“I had never understood what it was to destroy a sane and conscious man.” In his essay A Hanging, George Orwell reveals his experience witnessing a hanging, as an imperial police in Burma. Based on these experiences Orwell writes his essay with the intention of censoring capital punishment. Towards the end of the essay, the reader may question the idea of ​​capital punishment and reflect on why or why a human being does not have the right to take the life of another human being. Orwell's belief that capital punishment is unjustifiable and a crime against humanity is supported through the use of diction, irony, and humor. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout his essay, Orwell's diction reflects his changed attitude regarding the treatment and death of a prisoner after witnessing a hanging. Orwell begins his essay without showing any sign of feeling disgusted towards capital punishment and without even questioning it before the hanging. Rather, he was "waiting outside the condemned cells..." This reveals to the reader that Orwell was originally involved in the executions and had had no problems before. However, after realizing the meaning of “…the unspeakable mistake, of shortening a life,…” Orwell is overcome with a feeling of disgust. His feelings are highlighted by his choice of emotionally weighted words such as sodden, sickly, doomed, naked, and silent. Words like sodden and sickly effectively reflect how Orwell has felt since then, they can describe the sense of guilt or wrong that Orwell feels after the hanging. The words have a negative connotation which gives the essay a dark atmosphere and reveals Orwell's negative feelings towards capital punishment to the audience. In addition to emotionally charged diction, Orwell uses irony to convey his feelings towards capital punishment. Irony is used effectively by contrasting the attitudes of the guards and the prisoner. When the prisoner is ready to be hanged, “Ram! Ram! Ram! Ram!” it is sung by the prisoner with a sense that "it is not urgent and scary". Meanwhile the guards are said to have "changed colour" and each thought to himself: "oh, kill him quickly, get it over with, stop making that abominable noise!" This suggests that Orwell is not the only one who experiences feelings of objection and anxiety. The quote describes the state of mind of the guards and draws a difference between them and the prisoner. The quote shows that the guards are frantic and eager to overcome problems, while on the other hand the prisoner is calm and collected even though he is facing death. It highlights the ironic situation, of how generally the man who is about to be killed would be fearful and scared, while the jailers are generally calmer and don't worry much, however the feelings are reversed for the roles in this situation. Another use of irony is seen after the death of the prisoner. Although the guards have no connection to the prisoner, they understand that it is wrong to "destroy a healthy and conscious man." In a normal irony-free situation, the jailers would not realize the mistake of killing someone after they had done so, especially if they did not know the man; however, the situation in Orwell's essay shows that he and the guards have negative feelings towards capital punishment. Irony also used when Orwell describes the actions and behavior of the guards after the execution of the prisoner. After the death, the prison “seemed quite a familiar and cheerful scene, after the hanging.”.