Ivan Turgenev wrote the text "The Execution of Tropmann." Turgenev was invited to see an execution where he had the experience of going through many different kinds of emotions. The killer, Tropmann, was going to be killed by a guillotine in front of a huge audience. Turgenev was invited to have a "back stage pass" to see the execution up close, and get a "behind the scenes" experience. During this short experience with Tropmann, he felt a close bond to him and actually felt really guilty for his death. During the whole 7 hours waiting for the execution, Turgenev had a dreary feeling and felt really guilty for the execution of Tropmann.
Turgenev talked in a slow uneasy tone. In the text, hardly any happy emotions were displayed, just dreary feelings. He talked as if no one was really alive and everything was just a dream. Before the execution, everyone acted as if they are anxious to get something over with. Everyone that met Tropmann were not excited for the execution, and just wanted to get it over with. Turgenev describes them having "this dreary feeling a hundred times worse then boredom!" His tone gives the reader a dreary feeling, making them feel sad and sluggish, just like the characters in the text. The use of this tone effectively strengthens Turgenev's argument that capital punishment can not be justified because of the negative effect it has on everyone around the execution.
Turgenev purpose of this essay was to describe the horrors of public executions. After this experience Turgenev became an activist and felt that any form of capital punishment is wrong and can not be justified. Turgenev was able to describe the guilt that was passed on to everyone around Tropmann. Also how Tropmann tried to remain as calm as possible because he gave up all hope for escaping. Turgenev wrote this to inform other people about the horrors of executions, and to persuade other people to go against public executions. He also to open the eyes of people that enjoy watching public executions to realize that what they are doing is wrong and that you can not justify the execution. Many people watching the execution in the crowd felt that what they were watching was not real and was just a show. They convinced themselves that what they were actually watching wasn't real.
Turgenev makes a very good argument against capital punishment and is able to move the reader into feeling the same way as him. He does this by making the reader relive his dreadful experience and feel the same emotions that Turgenev felt during the executions. However I still believe that capital punishment is necessary. Public executions cannot be justified because you can't make the death of a person entertainment, but secluded executions are okay. When a person commits a horrendous crime, capital punishment can be justified, as long as it is not public, and is not treated as entertainment.
