'A Hanging' by George Orwell - step-by-step essay exercise

2017 3. Choose a novel or a short story or a work of non-fiction which deals with an important issue or theme. By referring to appropriate techniques, show how the issue or theme is explored.   This is a past paper question from a previous National 5 exam. It is your task for practice essay.   As a first step, write an introduction to the essay.   In it, you should include: ·        writer’s name ·        title of text ·        genre of text ·        brief summary of text ·        reference to task ·        techniques which the writer uses to explore the theme (the ones you are going to write about in essay)

writer’s name                    George Orwell   title of text                         ‘A Hanging’   genre of text                      non-fiction essay   brief summary of text       The narrator writes about his involvement in a judicial hanging in Burma, when he was a member of the police. It is this experience which convinces him that capital punishment is wrong.   reference to task              ‘a work of non-fiction which deals with an important issue’   techniques which the writer uses to explore the theme (the ones you are going to write about in essay)       setting, characterisation, symbolism, turning point,                                          word choice

 

Paragraph on SETTING

It was in Burma, a sodden morning of the rains. A sickly light, like yellow tinfoil (word choice), 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 (simile). Each cell measured about ten feet by ten and was quite bare within except for a plank bed and a pot of drinking water.

Orwell begins his essay by focussing on the ……………, with a description of the weather. He writes that it was “a sodden morning” with “a sickly light, like yellow ……………”. This suggests an unpleasant atmosphere, creating a mood which is ……………. He then describes the condemned cells as being “like small animal …………….” He uses this simile to show that the conditions in the jail were unsuitable for humans and it shows Orwell’s unhappiness about the treatment of the …………….

 

Paragraph on CHARACTERISATION

… a puny wisp of a man (metaphor), with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes. He had a thick, sprouting moustache, absurdly too big for his body (description), rather like the moustache of a comic man on the films.

Orwell writes, in his ……………. of the prisoner, that he is “a puny …………… of a man”. This metaphor suggests that the prisoner is very slight, frail and in no way dangerous. Also, the ‘thick, sprouting ……………, absurdly too big for his body’, gives the prisoner a …............ appearance, which makes him seem unsuitable for …………...   Interestingly, Orwell tells us nothing of the prisoner’s crime, which might influence the …………… opinion. Instead he shows the Hindu as …………… and unthreatening.

Paragraph on SYMBOLISM

A dreadful thing had happened — a dog, come goodness knows whence, had appeared in the yard. It came bounding among us with a loud volley of barks,(symbolism) and leapt round us wagging its whole body, wild with glee at finding so many human beings together. It was a large woolly dog, half Airedale, half pariah. For a moment it pranced round us, and then, before anyone could stop it, it had made a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up tried to lick his face. Everyone stood aghast, too taken aback even to grab at the dog.

Next, the …………… uses symbolism to appeal to the reader. As the …………… party moves toward the gallows, an animal makes a surprise appearance. Orwell writes, “a dreadful thing happened… a dog appeared and bounded among us with a loud …………… of barks.” The word choice “dreadful” suggests that Orwell was shocked by this. The dog jumped up on the prisoner and attempted to ‘…………… his face’ – an act which symbolises ……………. and …………… This action is used by Orwell, as contrast, to make the behaviour of the execution party seem even more cruel and inhumane.

 

Paragraph on TURNING POINT

And once, in spite of the men who gripped him by each shoulder, he stepped slightly aside to avoid a puddle on the path.(turning point) … till that moment I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.

A further …………… Orwell uses to express his feelings against capital punishment is the use of a turning ……………. On the way to the gallows, Orwell noticed that the prisoner “stepped slightly aside to avoid a …………… on the path.” This is when Orwell states: “… till that moment I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy conscious man.” Here, the writer describes a small human action and focuses on the instant – the turning point - when the injustice of capital punishment became clear to him.

 

Paragraph on WORD CHOICE

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 —

Finally, Orwell uses word choice, when he describes the “unspeakable wrongness” of capital punishment. Here, the vocabulary express his new conviction that capital ……………, in any circumstances, is morally unjustified.

Conclusion

Mention text, writer, task, techniques. Make comments in positive response to task.

In his non-fiction essay, ‘A Hanging’, George Orwell has used a variety of techniques to address the issue of capital punishment in an interesting and emotive way. Having witnessed such an execution close up, his point of view carries conviction.