Critique of "A Hanging" by George Orwell
...fter the man was hung and they went back to the prison, an Eurasian boy tells the narrator that the man who was just killed was scared to death to die. The men at the prison just laughed it off and told other humorous stories of other men that had been hung. The essay ends here with all the men laughing a hundred yards away from the man who was hung. I believe that Orwell did a very good job adding his viewpoint into the story. The details that the author chose to include let us see how gruesome the guards were towards the prisoners. We are able to picture in our minds what it would be like to actually be there the day of the hanging. The author says, “They crowded very close about him. With their hands always on him in a careful, caressing grip, as though all the while feeling him to make sure he was there. The author also does a very good job with the opinions he adds in-between the story line. The author says he notices how the prisoner steps to avoid a puddle on the path, and he states, “It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man.” This statement lets us know exactly how he is feeling during the hanging, he doesn’t leave us guessing but states it straight out. Also, we are also able t...