A Hanging Quotes Flashcards
“sickly light, like yellow tinfoil”
connotations of unpleasant colours gives the reader a clear idea of the living conditions that the prisoners have
“like small animal cages”
simile emphasises the poor living conditions and dehumanises them
“a sodden morning of the rains”
the gloomy and depressing atmosphere described here emphasises the dark and depressing acts that are about to take place later
“shaven head”
the fact that the prisoner has had his head shaven emphasises the fact that he has fully had his identity taken away from him
“a puny wisp of a man”
description of the prisoner emphasises his appearance and that he is not well looked after
“vague liquid eyes”
this description makes the reader view the prisoner as a helpless little man rather than a dangerous criminal
“for god’s sake francis, hurry up”
this makes the reader feel sorry for the prisoner because the guards care more about their schedule than the man’s life
“made a dash for the prisoner” and was “jumping to lick his face”
symbolises that the dog does not discriminate between the different men and sees them all as equal, giving the idea that all human life is equal
“he stepped slightly aside to avoid the puddle on the path”
symbolises that the prisoner is still a human and still has the human instinct to protect himself. he is just like us.
“gone grey like bad coffee”
just as bad coffee is unpleasant, so too the guards are being described as unpleasant to the prisoners and they clearly do not like them
“as dead as a stone”
just as a stone does not move, neither did the dead body. this creates an image in the reader’s head of the finality of death
the superintendent “blew out a deep breath” and “the moody look had gone off his face quite suddenly”
a feeling of relief has taken over the superintendent. this gives the idea that taking human life is unnatural if this much relief is felt when it is over with
“it seemed quite a homely, jolly scene after the hanging”
this shows that the officials were possibly more than uncomfortable with the act because they had to distract themselves from it
