Irony In George Orwell's A Hanging

After casually reading “A Hanging” by George Orwell, one would probably say that the essay is very objective and detached. Orwell does not even bother to name the essay “The Hanging”; it is referred to as nothing more than “A Hanging.” However, a careful reading of “A Hanging” reveals Orwell’s use of irony to imply deep disapproval for the dehumanization that pervades the events depicted in the essay. Orwell first uses irony to display the inhumanity of the actions of the guards. They are very wary of the prisoner and handle him as though he is “a fish which … may jump back into the water” (par. 2). Despite the condemned man making no attempt at escape or even slight resistance, the guards behave as though he is a wild animal trying to slip through their fingers. And in treating the man so inhumanely, the guards dehumanize themselves as well. By refusing to treat the condemned man as a human, the guards themselves act as though they themselves are not human. Ironically, the dog, the only non-human character in the entire essay, is the one who behaves the most humanely. Despite being a mere animal, this yapping “half Airedale, half pariah” (par. 6) shows no cruelty or indecency to anyone, even the condemned man.

Not a single one of the human characters has enough humanity to compare to the “half pariah” “bloody brute” (par. 6 and 7). The condemned man has been dehumanized by being treated like an animal. And by treating the condemned man as an animal, the guards and superintendent have dehumanized themselves. Only the dog shows signs of human decency, despite the fact that it is not human. All the irony of the humans behaving like animals and the animal behaving humanely makes Orwell’s point clear. He disapproves of the hanging that will occur and of the effect that it has had on those