Comments On "A Hanging".

1) Firstly, the author used the technique of irony. One who is about to be sent to the gallows to receive death ought to be anxoius and scared, but in this story the Hindu prisoner seemed to be unusually calm and unresisting. This gives the reader a feeling that the prisoners have absolutely no power or say against the jail authority and that any struggling or resisting would just be in vain. Hence, it indirectly leads to the readers siding with the 'innocent' prisoners and thus condemn capital punishment.

2) Some of the arguments for capital punishment would be that people who have committed serious crimes certainly have to be responsible for their own actions and capital punishment is their way of holding responsibility. It could also be seen as a better way than serving life sentence which might be an even more painful punishment for the prisoners in the long run.

Some of the arguments against capital punishment would be that no matter how serious a crime one commits, others still do not have the right to take away their lives just like that. As mentioned in the story, "When i saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life short when it is in full tide." This further shows the cruelty of the punishment and leads people to doubt whether it is even ethical in the first place.

3) I feel that capital punishment, though cruel, is necessary to deter others from repeating and committing such serious crimes. Without capital punishment, i believe people would start to not be afraid of the jail, and continue committing crimes since the punishment after the crimes are not even severe enough for them to be scared of. The world would then be in great chaos and crimes rate will remain as high, or even go up higher.

I think that the death penalty can be justified in cases where one ends another's life deliberately. (like murder)