüzden okurken hem rahat akıyor hem de insanın içini dürtüyor. En sevdiğim tarafı, “ne düşüneceğini” dayatmaması — olayları ve fikirleri önüne koyuyor, vicdanın gerisini tamamlıyor. Dört deneme birlikte okunduğunda da şunu net hissediyorsun: bu adam sadece iyi bir yazar değil, dürüst bir tanık. Bitince “iyi ki okumuşum” dedirten, aradan zaman geçse bile akılda kalan kitaplardan.
August 8, 2023
I must have drunk-reviewed this essay by accident. I posted it as want-to-read and saw that it was marked as reviewed with nothing written. Deleting a review seems all but impossible on Goodreads so now I'm forced, against my will, to write a review.
It reads like fiction, more so than any essay I've ever read before. I thought that I hadn't read this before but I read it years ago. Upon rereading I'm tempted to go back and reread a lot of Orwell because he's a fine writer with a lot to say, qualities uncommon among most writers we revere.
Reading this is like looking at a good photograph that's full of details requiring close scrutiny. Mostly it's takes a close look at capital punishment, sort of my litmus test for humanity.
It reads like fiction, more so than any essay I've ever read before. I thought that I hadn't read this before but I read it years ago. Upon rereading I'm tempted to go back and reread a lot of Orwell because he's a fine writer with a lot to say, qualities uncommon among most writers we revere.
Reading this is like looking at a good photograph that's full of details requiring close scrutiny. Mostly it's takes a close look at capital punishment, sort of my litmus test for humanity.
June 10, 2015
Essay written in 1931 describing the hanging of a prisoner in Burma that Orwell must have witnessed when he was in service there. It is very similar to his essay, Shooting an Elephant, also set in Burma. Orwell's vivid descriptions of the setting, the people, and most importantly the mood surrounding the story are stark and memorable. Both these fine essays can be read free on the Literature Network.
July 23, 2015
This is a perfect combination with Shooting an Elephant ( 4 stars ) in one book . The feelings both convey in the sentences could bring about nuclear fission. (laughs) I would , for sure, give it 5 stars .
Just the kidding aside. This is a perfect essay for the perpetual global issue now : imposing capital punishments on prisoners or captives. One of the punishments that has still been practiced is hanging. Recently, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) was reported to have hanged few Egyptian Christians in light of their ideologies. In fact, it is sad to say that not only does such group embrace this kind of blood-curdling punishment , but also 58 countries still do. Twenty three of these countries have executed 527 people. To put it bluntly, most of the countries that still embrace death penalty are China, the United States, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Indonesia, and Iraq.*They uphold death penalty laws for some reasons. Whatever argumentative reasons these countries have, in my humble opinion, I am absolutely against DEATH PENALTY, not that it is unconstitutional in our country, not that our country is a religious country, not that we are crime-free, in effect, we have floats of crocodiles in kind unless we were still living in a dark era when people were still intellectually and morally immature to kill one another, weren't we? If we are in reality at the present time, DEATH PENALTY is applicable when we are all in danger to get annihilated. Tsk tsk tsk Orwell was right: There is such an evil.
Upon reading this essay, there are lines that dwelt upon me:
“It is curious, but till that moment I had never realised 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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive. All the organs of his body were working - bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming - all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned - even about puddles. 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 - one mind less, one world less.”
Gee, this part makes my flesh creep! A message coming from the other planet.
This essay sounds journalistic “in a sense “ ( now infected by Orwell’s favorite word in his essays ) that Orwell had witnessed different kinds of state wars. His description about the prisoners, the miserably sordid camp, the hanging place, the dog, the atmosphere- they are one in a picture in my mind.
As I reviewed his essay Shooting an Elephant ( 4 stars ), Orwell’s writing styles are sooo impressive. I really liked it despite its ending is ridiculous. I am now getting more familiar with his trademark.
*http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguid...
Just the kidding aside. This is a perfect essay for the perpetual global issue now : imposing capital punishments on prisoners or captives. One of the punishments that has still been practiced is hanging. Recently, ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria) was reported to have hanged few Egyptian Christians in light of their ideologies. In fact, it is sad to say that not only does such group embrace this kind of blood-curdling punishment , but also 58 countries still do. Twenty three of these countries have executed 527 people. To put it bluntly, most of the countries that still embrace death penalty are China, the United States, Pakistan, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Yemen, Indonesia, and Iraq.*They uphold death penalty laws for some reasons. Whatever argumentative reasons these countries have, in my humble opinion, I am absolutely against DEATH PENALTY, not that it is unconstitutional in our country, not that our country is a religious country, not that we are crime-free, in effect, we have floats of crocodiles in kind unless we were still living in a dark era when people were still intellectually and morally immature to kill one another, weren't we? If we are in reality at the present time, DEATH PENALTY is applicable when we are all in danger to get annihilated. Tsk tsk tsk Orwell was right: There is such an evil.
