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Summary of the essay a hanging by george orwell
Summary of the essay a hanging by george orwell
An essay on capital punishment
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Capital Punishment in the Work of George Orwell, H.L. Mencken, and Norman Mailer
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.
The pleasure of relieving stress in George Orwell's essay "A Hanging" was detailed by his thoughts written as one of the executioners. This character drank alcohol to relieve the painful memories of escorting the prisoner to the gallows. The character would have rather saved the man from hanging when the author wrote "It is curious, but till that moment I had never realized what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man" (pg 89). Orwell describes in detail how the condemned man "was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive all the organs of his body were working, bowels digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails growing, tissues forming, all toiling away in solemn foolery." (pg 89). The author continues to illustrate the character's mental anguish when he says "he and we were a party of men walking together, seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same world, and in two minutes with a sudden snap, one o...
Orwell’s inclusion of this thought sequence into his essay is prevalent to the severe emotional toll that accompanies being a witness to execution as Orwell directly mentions, in past paragraphs, his condemning stance on capital punishment. Furthermore, both Lake and Orwell recount the use of alcohol by those involved as a coping mechanism to deal with the stress of the executions. Lake makes an important note that the consumption of alcohol that he participated in was, “ Whiskey traditionally provided by the government” (Lake. Paragraph 14). The correlation is that the government recognizes the emotional effects of participation in an execution and provides those involved with alcohol as a means of coping. Lake and Orwell both describe stress-associated symptoms stemming from the trauma of witnessing state- imposed death, regardless of the fact that the executions witnessed by both authors occurred in completely different
Within the first article, Muhlhausen uses effective rhetorical strategies to prove his point. He discusses how the death penalty is appropriate for heinous crimes. To illustrate, he gives specific facts about Earl Ringo, Jr. who shoots “Poyser to death,” and forces Joanna Baysinger, a manager-in-training, to give him $1,400 in a restaurant robbery (1). The specific detail Muhlhausen uses demonstrates how cruel the crime is. Ringo did not have to shoot the victim and the small amount of money did not warrant the murder of two people, for certain. Furthermore, Muhlhausen uses strong logos to prove the death penalty can actually deter homicides. He uses studies by Drexel University economist Bijou Yang and Richard Stockton College psychologist David Lester which found a “deterrent effect” on the number of murders when the death penalty is used (2). The length of this study, from 1978 to 2005 helps to
that society has a moral obligation to protect the safety and the welfare of its
There is a common knowledge that capital punishment would prevent people from committing crime. But until now, there has not been any actual statistics or scientific researches that prove the relationship between the capital punishment and the rate of crimes. According to Jack Weil, “criminals, who believe that their chances of going to jail are slight, will in all probability also assume that their chances of being executed are equally slight. Their attitude that crime pays will in no way be altered” (3). Most people commit a crime when they are affected by the influence of drugs, alcohol or even overwhelmed emotions, so they cannot think logically about they would pay back by their lives. Also, when criminal plan to do their crime, they prepare and expect to escape instead of being caught. Some people believe that the threat of severe punishment could bring the crime rates down and that capital punishment is the ultimate crime deterrent. However, in fact, the rate of ...
"Capital punishment is a term which indicates muddled thinking." George Bernard Shaw The "muddled thinking" that Shaw speaks of is the thinking that perpetuates the controversy over capital punishment in the United States today. The impractical concurrence of a theoretical, moral argument and definite, legal application has left all sides in this controversy dissatisfied with the ultimate handling of the issue. There are legitimate ethical and empirical considerations that stand on both the side that favors and on the side that opposes the death penalty. The general incompatibility of these considerations renders them irreconcilable. It is within this condition of irreconcilability that the government must initiate and implement its policies regarding capital punishment. This fixed condition has led to the necessity for and creation of comprises between both sites of this debate, attempting to synthesize the considerations of the two. The contentious issue of the capital punishment was rekindled in the 1970s when, in 1976, the Supreme reinstated the practice after a four-year hiatus. The arguments that comprise much of the legal debate on the issue stem from the eighth and fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution. The eighth reads, "Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted." 1
It is the firm belief and position here that committing such a crime as murder is punishable by death. Americans should take a position for anyone on death row, to be executed sooner rather than later.
In the article “The Penalty of Death”, written by H. L. Mencken, utilitarian principles are used to cover up for a system that wants results. All of the reasons that Mencken gives as justifications do not give concrete evidence of why the death penalty should continue as a means of punishment. The article states, “Any lesser penalty leaves them feeling that the criminal has got the better of society...” This statement alone demonstrates how he believes the death penalty brings justice and satisfaction to the people. Mencken creates the points he makes in his article in order to give society a way to make the death penalty seem less intrusive on moral principles and more of a necessary act.
