The hanging george orwell
The bleak, lonesome atmosphere which permeates the prison environment is made known: “a bugle call, desolately thin in the wet air”.
The writer goes on to discuss said conditions: “the condemned cells…like small animal cages” to express how inhumane their living conditions are. The colour yellow also emphasises the poor health caused by the awful conditions the prisoners are subject to. The use of the pathetic fallacy adds an ominous atmosphere creating a mood which is dark and foreboding. His describes the jail yard as having “a sickly light like yellow tinfoil” cast over it. The writer uses a range of literary techniques such as setting, characterisation, irony and language techniques to convey his message that taking another human being’s life and capital punishment are against human nature.įrom the onset of the essay, Orwell reveals through his description of setting his inherent feelings towards the execution to come. Orwell recounts in the first-person narrative the execution of a Hindu prisoner which evokes a powerful epiphany in him. It is set in Burma in 1931 and recalls Orwell’s time spent as an officer in the British Imperial Police in the 1920’s. “A Hanging” is a famous essay written by George Orwell. Short Essay ‘A Hanging ‘ by George Orwell