a hanging essay Flashcards
quotes - conditions
’ like small animal cages’
‘brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars’
‘blankets draped round them’
’ small animal cages’
the word small emphasises the lack of living space they have, the word animal suggests they are being dehumanised and the word cages highlights that they have no freedom
‘brown silent men were squatting at the inner bars’
this is effective as squatting for a prolonged period of time would be extremely painful and uncomfortable for the men. The fact they were squatting emphasises the lack of space they have as it suggests there was no room to stand up
‘blankets draped round them’
this is effective as it suggests there was no heating in the cells emphasising the horrendous conditions.
evaluation - conditions
These descriptions help the reader understand how horrific the ending must have been later. This word choice makes the reader more inclined to agree with the writers anti - capital punishment views. It also causes the reader to feel a profound sense of sorrow and urges them to question the point of killing the prisoner as the conditions are so bad.
quotes - epiphany
’ 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’s in full tide’
’ all the organs in his body working - bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming’
’ a party of men, walking together, seeing, hearing, understanding the same world’
’ unspeakable wrongness’
This is effective as it tells us that the writer no longer agrees with capital punishment which helps us understand his reaction to the prisoners death later in the text. The fact the prisoner stepped aside to avoid the puddle shows that he really is human like everyone else as he knows he is going to die but he still thinks about the little things like keeping his feet dry even though it won’t matter in a while as he will be dead.
‘All the organs in his body working - bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming’
This list is effective as it emphasies that not only is he an individual human being but the prisoner has loads of organs and parts that are going to be lost when he dies so not only one living thing will die but many will. The list emphasises the scale and variety of loss.
’ a party of men, walking together, seeing, hearing, understanding the same world’.’
This is effective as it gives us a good impression of Orwell because he understands that the prisoner is human like him and everyone else and they are all living different versions of the same life. This key incident influences us to feel sympathy and sadness when the prisoner dies as we are inclined to agree with the writer and are made very aware that this man is human and has his own life like everyone else but it is away to be taken from him.
evaluation
the writers epiphany influences our understanding of the text as he reminds us that the prisoner is only human. The writer slows the pace so the reader can fully appreciate the weight of what he is saying. We question why the prisoner steps aside from the puddle which makes us question the impact on Orwell which intensifies the impact of the hanging and widens our focus so that we consider the impact capital punishment has on innocent bystanders as well as the prisoner himself.
quotes - reactions/hanging itself
’ the Indians had gone grey like bad coffee’
’ the same thought was in all our minds, oh kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise’
‘seemed quite a homely, jolly scene after the hanging’
the Indians had gone grey like bad coffee
This is an effective image as it gives us a visual of their faces to help us imagine the way they reacted to the hanging. ‘gone grey’ suggests they felt physically ill at the thought of the prisoner being hung because the writers epiphany makes us realise he is human like the rest of us and the thought of another humans life being taken in such a torturous way is upsetting.
’ the same thought was in all our minds, oh kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise’
this is effective as it suggests the men were suffering, watching the prisoner hanging there knowing that he was about to lose his life and they would have to watch. It also suggests they are going to remember this moment for the rest of their lives as it is going to be so traumatizing and mentally scarring. ‘abominable noise’ suggests he was so upset he was crying and screaming.
’ seemed quite a homely, jolly scene after the hanging’ ‘
This suggests the hanging was so horrendous that the cells seemed okay. We understand just how awful the hanging must have been for the men as at the start of the text the writer described how horrific the conditions were but now they are being described as homely and jolly. This also suggests the men were relieved.
evaluation
The writer described the reactions to the hanging which we now understand due to his epiphany. His descriptions help us realise the hanging not only impacts the prisoner himself but all of the innocent bystanders watching.
