The observer, Orwell, doesn't feel like this, is horrified, this was a man right to the last second, and his life mattered. The day's routine can proceed with scarcely a delay, almost no disturbance, it will be forgotten shortly, just another day. Now the job is done, the Superintendant is happier. He was scarcely human before, just a job to be done before breakfast, now he's not human at all, just a body, poke him with a stick. As soon as he gives the order for the condemned Indian to hang, the deed is done, the Superintendant pokes the newly-dead man with a stick. He is from the land where timetables matter and it is already 8 minutes past the time ordained for the condemned man's death. The Superintendant is a doctor, the man who heals, who does his best to preserve life. The Hanging is the occupier, the White man, the representative of Empire just doing his job in a cold and dispassionate way. To me they are radically different in feeling.
He is from the land where timetables matter and it is already 8 minutes past the tim Some reviews have said that this story and Shooting an Elephant are similar in feeling and intent. Some reviews have said that this story and Shooting an Elephant are similar in feeling and intent.