George Orwell uses irony in his essay to show the overshadowed sadness that lies in the prisoners.
#The hanging george orwell breakdown full#
His revolution against capitalist punishment reaches its peak when he says that the prisoner was the same man, “walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world.” He makes an apt summary of the whole act by saying, “cutting a life short when it is in full tide.” A Hanging Irony Orwell deliberately makes the prisoner weak in appearance, which also puts stress on the fact of being tortured.
He also humanizes the prisoners by talking about the “unspeakable wrongness” they used to face in prison. George Orwell took the help of physical description to portray the ruthlessness of capital punishment. By showing these horrible conditions of the prisoners with the help of several imageries, Orwell brings out the callous brutality of execution. Orwell also described the prisons as “small animal cages,” which signifies the terrible prison conditions. Such a type of menacing atmosphere creates a dingy and disturbing mood, which ultimately reflects the dispirited life of the prisoners.īy wrapping the jail in cold and overcast emotions, Orwell exaggerates the brutality of execution and also kindles sympathy in the reader’s mind. He describes the weather as “a sodden morning of the rains” with the touch of “a sickly light, like yellow tinfoil.” It sets a gloomy tone for the rest of the essay.