A Hanging

In this first official blog entry, I shall be discussing the issues that are worth pondering regarding George Orwell’s “A hanging”

In “A Hanging”, George Orwell uses various techniques to draw from his readers the desired inference, as his condemnation to capital punishment is delivered indirectly rather than by more explicit means.

Firstly, the introduction sets the mood of the entire story – the hanging. The bad weather elements together with the vivid descriptions of the depilated cells tugged the heartstrings of the readers as their hearts go out to the condemned men, due to be hanged within the next week or two. From the pre-amble, George Orwell is trying to indirectly condemn capital punishment as the prisoner are going to face their looming doom in a matter of time while their conditions are already bad enough; this is definitely cruel and un despicable in many people’s perspectives.

Next, the metaphor “handling a fish which is still alive and may jump back into the water” was used to depict how he condemns capital punishment. The prisoner was being treated as a fauna instead of a human – this clearly shows how the human is degraded; lacking of the basic respect. Capital punishment was condemned as the author strongly feels that it takes away the pride and value of a human being, making him/her being worse than a beast.

Furthermore, the prisoner was deemed to be in the state of normal sobriety, he was “awoke” and not oblivious. This can be seen from “he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path”. This further accentuated to the fact that capital punishment should be condemned as it takes away the life of a “healthy’ man – a man who should still be allowed to survive in this universe; a healthy, conscious man’s life should not just be destroyed like this.

In addition, George Orwell described that “all the organs of his body were working – bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming – all toiling away in solemn foolery”. We can easily infer the author’s message – it is unethical to kill a human being because of a little mistake, especially when he/she is still functioning properly and is able to continue living.

Lastly, “the superintendent reached out with his stick and poked the bare body” conveyed that the dead was not even treated with a tinge of respect after he had received his “treatment”. This justified the point that capital punishment must be condemned and if can, abolished.

There had been a lot of saying about the sanctity of human life. The gift of life is a privilege bestowed upon us. So, should capital punishment prevail in our society?
Supporters of capital punishment would feel that it is the only way to pay proper respect and homage to the importance of human life. The human life referred here is not only the life of the victim but also the life of the murderer as well. Although killing the perpetrator of the crime would not revive the loss of the innocent, it would effectively deter others who have similar thoughts of committing hideous crime by cautioning them to reflect carefully on the price they have to eventually pay.

On the other hand, the guilty are free from guilt at the same time as the execution process is both a short and rapid one. In matter of seconds, the guilty would not have to live on with the name of guilt eating him up for the rest of his life. In this case, the guilty would not be deprived of freedom, to be jailed in a lifeless monotonous cell and being constantly tortured with hard labor and humiliation. Isn’t the capital punishment much better in the perspective of the criminal in comparison with just long term jail?

However, some may object the usage of capital punishment for its cruelty and the finality. It simply deprived the criminal for the right of having second chance and directly deeming them as incorrigible. Thus, it is highly unethical and it violates the law of human rights; capital punishments disregard the sanctity of human life. Furthermore, it is hypocritical. While trying to convey the message that it is unethical to kill or commit other serious crime, the guilty in subject is being killed by the authority instead of forgive. This is ironic and it is a paradox.
In my opinion, there are circumstances in which the death penalty can be justified. Cases in which there are repeated offences because the subject in question does not show remorse or those, which involved killing of the masses, should not be spared, as the capital punishment should be incorporated.

In conclusion, the debate on capital punishment would be ongoing. There is no definite answer on whether it should be abolished or not. However, it is to my belief that it should be condemned in order to pay homage to the importance of human life.