A Hanging

Analysis - A Hanging Orwell uses the example of a hanging to show how human beings can become insensitive to the horror of taking life, through day-to-day repetition of murder. By using examples of the character’s varying reactions at having to perform the unpleasant deed, he also explores how people deal with the concept of taking another’s life. Particular care is taken by Orwell not to reveal the nature of the condemned man’…

…come out and have a drink," he said quite genially. The superintendent seems to know what t! he others are going through, and suffers their humor with good grace, understanding it for what it is: a shield against the emotions that each man is feeling. Orwell ends the piece by having all the characters enjoying a drink together, laughing merrily, but adds the disquieting image of the dead man, still hanging, a hundred yards away.