The essay Going to See a Man Hanged hangs around a public execution that the writer himself has attended. The first few paragraphs successful provided readers with the setting of the short story. Thackeray starts by introducing us to some characters like X, Mr. Ewart, Courvisier and a sheriff. And then goes on to telling us how he has to get up early in to go to see an execution. Seeing a man’s life being taken away from him is what actually keeps Thackeray up at night.
In the beginning of his essay, he also discusses how the men being executed or men that are a part of the execution must be feel the night before. For example, Thackeray wonders as to what the Courvoisier could possibly be doing in the last few hours of him life. Thackeray also, very vividly, describes his surroundings.