Upon reading this essay, there are lines that dwelt upon me:
“It is curious, but till that moment I had never realised 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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive. All the organs of his body were working - bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming - all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned - even about puddles. 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 - one mind less, one world less.”
Gee, this part makes my flesh creep! A message coming from the other planet.
This essay sounds journalistic “in a sense “ ( now infected by Orwell’s favorite word in his essays ) that Orwell had witnessed different kinds of state wars. His description about the prisoners, the miserably sordid camp, the hanging place, the dog, the atmosphere- they are one in a picture in my mind.
As I reviewed his essay Shooting an Elephant ( 4 stars ), Orwell’s writing styles are sooo impressive. I really liked it despite its ending is ridiculous. I am now getting more familiar with his trademark.
*http://www.criminaljusticedegreesguid...
September 19, 2013
In "Shooting the Elephant" George Orwell was similarly speaking as a British police officer and that piece is but one, silent, introspective disgust over his role in that particular period in history when Burma was under British colonial rule. He had to mercilessly and needlessly kill an elephant he didn't really want to kill.
In this other story it is a Hindu convict who is about to be hanged. Orwell and his fellow officers march him to his place of execution and it is here, just like when he had his elephant rifle and about to meet the animal to kill it, that Orwell has his epiphany:
"It was about forty yards to the gallows. I watched the bare brown back of the prisoner marching in front of me. He walked clumsily with his bound arms, but quite steadily, with that bobbing gait of the Indian who never straightens his knees. At each step his muscles slid neatly into place, the lock of hair on his scalp danced up and down, his feet printed themselves on the wet gravel. And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped lightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path.
"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...."
They kill him anyway.
June 18, 2021
Çok beğendim. Kitaba adını veren öykü olan “Bir İdam” zaten müthiş. Kısacık ama çok sarsıcı, insanlığın kayıtsızlığına dair acayip çok şey söylüyor. “Yazma Sebebim” denemesi, Orwell’le ilişkisini derinleştirmek ve kendisini daha iyi anlamak isteyenler için çok faydalı. Kitabın çoğunu kaplayan “Sosyalizm ve İngiliz Dehası” ise Orwell’in sosyalizm, demokrasi ve faşizm üzerine fikirlerini içeriyor, savaşın ilk yıllarında yazılmış (1941), oldukça ilginç tespitler ve öneriler var içinde. 1984’ün ayak sesleri bir nevi. Şu cümleleri unutmayacağım, yaşadığımız günlerde kulağımıza küpe olsun: “İngiliz egemen sınıfı faşizmi kendi tarafında görürken tam da yanılmıyordu. Herhangi bir zengin adamın, faşizmden komünizm ya da demokratik sosyalizm kadar korkacak bir şeyi yok. (…) Devrim kırmızı bayraklar ve sokak çatışmaları anlamına gelmiyor, devrim temel bir güç değişimi anlamına geliyor.”
April 29, 2018
Powerful Orwell short story.
August 3, 2015
I was not assigned to read this essay but I did come across it in my college English book. When I saw that it was Orwell, I just had to read it.
I feel off saying that I "enjoyed" reading it as the subject matter is a bit heavy for "enjoy". I admire Orwell's descriptive writing that gives the reader a feeling of being there as well as a sense of his own discomfort that is quickly hidden behind laughs.
There are many topics that could be discussed from this essay, most of which are debate starters. I am not really trying to get into that on Goodreads. I just choose to respect Orwell's layman style writing that is easily read and understood by most as well as getting the reader's mind to turn, thinking on things he or she was not thinking about beforehand.
I feel off saying that I "enjoyed" reading it as the subject matter is a bit heavy for "enjoy". I admire Orwell's descriptive writing that gives the reader a feeling of being there as well as a sense of his own discomfort that is quickly hidden behind laughs.
There are many topics that could be discussed from this essay, most of which are debate starters. I am not really trying to get into that on Goodreads. I just choose to respect Orwell's layman style writing that is easily read and understood by most as well as getting the reader's mind to turn, thinking on things he or she was not thinking about beforehand.
June 17, 2017
“in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, the prisoner stepped 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 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. This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive.”
