Identify the clues whereby Orwell lets his readers know that he is subjectively and sympathetically involved with the subject matter - capital punishment - as well as the "subject" who is being put to death.
Please respond to this post by 8:00 p.m. Tuesday February 26, 2008.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
26 comments:
In Orwell’s passage A Hanging he is obviously sympathetically involved in the subject matter of capital punishment. Capital punishment or execution is suitable to some but wrong and in human to others. Orwell shows a slight opposition to capital punishment he realizes how wrong it is throughout his passage. Orwell says, “I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy conscious man.” He realizes how the man is perfectly fine, suitable to live, he says in disapproval of it all, “Unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is full tide.” He mentally creates the connection with the man being put to death, he avoids a puddle like any other man would, he still thinks logically and all of his organs operate just as they should. At the end after the man was put to death he speaks to another and they share opinions on how the punishment is wrong. One man says how troublesome it was to watch one of the men cling to his cell bars because he was scared of his pending death. He also shares how these hangings are most disagreeable and everyone knows it.
In Orwell’s passage A Hanging he is obviously sympathetically involved in the subject matter of capital punishment. Capital punishment or execution is suitable to some but wrong and in human to others. Orwell shows a slight opposition to capital punishment he realizes how wrong it is throughout his passage. Orwell says, “I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy conscious man.” He realizes how the man is perfectly fine, suitable to live, he says in disapproval of it all, “Unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is full tide.” He mentally creates the connection with the man being put to death, he avoids a puddle like any other man would, he still thinks logically and all of his organs operate just as they should. At the end after the man was put to death he speaks to another and they share opinions on how the punishment is wrong. One man says how troublesome it was to watch one of the men cling to his cell bars because he was scared of his pending death. He also shares how these hangings are most disagreeable and everyone knows it.
Throughout "A Hanging", Orwell lets his readers know that he is both subjectively and sympathetically involoved with capital punishment. Because he was an officer in Burma, he was involoved at the jail and "set out for the gallows" with the wardens and the prisoner who was about to be hung. After the prisoner was hung, the rest of the inmates were allowed to be fed breakfast. Due to his job, he is subjectively involved with this subject matter. Sympathetically, Orwell is involoved with capital punishment because while marching to the gallows he considers the fact that taking a "perfectly" well functioning human life is morally wrong. Because he often walks through the jail and observes the cells, he is subjectively involved with the "Hindu, puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes". While marching to the gallows, a dog interferes with the prisoner and their path, causing a few extra seconds of the prisoner's life to pass by. Orwell notices that. When the prisoner leaps around the mud puddle, Orwell also comes to the realization that hanging him is "wrong". He is still able to function and make decisions. In conclusion, I believe that due to these experiences with the prisoners, Orwell takes on a new perspective regarding capital punishment. In the end of the passage though, Orwell claims that he "found himself laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing". This was because they were previoiusly discussing how a former prisoner was hostile while trying to be hung. Although Orwell might not have wanted to laugh at this situation, he simply avoided being made fun of - just as he did in Shooting an Elephant.
In "A Hanging", by George Orwell, some of the true cruelities of capital punishment are expressed. These are clearly shown in paragraph 10. As corad wrote above Orwell states, " ...but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man". With that sentence Orwell clearly shows sympathy towards the victim that is about to be killed. He also speaks about "the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide". Then Orwell compares the man to himself, saying that by taking this man's life, it would be just like taking any other normal human being's life as well. All of this evidence also applies back to his view on capital punishment.
In Orwells's passage, he shows clear signs of his negative views towards capital punishment. For example, he shows sympathy towards the "subject" when he says, "It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, concious man". He then goes on to talk about how the subject's body was still working fine, and how it seemed wrong to destroy a healthy persons life. Also, right before the subject was about to be killed, Orwell as well as the others he was with, wanted the prisoners death to be as quick and painless as possible. He even says, "the same thgought was in all our minds: oh, kill him quickly, get it over..." Then later on in the text, Orwell talks about how the subject was described by a fellow prisoner, and again, you can see the sympathetic side of Orwell.
Orwell's passage describes how he's sympathetically involved with the prisoner and capital punishment in many ways. First he describes how the prisoner is bound with the handcuffs and how he is "yielding his arms limply to the ropes, as though he hardly noticed what was happening". Also he notes how the man is "healthy" and "conscious" and says there is "unspeakable wrongness of cutting a life short when it is in full tide". These descriptions let the reader believe that Orwell is against capital punishment. Also he sympathizes with the man when he is crying out his repeated prayer and says "...each cry another second of life". These simple descriptions can not only appeal to the reader's emotions but show them how the author felt as well.
