The Hanging of the Mouse

The Hanging of the Mouse

Karen Furches

ENG/125

Oct 4th 2011

University of Phoenix

The Hanging of the Mouse

Elizabeth Bishop is trying to show how moral lessons were taught I believe. She did this by using animals instead of people. The guilty mouse on his way too his execution while the other animals watched show how people would stand and watch executions back in the old days. Each animal had their assignment during the story. My favorite was the Praying Mantis, who was in charge of the Religious ceremonies. The raccoon was the executioner and he even wore a black mask, his young son was involved in this process as well. Animals watched just as people would and they enjoyed it. Elizabeth talks about how some of the animals did not even go to bed the night before. When there is an execution scheduled in todays' society people will stand outside the prison all night. I can see myself back in the Western era watching from the crowd as the gallows come down and the hanging begins. If the mouse or man is guilty then hang them, all these crimes would stop in our society. When public execution was taking place there was not a lot of crime. The justice system worked back then. The justice system is a joke today in our time. Like in the story when the bullfrog came in to deliver the sentence none of the animals could understand what he said, {But his voice was impressive enough to awe the crowd into polite attention. It was a deep bass: "Glug! Glug! Berr-up!" No one could understand a word of the mouse's death sentence}. I think she is trying to show how moral lessons were taught in the Western era and are still taught today with the executions in the prisons. The prisons still have executions to date and people not animals line the parking lots with cameras, lights and signs. People supporting the death sentence and some opposing the death sentence but never the less people still want to watch. At first I thought Elizabeth was writing for a piece for children then I continued to read on. I don't believe I would let my children read this material. The graphic violence in this piece of work is not appropriate for children. The part where the cat brings her small kitten to the execution and she sheds large tears and the tears rolled down the child's back was way too much for a small child to see, When the mouse began to squeak was not something for a child to hear nor would the sounds of an electric chair or the sight of a lethal injection. I had to reread the story three times to make sure this was not made for children. I thought surely that this was not written for children at first, and then I read it again and knew. I reread it a