"A Hanging" (1931) is a short essay written by George Orwell (Eric Arthur Blair) describing his experience of watching a criminal being hanged while he served in the British Imperial Police in Burma. Orwell is unmoved until the prisoner steps to the side to avoid a puddle. He reflects on why the prisoner is concerned about getting his feet wet when he is about to be killed, which forces Orwell to confront the fact that he is about to take a life.
Context
Britain conquered Burma over 62 years (1824–86), during which three Anglo-Burmese Wars were fought, and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Britain administered Burma as an Indian province until 1937, when it became a separate, self-governing colony. Burma attained independence in 1948.
Orwell served as an assistant superintendent in the British Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1927. Being obliged to enforce the laws of an imperial power with which he grew to disagree developed Orwell's opposition to totalitarianism, which bore fruit in Nineteen Eighty-four and Animal Farm (both from his years in Burma).
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