-Alese
George Orwell illudes in his writing that he is sympathetic towards the capital punishment of those convicted of heinous crimes. Cora mentioned that he said, "I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy conscious man." Whenever the accused man stepped around a puddle, Orwell's awareness of the man's consciousness was brought about. This was a significant part in the story because it spurred Orwell's thoughts of how capital punishment disables the thought and being of a healthy living thing. In the story he wrote about how a man clung to the bars of the jail cell. The men that were sentanced to death weren't objects, but fearful human beings. He also wrote about how the man's crys before being hung were tolling like a bell. I associate bells with church and steady beats. The repitition of a constant tolling could symbolize the man's heart beat, which brings him back to thinking that this man is perfectly healthy. They are "cutting a life short when it is in full tide".
Orwell drops many clues about his subjective and sympathetic stance on capital punishment in his essay “A Hanging.” First, he gives the matter a very subjective treatment by only relating a single incident that could not possibly represent all the facets of capital punishment. He describes the head jailer as “a fat Dravidian in a white drill suit and gold spectacles,” and the superintendent of the jail as having a “toothbrush moustache,” effectively making both figures of authority in the twisted proceedings seem silly. However, he only presents them as he sees them, which may not truly be how they are. The emotional impact Orwell feels, such as the realization that execution was an “unspeakable wrong” and his desire to “sing, to break into a run, to snigger” after the execution, also makes it clear that Orwell is entirely too emotionally involved to present the story objectively.
Orwell only describes the condemned as “a Hindu, a puny wisp of a man,” showing sympathy for his human weakness while completely omitting his crime. It’s possible the man was innocent or unjustly punished, but would you feel the same towards him if he was a murderer or rapist? Like Cora said, Orwell’s sympathy for the condemned is especially evident when he remarks “till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man,” in response to seeing the man step around a puddle, showing he functions just as well as those allowed to live. Finally, the last statement, “The dead man was a hundred yards away,” bluntly contrasted with the gaiety of the executioners, shocks the reader into sorrow and sympathy for the poor, seemingly innocent man who hangs dead while his killers celebrate. All of these small clues are littered throughout the text and show that Orwell gave his subject matter a subjective and sympathetic treatment.
In "A Hanging" there are many clues the Orwell uses to show that his is sympathetic towards the man to be hanged. One example of this is when he goes into great detail when describing the prisoner. "a puny wisp of a man, with a shaven head and vague liquid eyes." He goes into greater detail when he says " I had never realized what i means to detroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to aviod the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide." This statement in "A Hanging" distinctly shows Orwell's compassion towards the prisoner. The fact that he wrote "A Hanging" about this particular prisoner proves his sympathy towards the situation.
In George Orwell's "A Hanging" he displays his subjective and sympathetic involvement with capital punishment. "When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide." Orwell shows he does not agree with capital punishment, for he refers to it as an "unspeakable wrongness" to kill a man as punishment. Expressing his feelings about capital punishment he lets his readers know his stand. After the hanging, Orwell speaks with "the Eurasian boy" and he refers to the man who died as "our friend" meaning Orwell was involved with the man who was being put to death. Although some people might think he disagreed with capital punishment just because his friend was sentenced to it, "The Hanging" explains Orwell's true view on the subject, with or without involvement of the subject.
Orwell lets us know that he is sympathetically and subjectively involved with capital punishment through his realization on the way to the gallows. During the time it takes to get the prisoner from his cell to the gallows Orwell has an epiphany sparked by a puddle.
“When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting life short when it is in full tide.” Subjectively he knows that the prisoner is alive and is going to die. A man with “…bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming…” was going to die. The emotional aspect of it is depicted in many ways but I believe that the dog was the main vector. The dog is simple and does not have human emotions. The dog will not hide its emotions when he or she feels them. “For a moment it pranced around us, and then, before anyone could stop it, it had made a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up tried to lick his face.” The dog may be trying to get the prisoner more cheerful because he knows that the prisoner is unhappy and on his way to death. When the hanging commences and ends “…the dog answered…with a whine.” The dog shows its emotions overtly and is now upset since the prisoner was executed. Orwell is a master of meaning through narration.
In "A hanging" written by Orwell, he is geniunely sympathetic towards the subject of capital punishment. "This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All the organs in his body were working- bowels digesting food, skin renwing itself, nails growing, tissues forming- all toiling away in solemn foolery," (Page 2 Orwell). In this quotation written in "a Hanging" he states how this person has no more reason to die as he does. That this person is deserves to be alive since he is meant to be alive. His body isn't fighting death because he does not have to. He is perfectly healthy and should be able to just keep living. Towards the end of the text, Orwell and another discuss about the man being put to death. He tells about how he believes that this was an unfair punishment and that there is no reason as to why they had to be put to rest whenever, he was obviously fit for life. I agree with Cora, that Orwell mentally creates the connection with the man being put to death. He really puts himself in the mans shoes. He doesn't want to know what it is like to be hung so he worries. That is part of the reason as to why he feels bad for the man. It is unhumane and makes people feel badly. "The same thought was in all of our minds: oh, kill him quickly, get it over, stop that abominable noise!" (Orwell page 2). Although he was agaisnt the hanging, he wanted it to be over with. He wanted everyones suffering to cease. He wanted the crowd to not want the man to be hung. That is his feelings towards the hanging.
