A Hanging

• Engels
• Upper Secondary (Key Stage 4)
• GCSE

Goals for today 

An essay by George Orwell 

Use of symbols in the essay 

Links between the concerns of the essay and Nineteen Eighty-Four 

See article from The British Library as homework for contextual information

Make quiz for this text. 

Rate the word 1 to 4

1. I do not know the word, and I have never seen it before. 

2. I've heard or seen the word before, but I'm not sure what it means. 

3. I know the word and can recognise and understand it while reading, but I probably wouldn't feel comfortable using it in writing or speech. 

4. I know the word well and can use it correctly in writing or speech. 

Colloquial 

Word of the day

Colloquial (adjectives)  - (of words and expressions) informal and more suitable for use in speech than in writing. 

Can you unscramble the letters to find a synonym AEUARLCVNR

One paper was written in an informal colloquial style; the other, in a formal, almost businesslike style.

Vernacular 

"I had never realised what it means to destroy a healthy, conscious man..."

Read and listen to the essay

The execution is presented as more harmful to the witnesses than to the prisoner.

Strongly Agree

Agree

Unsure

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

Discuss with your neighbours 

1. Why did you make that choice? 

2. Find evidence to support your position. 

Winston observes that the Party destroys not only bodies but minds.

1. How does Orwell show that systems of power corrupt those who carry out oppression?
   
2. How is O'Brien corrupted? 
   
3. Are other characters corrupted by the party? 

Answer in your exercise book 

Symbols will be assigned 

The puddle

The dog

The rope/gallows

The cry of "Ram"

Breakfast after the execution

<ol><li>Literal meaning<br></li><li>Symbolic meaning<br></li><li>Connection to 1984<br></li></ol>

Symbols will be assigned 

Symbol	1984 connection
The puddle	Individual humanity persists under oppression
The dog	Natural instinct versus institutional control
The gallows/rope	Mechanized state violence
The cry of 'Ram"	Personal identity and belief
Breakfast	Normalization of brutality

Answer in pairs 

1. How is the prisoner similar to Winston?
   
2. How does the prison resemble the Ministry of Love?
   
3. What role does obedience play in both texts? 
   
4. How do both texts portray the destruction of individuality?
   
5. Where does Orwell suggest hope still exists?
   

Paper 2 comparative 

Compare how Orwell explores the relationship between the individual and oppressive systems in "A Hanging "and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Find:

1. Two quotations from "A Hanging"
   
2. Two examples from Nineteen Eighty-Four 
   
3. Two authorial choice
   
4. Write a body paragraph 

Orwell's central warning in "A Hanging" is ...

One way this warning develops into 1984 is...