Dehumanized Coping George Orwell’s essay called, A Hanging, describes how he sees capital punishment inhumane to all parties. The essay is structured like a story to convey his point clearly in a way a regular essay cannot. The story follows the narrator as he finally sees a prisoner that he describes in an inhumane to be someone that still has a will to live. In the story, the prisoners are often dehumanized by how they are treated while they wait for their hanging. The beginning of the story starts with the narrator describing what the prisoner cells looked like with it in poor condition: We were waiting outside the condemned cells, a row of sheds fronted with double bars, like small animal cages. Each cell measured about ten feet by 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 were alive. (Orwell, 108) This is the moment narrator realizes that he was not about to kill a sick and unhealthy man, he sees that the man has some will to live left in him, something that he has not ever seen in a prisoner until now. Before the hanging of the man, the narrator notices the prisoner saying something: And then, when the noose was fixed, the prisoner began crying out on his god. It was a high, reiterated cry of ‘Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!’, not urgent and fearful like a prayer or a cry for help, but steady, rhythmical, almost like the tolling of a bell. The dog answered the sound with a whine. The hangman, still standing on the gallows, produced a small cotton bag like a flour bag and drew it down over the prisoner's face. But the sound, muffled by the cloth, still persisted, over and over again: ‘Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!’ (Orwell, 109) This is showing that the prisoner admits defeat and calls out the name of the god that is assumed he worships, but not in a way that is desperate for help, instead in an accepting way. The prisoner is not the only one suffering from the A dreadful thing had happened — a dog, come goodness knows whence, had appeared in the yard. It came bounding among us with a loud volley of barks, and leapt round us wagging its whole body, wild with glee at finding so many human beings together. It was a large woolly dog, half Airedale, half pariah. For a moment it pranced round us, and then, before anyone could stop it, it had made a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up tried to lick his face. Everyone stood aghast, too taken aback even to grab at the dog. ‘Who let that bloody brute in here?’ said the superintendent angrily. ‘Catch it, someone!’ (Orwell, 107) The dog is very playful with the hungry guards and thinks it was playful with everyone even though all the guards are very annoyed with it, showing how they just want to get the hanging over with. The Hanging by George Orwell describes how the process of the hanging is an unfair punishment for all of the parties involved. We never got to know what the man was guilty of doing and only know that he still has a will to live. The guards are also shown the be miserable, not by the actual hanging of the person, but the fact they must do the hangings before breakfast at eight o clock. The conclusion of the essay shows how the guards and the main character copes with the hanging of a healthy
Capital punishment is most commonly known as the death penalty or punishment by death for a crime. It is a highly controversial topic and many people and great thinkers alike have debated about it. Two well-known figures are Immanuel Kant and John Stuart Mill. Although both stand in favor of capital punishment, their reasons for coming to this conclusion are completely different. I personally stand against capital punishment, but my own personal view on it incorporates a few mixed elements from both individuals as well as my own personal insight. Firstly, in order to understand why Kant and Mill support capital punishment, we must first understand their views on punishment in general.
“He was about to signal his aides to pull the chair from under the young man's feet when the latter shouted, in a strong and calm voice: ‘Long live liberty! My curse on Germany! My curse! My—’” The two hangings are similar because during both executions a verdict is read, the Jews are forced to watch, and the Jews are forced to take their caps off and quickly put them back on. They differ in who is being hanged, the Jews overall mood after the hangings, and the Nazi’s overall mood as the the execution proceeds. The hangings differ in who is being hanged because it is a tall and strong young man during the first and a small pipel during the second. The soup tastes better than ever to the prisoners after the first hanging and there is a general mood of hope. After the second, all hope is lost and the soup tastes
In “The Death Penalty” (1985), David Bruck argues that the death penalty is injustice and that it is fury rather than justice that compels others to “demand that murderers be punished” by death. Bruck relies on varies cases of death row inmates to persuade the readers against capital punishment. His purpose is to persuade readers against the death penalty in order for them to realize that it is inhuman, irrational, and that “neither justice nor self-preservation demands that we kill men whom we have already imprisoned.” Bruck does not employ an array of devices but he does employ some such as juxtaposition, rhetorical questions, and appeals to strengthen his argument. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of supporters of capital punishment such as Mayor Koch.
Capital punishment in the essays by George Orwell, H.L. Mencken, and Norman Mailer was a necessary evil to deter crime. These authors incorporated the use of alcohol or drugs as mind-altering chemicals to relieve the pressures of the characters involved in death due to capital punishment. Chemicals such as drugs and alcohol can be used for the pleasure of relieving stress, a means to forget, or a way to subdue personal beliefs as the authors have illustrated.
