Includes George

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In the story A Hanging by George Orwell What is the purpose of including this final incident?

Consider the following events: the walk to the gallows, the interruption by the dog, the continued walk, the ascent, the chant, the execution. After having witnessed all of these, why do those involved laugh, tell stories and have a drink?

It must be nervous laughter. People sometimes laugh that way after a crisis, and the drinking would be part of the same picture--something to relieve the tension and divert their minds from the grim event they have just witnessed and even taken part in. The last sentence of this poem says it pretty well: http://quotations.about.com/cs/poemlyrics/a/Out_Out.htm