George Orwell

Question 1

‘It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains’

Answer 1

• Imagery
• Used to set the scene of the prison yard using pathetic fallacy, a technique emphasizing human emotion and response that he talks about.
• ‘…’ Helps the reader to understand the prison yard is saturated with urine, showing inhumane conditions
• Allows reader to feel sympathy for the prisoners

Question 2

‘He was an Army Doctor’

Answer 2

• Irony
• Doctors should be caring, helping, and curing people not executing them with no emotions
• Superintendent - well respected, disciplined, and used to death
• Allows the reader to characterize the superintendent as evil and cruel again allowing sympathy toward the prisoner

Question 3

‘Bloody Brute’

Answer 3

• Irony
• Superintendent calls dog ‘…’
• Use of irony is telling of his character - the dog is innocent - superintendent is the brute
• Coveys to the reader that he is uncaring does not want anything getting in the way of his morning job
• Other would feel cold and fearful, he has not one caring cell in his body
• Angers the reader - how could someone be so emotionless again telling of character

Question 4

‘A dreadful thing had happened’

Answer 4

• Irony
• Use of irony ‘…’ followed by the arrival of dog
• Hanging arguably the most dreadful thing to happen to someone
• Use of irony used to reflect superintendents attitude belives that dog jumping all over the place is the worst thing to happen
• Angers reader we become absolutely clear the superintendent has no care that death is soon to occur before him

Question 5

‘We all had a drink together, native and European alike… The dead man was a hundred yards away’

Answer 5

• Epiphany
• Orwell uses juxtaposition to project epiphany stanza
• ‘…’ Helps stanza to stand out pulling the reader in as it effectively conveys the disrespect towards prisoners freshly deceased body only one hundred yards away
• Juxtaposition of dead man, alcohol and chuckling right in front of the barely cold body coveys dark humor how they deal with situation
• Allows reader to again sympathise with the dead man and question the careless attitude of the men and what they have just witnessed

Question 6

‘He stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle’

Answer 6

• Epiphany
• Used to forcibly portray feeling of realisation by Orwell.
• Fully recognises the man to be just like him, with thoughts feelings, and emotions of his own Like the rest of us
• Makes reader realise the horrors which will soon occur reminding them that this is a fellow human being not some aniaml.