As one plank board was removed he fell into this disillusion like a dream or a flashback one could say. Having this foreshadowing, he plunges in the stream and miraculously gets out of the tight ropes cowling his body. It is almost near impossible to get out of the tightly tied rope but then to miss all the gun fire. The gun fire was by a hand full of skilled soldiers on the embankment of the river. After reading this part, something on the extremes is going to happen; from breaking free or to being killed one stays
Austin Sarat, professor of Jurisprudence and Political Science at Amherst College in Amherst, wrote the article ‘Bearing Witness and Writing History in the Struggle Against Capital Punishment’ to showcase his thoughts against capital punishment (Sarat, 1996). Sarat’s view on the system is one of struggle for
The essay pans the whole world and presents the death penalty practices. In the last paragraph the paper focuses on the USA exclusively.
Since the year, 1976 one thousand- three hundred and ninety-two individuals have been sentenced to capital-punishment. The term capital punishment has been coined to kindly identify the death penalty or execution. The death penalty has remained a major controversy for quite some time. Today, one of the most debated issues within the criminal justice system is the issue of whether or not the death penalty should be seen as being an ethical procedure. Prior to the year 1972, it had been seen as being legal. In 1972, the Supreme Court evaluated the terms of the death penalty and ruled it as being unconstitutional (History of the Death Penalty). The right or execution violated citizens eighth and fourteenth amendment rights. Nevertheless, the Supreme Court contradicted themselves in 1976 and reinstated the death penalty. Today, it is up to the states discretion rather or not they are going to permit capital-punishment. Through this essay the reader will read the pros and cons of the death penalty and the writers standpoint in regards to the capital
In Kroll’s Unquiet Death of Robert Harris, the author appeals to the readers’ emotional feelings and makes each audience a participant by addressing the whole process of Robert Harris being put in a gas chamber and describing
In The Hangman, the narrator and the rest of the city “ceased, and asked no more as the hangman tallied his bloody score”(Ogden 3). No one wants to watch another person get hurt or suffer. The narrator is in a state of self preservation because every time they asked if he was done the Hangman took another man’s life. By the end of the story, the narrator is all alone with the Hangman. The narrator is puzzled as the Hangman explains that “the scaffold was raised for none but you”(Ogden 4). Because the narrator never spoke up, he was the last to die and there was no one there to stand up for him. Many people fear dying alone or before they can do something significant. In this story, the narrator dies alone and knowing that he could have stopped the murders from
“He knew now that he would have to take a beating. It would last an hour or two hours, and it would be difficult, but if he modulated his inevitable resentment to the chastened attitude of the reformed sinner, he might win his point in the end” (10). “All of them felt their nerves straining, and for the first time in a year Charlie wanted a drink” (12).
This essay will discuss the various views regarding the death penalty and its current status in the United States. It can be said that almost all of us are familiar with the saying “An eye for an eye” and for most people that is how the death penalty is viewed. In most people’s eyes, if a person is convicted without a doubt of murdering someone, it is believed that he/she should pay for that crime with their own life. However, there are some people who believe that enforcing the death penalty makes society look just as guilty as the convicted. Still, the death penalty diminishes the possibility of a convicted murderer to achieve the freedom needed to commit a crime again; it can also be seen as a violation of the convicted person’s rights going against the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
In this essay, I will argue for the implementation of the death penalty. I will establish a clear-cut profile for a criminal to be eligible for death row. I will put forth arguments for and against the death penalty as supported by various groups and try to defend my position. I shall also try to criticize the case against the death penalty with individual arguments. Finally, I will demonstrate that no alternative to capital punishment can be reached and try to convince you for its fairness. Despite ethical and moral concerns, the issue of capital punishment must not be dismissed without serious consideration and scrutiny.
Capitol punishment has not always been a controversial issue. For most of history, most governments have punished numerous crimes by way of death. However, in the mid-18th century critics of this form of punishment began to emphasize the worth of the individual. They considered these practices unjust. The controversy and debate continue today.
The symbolism of the chains represents the prisoners’ bondage. When the eldest of the prisoner’s younger brothers died, the chains were removed and his body was given partial freedom. However, he was buried in the cell in a section where the sun would not shine. In this way “even in deaht his freeborn breast / In such a dungeon could not rest.” The chains were put over his grave as an ironic monument to his death. In this way, his brother may not be bound by physical chains, but his final resting place would always be in a prison. After the youngest brother’s death, the narrator was finally unchained and could roam about the cell as he pleased. Ironically, he was allowed this little bit of freedom after the his only reasons for living had passed. This “compassionate” act of his captors was not really a favor. He had lost everything that was important to him, and the outside world did not concern him since there was no one out there who cared. However, he was still curious, and looked out of the window.