to persuade the reader of the "unspeakable wrongness" of capital punishment.
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Orwell's main purpose in writing "A Hanging" is to expose the senselessness and cruelty of capital punishment. Through a vivid and unsettling description of a hanging he witnessed, Orwell highlights the dehumanizing effects of the act on both the victim and the participants. He ultimately calls into question the ethical justification for taking a life in the name of justice.