A Hanging By George Orwell Essay

In the essay “A Hanging,” George Orwell objectively describes his experience as a witness to a state ordered killing. In doing so Orwell does not give readers a bias decision. I believe Orwell purposefully admits what crime the prisoner committed to get the reader to question whether we have the right to kill other human beings. Therefore, the morality of the situation is called in play rather than the author just describing the events as they happen.
One does have to wonder how people could eat after killing someone. Although, if a person was in a situation where state mandate killing was done on a daily basis. Then the simple, “the prisoners can’t get their breakfast till this job’s over” (Orwell, 4) might just seem like a routine. Personally, I could never take a job where I had to kill an animal let alone another human being. There are even certain foods; venison, alligator, snake, bacon or any seafood that I refuse to eat because the idea is not one I could stomach. I also cannot bear the idea of chicken wings or any meat off the bone because it is too much of a reminder that at one point this creature was alive. Similarly, the idea that the prisoner is human indeed human no matter how much we tell ourselves that they
I personally struggle with the idea of allowing such practice. There is always the argument ‘what if this person killed everyone you loved?’ then what are you going to let them continue to live. If this ever occurred my answer might be different, but as of now I would want my family’s killer to sit in jail for the rest their life. It would be my hope that given the time they would come the regret what they did and living with knowledge would be punishment itself. In reality when people are in emotional upheaval they want immediate action. It is so easy to let grief and anger control consume one’s self in times of