You can see some of these clues on page 2 when he says, "it is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When i saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide." Here he he realizes what it really means to take a life, and hear the reader also gets a glimpse to how this might feel too.
Clearly, after reading "A Hanging", George Orwell is sympathetic towards the subjects involved in the matter of capital punishment. In the essay, Orwell implies that he is against capital punishment, yet just like in "Shooting an Elephant", he lets it happen. "This man was not dying, he was alive just as we were alive" (Pg 2). Not only does he understand that this man is alive and physically well, he realizes that the man is just like him. "He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone- one mind less, one world less" (Pg 2). His opinion of execution was shared by a man who confronted him after the other man's death. Their conversation illustrates the impact the hanging had on the individuals.
Orwell shows that he is subjectively and sympathetically involved with capital punishment by the style in which he writes, his diction, and because he out-right says it in paragraph 10. He doesn't nessacarily write with a style that shows sympathy, but rather creates sympathy from its readers. He writes about simple everyday things like puddles and dogs that are suddenly noticed and important when it is the day a man will die. His diction creates very vivid descriptions in the minds of a reader, placing them in the scene, while not saying anything bad about the man who is about to be hanged. For example, Orwell writes, "The gallows stood in a small yard, seperate from the main grounds of the prison, and overgrown with tall prickly weeds." He focuses on these images while talking little of the actual prisoner, creating an innocent effect. Also, it is obvious that he is sympathetically involved, just like Cora says, because he flat out says in paragraph ten.
Orwell is very sympathetic towards the man who was being hung. As cora said, he had no idea what it meant to kill a healthy man. Orwell felt that if this man was healthy, all his tissues and organs working why should he be killed. This shows some relation to "Shooting an Elephant". He was sympathetic to an elephant dieng and he is obviously more sympathetic to a man being hung. Although he does not outright say capital punishment is wrong he provides clues to his opinion by mentioning the erasain boy who was friends with the prisoner and giving a sad and sorrowsome tone.
Orwell is obviously involved with the subject of capital punishment and more realistically with the man who is being hung. Orwell talks about how the man moves away from the puddle. He says about the man stepping aside to avoid the puddle, "his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned- reasoned even about puddles." in this way he feels remorse for the man because he is still an able bodied man who can still act, think, and be a normal man just like Orwell. This is why Orwell tells the story about the dog in the field. Talking about the dogs actions he says, "it made a half dash for the prisoner, and jumping up tried to lick his face." The dog only saw a group of humans. it did not see police officials, a superintendent, and a criminal. To the dog it doesn't matter what crimes the person has committed or what rank of official you are; the dog reacts to each person with the same gleeful expressions. This sparks Orwell's involvement with the prisoner. He watches him from this point on and realizes the points expressed above out how he is just a simple healthy person. Without the dog this reaction may never have happened. Also, at the end of the passage Orwell tries to distance himself from the prisoner by awkwardly laughing at the jokes being told and the stories about other prisoners. He does this inorder to not get attached with emotions to something that he has very little control over and what has become a seemingly everyday occurrence. That is how Orwell becomes involved with his essay.
In "A Hanging", Orwell shows that he is sympathetically involved with both the subject of capital punishment and also the "subject" who is being hung. By saying "It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, 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 - all toiling away in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live." Orwell shows the audiance that he is against capital punishment. When he mentions that the man who is about to be hung still has nails that are growing and "skin renewing itself", Orwell captures the audiance's attention and envokes sympathy in them by calling out characteristics of a living person. It also shows that he is sympathetic towards the man as well. Orwell shows his sympathy furthermore when he says "He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world". By using the words "we" and "together" he connects himself with the victim. Also, by including so many discriptive words, Orwell shows that it was an important event and that he wants the audiance to fully understand the seriousness of the subject and to almost place themselves in his shoes.
I think Cora did a great job finding explicitly in the text where Orwell is subjectively and sympathetically involved with the subject of capital punishment and the man put to death. The quotes she found connect these points completely. Yet, towards the end, I don't think the men were sharing opinions on how the punishment was wrong,as Cora says, as much as they were trying to comfort themselves from what they had just done (killing the prisoner). They made jokes of the incident in which they had to pull a man's legs, in which the man asked the prisoner if he was aware of how hard he was making it for them to make the subject lighter, yet it doesn't mean that the others were against this punishment. Overall though, the quotes Cora found answer definitively the question that was asked in this blog discussion.
