A Hanging (1931) is a short essay written by
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950), better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to totalit ...
, first published in August 1931 in the British literary magazine ''
The Adelphi''. Set in
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
, 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.
The Story
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 and handcuffed to the gallows he steps slightly aside to avoid treading in a puddle of rainwater; the narrator sees this, and reflects:
The sentence is carried out, and all concerned feel a sudden relief as they leave the scene where the dead man still hangs.
Context
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
conquered Burma over 62 years (1824–86), during which three
Anglo-Burmese War
The Anglo-Burmese Wars were a clash between two expanding empires, the British Empire against the Konbaung Dynasty that became British India‘s most expensive and longest war, costing 5–13 million pounds sterling (£400 million – £1.1 billi ...
s were fought, and incorporated it into its
Indian Empire
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...
. Britain administered Burma as an Indian province until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma attained independence in 1948.
Veracity
When asked about ''A Hanging'', Orwell was unwilling to discuss the subject, and once said that it was "only a story." No known evidence shows specifically where and when he witnessed an execution during his time in Burma. In his writings, however, he repeated that he had done so. He further reflected upon hanging in his ''
As I Please
"As I Please" was a series of articles written between 1943 and 1947 for the British left-wing newspaper '' Tribune'' by author and journalist George Orwell.
On resigning from his job at the BBC in November 1943, Orwell joined ''Tribune'' as lit ...
'' column for ''
Tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on th ...
'', 15 November 1946. 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.'
[Arena, Part One]
31:28-33:56 Collings on Orwell and a hanging
/ref>
See also
*Bibliography of George Orwell
The bibliography of George Orwell includes journalism, essays, novels, and non-fiction books written by the British writer Eric Blair (1903–1950), either under his own name or, more usually, under his pen name George Orwell. Orwell was a ...
References
External links
* A Hanging
"Orwell's Burma", an essay in ''Time''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hanging, A
Essays by George Orwell
1931 essays
Works originally published in The Adelphi