The author’s purpose is to also allow the audience to understand the way the guards and superintendent felt towards the prisoners. We see this when the superintendent is upset because the execution is running late, and says, “For God’s sake hurry up, Francis.” And “The man ought to have been dead by this time.” This allows the reader to see the disrespect the authority has towards the prisoners.
After a night of burning, Montag happily walked to his house, when suddenly, a charming seventeen-year old girl named Clarisse surprised him. Clarisse asked Montag a series of questions that he found difficult to answer. The questions made Montag think about his life, as a result, it represented the first stage in his quest for knowledge, the freedom from ignorance. One question Clarisse asked that was particularly important was if Montag was happy. Although Montag responded that he was, “he felt his smile slide away, melt, fold over and down on itself like a tallow skin, […]. He was not happy. He was not happy” (Bradbury 12). Comparably, the prisoner also went through a similar process. An unknown power loosened the prisoner’s chains and forced him to stand up. Plato wrote, “Then think what would naturally happen to them if they were released from their bonds and cured of their delusions. Suppose one of them were let loose and suddenly compelled to stand up and turn his head and look and walk towards the fire” (Plato 2). These scenes depicted a person’s reaction when they were suddenly free from their earlier life. Both Montag and the prisoner became free after their encounters. Their new movements startled Montag and the prisoner. Instead of doing the usual routine, they are now thinking something new they never heard of in their entire
Currently, capital punishment is a very controversial issue in countries throughout the world, including the United States of America. Capital punishment is defined as the “execution of an offender sentenced to death after conviction by court of law of criminal offence” (“Capital” 1). The death penalty dates back to the laws of ancient China, where it was used as punishment for various crimes (Reggio 1). Early European settlers brought the death penalty to America, and England was the country that had the greatest influence on its use in the colonies. In early Colonial America, persons could receive the death penalty for committing crimes that would be considered as petty today; these crimes included “stealing grapes, killing chickens, and trading with Indians” (“History” 1). Today, in the United States, offenders who have committed heinous crimes, such as murder, treason, espionage, aggravated kidnapping, and aircraft high jacking, can receive the death penalty after they are convicted in courts of law (“Offenses” 3). The United States is not the only country that uses the death penalty as a form of punishment for heinous crimes; in 2012, twenty-one countries in the world implemented it (Sentences 6). In 2012, the five countries in the world that executed the greatest numbers of persons were China (thousands), Iran (314+), Iraq (129+), Saudi Arabia (79+), and the United States (43) (Sentences 48). In 2013, Amnesty International reported that in 2011 and 2012, 680 and 682 executions, respectively, were carried out throughout the world (Sentences 5). These numbers do not include the number of executions in China, a country that has more executions than the entire world’s countries combined, because accurate data cannot be obtaine...
middle of paper ... ... Being free of pain is something that we feel within us to be intrinsically joyful, and no reason can be used to explain further why we wish to be joyful, or in good health. These things we just sense, and even a murderer, who rejects morality on the social level, will do whatever he can to avoid the displeasures of his inner being. His sentiments, if only for himself, remain within him. “One thing can always be a reason, why another is desired.
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.
A death penalty is the sentence of execution for murder and some other capital crimes. Capital punishment can also be applied for treason, espionage, and other crimes. The death penalty, or capital punishment, may be prescribed by Congress or any state legislature for murder and other capital crimes. The Supreme Court has ruled that the death penalty is not a per se violation of the Eighth Amendment 's ban on cruel and unusual punishment.
Americans have argued over the death penalty since the early days of our country. In the United States only 38 states have capital punishment statutes. As of year ended in 1999, in Texas, the state had executed 496 prisoners since 1930. The laws in the United States have change drastically in regards to capital punishment. An example of this would be the years from 1968 to 1977 due to the nearly 10 year moratorium. During those years, the Supreme Court ruled that capital punishment violated the Eight Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment. However, this ended in 1976, when the Supreme Court reversed the ruling. They stated that the punishment of sentencing one to death does not perpetually infringe the Constitution. Richard Nixon said, “Contrary to the views of some social theorists, I am convinced that the death penalty can be an effective deterrent against specific crimes.”1 Whether the case be morally, monetarily, or just pure disagreement, citizens have argued the benefits of capital punishment. While we may all want murders off the street, the problem we come to face is that is capital punishment being used for vengeance or as a deterrent.
Capital Punishment: Justice in Retribution? The American government operates in the fashion of an indirect democracy. Citizens live under a social contract whereby individuals agree to forfeit certain rights for the good of the whole. Punishments for crimes against the state are carried out via due process, guaranteed by the Fourteenth Amendment.