Orwell bears his connection to capital punishment for all to see. "A Hanging" is first very descriptive. This shows the author's awareness and sets a somber scene. He recalls that it was "sodden morning" bathed in a "sickly light". The essay's details create a visual image for the audience and display that Orwell was extremely conscious of his surroundings. The author also establishes a connection to the subject by directly unveiling emotions. As the prisoner is led to his death, Orwell writes, "I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man." Cora also illuminated this section, and explained how this shows that the author related to the subject. Seeing the execution first-hand was very powerful. The remainder of the essay is rarely so open; rather, it lets detailed events speak for themselves. Readers feel the unease surrounding the gallows, and listen in horror as the Europeans talk candidly about condemmed prisoners. Orwell, in sum, hoped to convey the power of this personal experience to a large audience. The essay's details and direct revealations establish a cold, somber atmosphere. This account, rich in imagery and appeals to pathos, illuminates Orwell's sympatthies.
In George Orwell’s A Hanging, he expresses his emotions about hanging the Hindu man. The first thing he recognizes is that the convicts’ jail cells were uncomfortable, in the least, and that they were treated poorly. Orwell may not have addressed this if he didn’t feel bad for them. Also, in paragraph 10, he conveyed his realization of how wrong it was to kill an able-bodied man by saying that “cutting a life short when it is in full tide” is an “unspeakable wrongness”. He felt sorry for the man, even though he had commit a crime. The way Orwell illustrated how the convict chanted the word “Ram” over and over again showed how he felt sympathetic towards the obviously religious man. When Orwell reflects on that day he makes it seem like he did feel sympathetic towards the man, but because he was a police officer, he could not do anything about it. Orwell conveyed he feelings towards the hanging and the convict very clearly in this essay.
In Orwell's piece, A Hanging, he decribes how he doesn't like capital punishment. By the way he talks he is obvioulsly against it and feels that it is unacceptable. Although on the other side he does realize that some believe that it is the right thing to do on depending on the crime committed. He does not fully entail his passage with only his belief, he includes the other side of the story even though he does not feel its right. He feels that humans should not cut a life short when that person is perfectally capable to live. He also knows that most of the things he says about capital punishment is his ideas and that many do agree with him.
In "A Hanging" It is obvious that Orwell is sypathetic about capital punishment. I will agree with cora that he realizes through the passage that capital punishment is wrong. One part in particular was in about the 8th paragraph. when " i never realized what it means to destprya healthy conscious man" . He realizes the unspeakable wrongness, how the man wasnt dying, he was alive just and they were alive. He says how his brain still functioned enought to know to avoid the puddle. I will also Agree with the Ending of Cora's Response how they agreed that the hangings where wrong and everyone knows it.
In Orwell's passage "A Hanging", he clearly expresses his sympathy and opinion of capital punishment and people who have to suffer through it. From the beginning, he shows disapproval of capital punishment. I think, however, that the more he writes and the more statements he says about it, he convinces himself more that it is wrong. At the end his opinion is stronger than ever. Paragraph 10 is completely about his sympathy towards anu person who is sentenced to execution. The opening sentence to that paragraph sums up everything about his sympathy, which says, "It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man." Here he views the criminal, the prisoner, as an innocent man, and he relates with him. Also, his diction clearly represents his feelings towards execution and the subject. Words that especially stood out for me were those like "destroy, unspeakable wrongness, cutting a life short when it is in full tide."
- Kacey A :)
In Orwell’s, “A Hanging”, he is sympathetically involved with capital punishment. He feels sympathetic towards the man who is being hanged. He says, “I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide”. He shows that it is horrible for someone to be killed in the middle of their life. He realizes that this man is just as alive as any other man, not on the verge of death. He still has life left in him. He also says that, “He and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, one of us would be gone-one mind less, one world less”. He shows that he and the man are very similar. They are both part of the same world and in a matter of minutes, one of them would no longer exist. Orwell also tells how the man clung to the bars on his cell while they pulled his legs and pried him off.
In Orwell's "A Hanging", the passage includes capital punishment. Orwelll indeed becomes subjectively and sympathetically involved with capital punishment and the subject on death row. He becomes emotionally attached to the subject on death row when he says, "...I had never realized what it means to destroy a healhy conscious man." This is the part right after Orwell watches the man step over the puddle. He feels bad and realized that "one of us would be gone." Orwell also realized that the man's "nails would still be growing when he stood on the drop, when he was falling through the air with a tenth of a second to live." It bothered him that they would be killing a man still full of life. This is were he starts to be sympathetically involved with capital punishment. He also realizes as the man is being ready to be hanged that he is still a man who "reasoned even about puddles." This also made him more sympathetic towards the situation and the subject.
Post a Comment