January 29, 2021
Orwell sadece şahane bir romancı değil aynı zamanda bir düz yazı ustası. ‘Bir İdam’daki denemeleri de bunun en somut kanıtı. Kitaba adını veren ‘Bir İdam’a hayran kaldım. Yazma sebebini kaleme aldığı ilk deneme de çok başarılıydı. İngiltere siyaseti, işçi sınıfı, faşizm ve sosyalizme dair tespitlerini de keyifle okudum.
October 14, 2021
short story:o it was interesting! don't really have a strong opinion on this piece but i did an assessment on it and that was a really enjoyable processes, the descriptions are so well written!
April 20, 2022
A great “essay” on the account of a hanging, does a great job in showing the racism, cruelty and heartlessness of the British empire.
July 11, 2022
english class had me reading all kinds of shit that made me cry for some reason ??? 😭
March 9, 2022
“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. The man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive. All the organs of his body were working, bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming -- all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned -- even about puddles. 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 -- one mind less, one world less.”
June 24, 2015
Full Review coming up.
A Hanging explores the psychological effects of captial punishment on those who must carry it out. Orwell was against capital punishment, but in this story, he never explicitly states his opposition in an idenitfiable thesis. Instead he allows the events of the narrative and well chosen descriptive details to express his point of view. In the process, he also presents both a social and a political commentary that reflects his opposition to colonialism, particularly British colonialsm which he witnessed first hand in Burma and India.
It was a rather chilling experience, a short statisfying read but was disturbing.
The Story :
My thoughts
A Hanging explores the psychological effects of captial punishment on those who must carry it out. Orwell was against capital punishment, but in this story, he never explicitly states his opposition in an idenitfiable thesis. Instead he allows the events of the narrative and well chosen descriptive details to express his point of view. In the process, he also presents both a social and a political commentary that reflects his opposition to colonialism, particularly British colonialsm which he witnessed first hand in Burma and India.
It was a rather chilling experience, a short statisfying read but was disturbing.
The Story :
My thoughts
May 15, 2021
Kısa ama etkili bir Orwell kitabı. İdam sadece bir öykü. Diğer yazıları düşüncüleri üzerine. Siyasi öngörülerinin bu kadar tutmuş olmasına şaşırmamak lazım. Bu kitaptan sonra yazacağı 1984 ile zaten ne kadar ileri görüşlü olduğunu ispatlamış. İngiltere’nin zaman içersinde en büyüklerden olacağını da bilmiş. Ama tabi ülkesinin kötü yönetimini ve kötü yöneticilerini de iyi bilmiş.
September 12, 2022
Kitabın son bölümü, en vurucu diatopyalardan birini yazan bir yazarın gözünden, zamanın İngilteresi'ne eleştirel bakışı, sadece eleştirmekle kalmayıp, çözüm sunuşu; bunların çok ötesinde günümüzde tümüyle geçerliliğini koruyan görüşler sunmasıyla çok özel.
November 29, 2021
George Orwell.. as always, another work worth the read.
Here, we get to learn about Orwell’s experience in Burma. Present at a hanging, he explains the reactions of others around him, his own thoughts, and the state of the person who is to be hanged. In a way, this essay shows how people can be ignorant to things that don't concern them. Lack of empathy.
Ah, empathy. A very important human characteristic. Yet, so little people seem to possess this feeling.
A brief yet eye-opening (to some) essay.
4/5
Would've given it a 5 if only the edition of the book I read wasn't so hard to finish.
Dreaded writing a review, finally managed to do it.
I really should be studying instead..
Here, we get to learn about Orwell’s experience in Burma. Present at a hanging, he explains the reactions of others around him, his own thoughts, and the state of the person who is to be hanged. In a way, this essay shows how people can be ignorant to things that don't concern them. Lack of empathy.
Ah, empathy. A very important human characteristic. Yet, so little people seem to possess this feeling.
A brief yet eye-opening (to some) essay.
4/5
Would've given it a 5 if only the edition of the book I read wasn't so hard to finish.
Dreaded writing a review, finally managed to do it.
I really should be studying instead..
Read
May 16, 2021I had to read this story for school and found it to be a surprisingly good read.
Orwell’s skill drives the reader to question their own views on the subject of capital punishment, after powerfully examining it.
Orwell’s skill drives the reader to question their own views on the subject of capital punishment, after powerfully examining it.
December 1, 2018
Very short, but still a powerful piece of writing.
March 21, 2020
Once again,George Orwell never disappoints.The description in this short non-fiction essay was so powerful and the imagery so vivid. This is really a short but a powerful essay.
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