Class Zone: The Language of Literature

"A Hanging" by George Orwell

Overview

At a prison in Burma, Orwell and other officials are waiting to attend the hanging of a Hindu prisoner. The prisoner remains passive as guards tie his arms and march him to the gallows, followed by the assembled officials. Orwell, watching the prisoner's back, realizes for the first time how wrong it is to destroy a healthy human being.

Issues

This story addresses

capital punishment,
physiological and emotional reactions to stress.

Instructional Focus

To encourage students to

analyze their beliefs about capital punishment,
identify physiological and emotional reactions to stress,
identify appropriate ways to deal with stress.

Activities

Oral Reading
Read the story aloud. Pause to address the issues as they arise. Focus on the disparity between the characters' nonchalant actions and dialogue and the severity of the event. Ask students to explain the disparity.

Class Discussion
Use the following questions as springboards to solutions:

Why does Orwell describe the cells as animal cages? What does this indicate about the prisoners inside? The prison officials?
What accounts for the careful grip with which the guards hold the prisoner? What does the prisoner's behavior indicate?
Why does the dog's presence dismay the men? How is its behavior juxtaposed to that of the prisoners'? What social commentary does this add to the piece?
On his way to the gallows, the prisoner sidesteps a puddle. Why does this action strike Orwell so powerfully?
The prisoner cries out to Ram before he is hanged. What does this action indicate about the man's convictions? How do the witnesses respond? How does the dog's behavior differ from the men's?
After the prisoner is dead, the dog retreats from the men. Why? Orwell says the dog is "conscious of having misbehaved itself." What does this suggest about the men's behavior?
The superintendent is nonchalant in his inspection and dismissal of the body. What does this indicate?
Why does relief and jollity follow the hanging? What does this suggest about the propensity to become accustomed to violence? Why do the men laugh at Francis's account of the reluctant prisoner? Is this a normal reaction? Explain.
Why does the superintendent suggest they all have a drink? Why do people turn to alcohol in times of stress? Is this an appropriate reaction? Explain.
All the men drink together. What should this suggest? How is it contrary to the events of the story?
Why are we never told of the prisoner's offense? What might be learned from this story about following one's convictions?

An Ethical Explanation
Voltaire wrote, "It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one." Ask students to consider this statement. Have they ever been punished unjustly? Have they ever blamed someone unjustly? Have them write an essay that explains whether they agree or disagree with Voltaire's assertion. Share the essays with the class.

A Mock Trial
Have students conduct mock trials for capital offenses. Decide in advance which defendants are innocent and which are guilty. Keep this information to yourself. Then split the class into groups. Assign the roles of defendant, counsel, prosecutor, judge, and jury. Have students research courtroom procedures and laws applicable to their cases. Conduct the trials. Following the verdicts announce the predetermined guilt or innocence of the defendant. Discuss the implications.

Real World Connection

Instruct students to identify overturned capital convictions. Have them research and report on one particular case of wrongful conviction. Be sure they include details about the following:

the crime,
the arrest,
the prosecution,
the sentence,
the appeal,
the overturning of the conviction,
an update on the freed prisoner.

Ask students to identify the implications of wrongful convictions.