A Hanging
George Orwell
I really liked reading “a hanging” by George Orwell. I thought that he provided us a very accurate view of the world in general. We all wish that life could be full of roses and pure happiness. But it’s just not. We are never going to reach a point where we can just say we are completely happy for the rest of our life. We will have good times and we will have bad times.
When the prisoner was marching to his death through the prison yard, I wonder to myself what was going on in his head. Was he extremely depressed? Did he feel like he deserved this death? I am curious what the prisoner did to deserve his hanging. I don’t think that it is necessary for a reader to know what it was that the prisoner did. The message of the story was clear even without this information on the prisoner.
I liked what the author said “This man was not dying, he was alive just as we are alive”. This is so true though. Although we keep growing older, we are still alive today. We are the most alive we will ever be right here, right now. I have tried to live my life to the fullest because who knows if there will be a tomorrow. We are here today, we need to make the most of our opportunity to live right now.
The author talked about the prisoner’s hanging and said there was “one mind less, one world less”. Every day we see all kinds of people. We may click better with some. We might have some people in our life who we are just forced to tolerate. Each person we meet is on a different journey through life then we are. Some people will be a light in our life. People who make you see the world from a different view. I am so lucky to be where I am at today. I have met people who have helped me see life in a more positive light. Each person is in their own world really. Reality is based on our way of thinking. I have heard a quote “Life is 10 percent what happens to you, and 90 percent how you react to it. I am so glad that I was brought in this world to experience this thing called “life”.
After the brutal hanging, the prisoners felt a great sense of relief. The worst was over. They had stood through the prisoners cries, and watched him die. They said after the hanging “several people laughed- at what, nobody seemed certain”. I cant blame them for laughing. I would too. The worst part was over. They could move on now. Try and recover from that horrible event.
