Summary and structure

In what follows, you can read the summary of “A Hanging” by George Orwell and useful information about its structure.

Summary

The narrator is about to witness an execution by hanging in Burma. A convoy of people which includes the prisoner, warders, the head jailer, the superintendent, and magistrates, heads towards the gallows where the hanging is to take place. On the way, a dog comes into the area and starts barking at the convoy, but he is eventually caught and leashed.

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Structure

The story is structured around a single event in the characters’ lives, the hanging of a Hindu prisoner in Burma. The story follows a traditional plot structure, with an exposition, a rising action, a climax, a falling action, and a resolution.

The text has often been interpreted as a semi-autobiographical essay because it is based on George Orwell’s experience in Burma, where he served in the British Imperial Police.

Title

The title of the story, “A Hanging”, is very explicit as to what the narrative is about. As we expect, the story describes the hanging of a prisoner. The fact that the author uses the indefinite article “a” in the title suggests the banality of the event for the characters involved.

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Beginning

The story begins with the exposition, introducing readers to the setting and the context. We find out the events take place in a prison in Burma:

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Middle

The middle of the story presents the whole execution process, from the moment the prisoner is taken out of his cell until he is hanged.

The rising action includes several tension points. First, we find out that the execution is running late: “ 'For God's sake hurry up, Francis,' he said irritably. 'The man ought to have been dead by this time. Aren't you ready yet?' ” (ll. 26-27)

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Ending

After the climax, things settle down in the falling action. The superintendent checks that the prisoner has died and everybody returns to the prison, resuming their daily activities as if nothing unusual has happened: “We walked out of the gallows yard, past the condemned cells with their waiting prisoners, into the big central yard of the prison. The convicts, under the command of warders armed with lathis, were already receiving their breakfast.” (ll. 130-134)

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