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'''A Hanging''' (1931) is a short essay written by [[George Orwell]], first published in August 1931 in the British literary magazine ''[[The Adelphi]]''. Set in [[Burma]], where Orwell (under his real name of Eric Arthur Blair) had served in the British Imperial Police from 1922 to 1927, it describes the execution of a criminal. |
'''A Hanging''' (1931) is a short essay written by [[George Orwell]], first published (under his real name) in August 1931 in the [[John Middleton Murry]]’s British literary magazine ''[[The Adelphi]]''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-11-05 |title=George Orwell's 5 greatest essays: No. 5, "A Hanging" |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/hiltzik/la-fi-mh-orwells-hanging-20131102-story.html |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> and then reprinted in 1946 in the British literary magazine ''The New Savoy''. Set in [[Burma]], where Orwell (under his real name of Eric Arthur Blair) had served in the British Imperial Police from 1922 to 1927, it describes the execution of a criminal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-03-13 |title=George Orwell {{!}} Biography, Books, Real Name, Political Views, & Facts {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref> |
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==The |
==The story== |
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The condemned man is given no name, nor is it explained what crime he has committed. For the British police who supervise his execution, the hanging is an unpleasant but routine piece of business. The narrator takes no active part in the hanging, and appears to be less experienced than his colleagues. As the prisoner is marched |
The condemned man is given no name, nor is it explained what crime he has committed. For the British police who supervise his execution, the hanging is an unpleasant but routine piece of business. The narrator takes no active part in the hanging, and appears to be less experienced than his colleagues. As the handcuffed prisoner is marched to the gallows he steps slightly aside to avoid treading in a puddle of rainwater; the narrator sees this, and reflects: |
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{{Blockquote |
{{Blockquote |
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|text=“It is curious, but till that moment I had never realised 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 are 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. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned—even about puddles. 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.” |
|text=“It is curious, but till that moment I had never realised 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 are 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. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned—even about puddles. 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.” |
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}}<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-10-20 |title=A Hanging {{!}} The Orwell Foundation |url=https://www.orwellfoundation.com/the-orwell-foundation/orwell/essays-and-other-works/a-hanging/ |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=www.orwellfoundation.com |language=en-GB}}</ref> |
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==Context== |
==Context== |
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[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] conquered Burma over 62 years (1824–86), during which three [[Anglo-Burmese War]]s were fought, and incorporated it into its [[Indian Empire]]. Britain administered Burma as an Indian province until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma attained independence in 1948. |
[[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|Britain]] conquered Burma over 62 years (1824–86), during which three [[Anglo-Burmese War]]s were fought, and incorporated it into its [[British Raj|Indian Empire]]. Britain administered Burma as an Indian province until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma attained independence in 1948.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2008-04-18 |title=A Short History of Burma {{!}} New Internationalist |url=https://newint.org/features/2008/04/18/history |access-date=2024-03-24 |website=newint.org |language=en}}</ref> |
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==Veracity== |
==Veracity== |
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When asked about ''A Hanging'', Orwell was unwilling to discuss the subject, and once said that it was "only a story."<ref> |
When asked about ''A Hanging'', Orwell was unwilling to discuss the subject, and once said that it was "only a story."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011-09-16 |title=The Complete Works of George Orwell (reviews) - George Orwell: The Chestnut Tree Cafe |url=http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ctc/docs/complete.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916074805/http://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ctc/docs/complete.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=2011-09-16 |access-date=2024-03-24 }}</ref> No known evidence shows specifically where and when he witnessed an execution during his time in Burma.<ref>Bernard Crick, ''George Orwell: A Life'', 1980.</ref> In his writings, however, he repeated that he had done so.<ref>In ''[[The Road to Wigan Pier]]'', published in 1937, and again in his "As I Please" column in ''Tribune'', 3 November 1944.</ref> He further reflected upon hanging in his ''[[As I Please]]'' column for ''[[Tribune (magazine)|Tribune]]'', 15 November 1946.<ref>Orwell, A Kind of Compulsion, p.210</ref> According to Dennis Collings, a friend of Orwell from 1921, when his father became the Blair (Orwell) family doctor, it was certain Orwell would have witnessed a hanging, and that policemen had to see a hanging, "as a kind of initiation. There had to be police officers present at executions—and cadets were assigned to that kind of thing."<ref>{{Citation |title=George Orwell BBC Arena Part 1 - Such, Such Were the Joys |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3UAZB_6bHI |access-date=2024-03-24 |language=en}}</ref> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[https://wikilivres.org/wiki/A_Hanging A Hanging]{{dead link|date=November 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} |
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*[[wikilivres:A Hanging|A Hanging]] |
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*[https://web.archive.org/web/20021106093851/http://www.time.com/time/asia/traveler/021017/orwell.html "Orwell's Burma", an essay in ''Time''] |
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20021106093851/http://www.time.com/time/asia/traveler/021017/orwell.html "Orwell's Burma", an essay in ''Time''] |
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Latest revision as of 02:52, 17 November 2024
A Hanging (1931) is a short essay written by George Orwell, first published (under his real name) in August 1931 in the John Middleton Murry’s British literary magazine The Adelphi[1] and then reprinted in 1946 in the British literary magazine The New Savoy. Set in Burma, where Orwell (under his real name of Eric Arthur Blair) had served in the British Imperial Police from 1922 to 1927, it describes the execution of a criminal.[2]
The story
[edit]The condemned man is given no name, nor is it explained what crime he has committed. For the British police who supervise his execution, the hanging is an unpleasant but routine piece of business. The narrator takes no active part in the hanging, and appears to be less experienced than his colleagues. As the handcuffed prisoner is marched to the gallows he steps slightly aside to avoid treading in a puddle of rainwater; the narrator sees this, and reflects:
“It is curious, but till that moment I had never realised 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 are 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. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, reasoned—even about puddles. 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.”
The hanging is carried out, and all concerned feel a sudden relief as they leave the scene where the dead man still hangs.
Context
[edit]Britain conquered Burma over 62 years (1824–86), during which three Anglo-Burmese Wars were fought, and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Britain administered Burma as an Indian province until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma attained independence in 1948.[4]
Veracity
[edit]When asked about A Hanging, Orwell was unwilling to discuss the subject, and once said that it was "only a story."[5] No known evidence shows specifically where and when he witnessed an execution during his time in Burma.[6] In his writings, however, he repeated that he had done so.[7] He further reflected upon hanging in his As I Please column for Tribune, 15 November 1946.[8] According to Dennis Collings, a friend of Orwell from 1921, when his father became the Blair (Orwell) family doctor, it was certain Orwell would have witnessed a hanging, and that policemen had to see a hanging, "as a kind of initiation. There had to be police officers present at executions—and cadets were assigned to that kind of thing."[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "George Orwell's 5 greatest essays: No. 5, "A Hanging"". Los Angeles Times. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "George Orwell | Biography, Books, Real Name, Political Views, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. 13 March 2024. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "A Hanging | The Orwell Foundation". www.orwellfoundation.com. 20 October 2010. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "A Short History of Burma | New Internationalist". newint.org. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ "The Complete Works of George Orwell (reviews) - George Orwell: The Chestnut Tree Cafe". 16 September 2011. Archived from the original on 16 September 2011. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
- ^ Bernard Crick, George Orwell: A Life, 1980.
- ^ In The Road to Wigan Pier, published in 1937, and again in his "As I Please" column in Tribune, 3 November 1944.
- ^ Orwell, A Kind of Compulsion, p.210
- ^ George Orwell BBC Arena Part 1 - Such, Such Were the Joys, retrieved 24 March 2024