Question

Comment on the dominant variety of prose (narrative, expository or descriptive) present in each of the following passages. Write a brief critical appreciation of each passage in about 250 words each: a) We set out for the gallows. The warders marched on either side of the prisoner, with their rifles at the slope; two others marched close against him, gripping him by arm and shoulder, as though at once pushing and supporting him. The rest of us, magistrates and the like, followed behind. Suddenly, when we had gone ten yards, the procession stopped short without any order or warning. A dreadful thing had happened – a dog, come goodness knows whence, had appeared in the yard. It came bounding among us with a loud volley of barks, and leapt round us wagging its whole body, wild with glee at finding so many human beings together. It was a large woolly dog, half Airedale, half pariah. For a moment it pranced round us, and then, before anyone could stop it, it had made a dash for the prisoner, and jumping up tried to lick his face. Everyone stood aghast, too taken aback even to grab at the dog

Answer 1

The given passage is from a non-fiction narrative 'A Hanging' written by George Orwell. The essay denotes an incident in Burma while he served as a policeman and the prisoner, an Indian was being  taken for execution. As the passage opens, we get to know that prisoner is being taken to gallows for execution. The tone of the narrator seems to be a matter of fact in the beginning describing the order of the warders, attitude of the men accompanying him 'as though at once pushing and supporting him.' It identifies the reaction of those two men as a tussle between their duty and pain of seeing someone off to his ultimate departure, i.e. death. How dreadful it is! Nonetheless, it looks like a regular routine, but all of a sudden something dreadful happens. Where the inhuman capital punishment is a normal routine, a matter of fact instance, the appearance of the dog is considered as dreadful, for the dog 'wagging its whole body' stands for something that the narrator identifies with himself. The onlookers are 'aghast , too taken aback' as it is something unusual to their heart and mind. The dog stands for love and compassion and dashes on to the prisoner trying to lick his face. The dog also symbolizes the helplessness of a mute animal against the 'all powerful' system that is comfortable at the thought of a man being slaughtered in the name of law and order. The subject of capital punishment has always been debatable.