George Orwell (England, 1903-50)


Figure 1.--This is the Blair family in 1916. Here we see Eric Blair (George Orwell) with his mother, Ida Mable, sister Avril and father, Richard in 1916. Eric like most boys his age when the parents could aford it attended boardinf schools. Like many boys with a literary beant, he left very critical of his exoerince, both the boarding aspect and the class implications. The schools whatever their strengths and weaknesses, they certainly sharpened his literaty and writing skills shich he would use so effectively.

Eric Arthur Blair, known to the world as George Orwell is one of the most influential authors of the 20th century. His first social insights were when he noticed as a boy that rich kids were treated better at school than boys from more modest families. Even so his biting satirical fiction was aimed not at the British class system or capitalism, but at the suposedly classless Soviet Union and totalitarian Communism. George was born in India, the son of a British civil servant. He spent his earliest days there. His first word was 'beastly'. About a year after he was born, their mother brought George and his older sister Marjorie to England (1904). It was there he grew up. They settled in Henley-on-Thames. Their father remained in India and rarely visited the family. Their younger sister, Avril, was born in England (1908.) George had little contact with his father until he retired from the Indian Civil Service (1912). They never fond. George saw his father to be dull and unimaginative. Orwell's best known books are Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four The focus of his work was imperialism and totalitarianism, both fascism and communism. In Animal Farm we lear that some individuals are 'more equal than others'. It is Nineteen Eighty-Four that had the greatest impact. We are introduced to Winston Smith who works in the Ministry of Truth (Mintrue). We also learn about Newspeak. It is used by the media to follow the arbitrary dictates of Big Brother propaganda. Smih conforms outwardlly, but can not help but have treasonable thoughts. He keeps a diary expressing jhis thoughts--a very dangerous step. He falls in love with Julia, a woman of the Party. Julia is both beautiful and brave. They both know they are doomed, but Julia sweats, "They can make you say anything -- anything --but they can't make you believe it. They can't get inside you."

Family


Childhood

Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair. George was born in India, the son of a British civil servant. He spent his earliest days there. His first word was 'beastly'. About a year after he was born, their mother brought George and his older sister Marjorie to England (1904). It was there he grew up. They settled in Henley-on-Thames. Their father remained in India and rarely visited the family. Their younger sister, Avril, was born in England (1908.) George had little contact with his father until he retired from the Indian Civil Service (1912). They never fond. George saw his father to be dull and unimaginative.

Education

Orwell's first social insights were when he noticed as a boy that rich kids were treated better at school than boys from more modest families.

Depression

Orwell's school boy socialism, like many of his generation, found root in the Depression (1930s). His erliest works including Down and Out in Paris and The Road to Wigan Pier.

Spanish Civil War

Orwell soon became disillusioned with socialism and Communism after his experiences going to Spain to fight against the Fascists in the Spanish civil war. The first hint of his change of mind was Homage to Catalonia. He broke with orthodox Marxism. This was dangrous in Spain itself and could get you shot by the Repiblicbs increasingly dominated by the Communists.

World War II

Orwell was too ill to participate actively in World War II having contracted bronchitis. He did serve in the Home Guard. He was very active in writing for quite a number of publications. He was inensed with Stlin's NAZI-Soviet Pact, considering it treason to the left. He refused to use the term NAZI-Soviet Pact, seeing the root problem Stalin and not the Soviet Union. He made propaganda broacasts ton India, but stopped after deciding that they had little impact. In the final year of the war, he was orimarily focused on Animal Farm, an attack in Stalin's brutal dictatorship.

Principal Works

Blair is of course known to the world by his pen name, George Orwell. He is one of the most influential authors of the 20th century and certainly affected my thinking at an ealyage. Despite Orwell's early socialist convictions, his biting satirical fiction was aimed not at the British class system or capitalism, but at the suposedly classless Soviet Union and totalitarian Communism. This did not endear him with his former comrads. Manu on the left are not fond of those asking penetrating questions about basic socialist beliefs. He thus became politically isolated as his works warned of the dangers of totalitarian ideology and the end results of revolutions. Orwell's best known books are Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. The focus of his work was imperialism and totalitarianism, both fascism and communism. Orwell never became a capitalist, he continued with his utopian socialist vision, but came to see the terrible potential for horror within the utopian mindset.

Animal Farm (1945)

Animal Farm is an allegorical novel describing how the efforts of utopians, in this case socialism, can go awry. It was published at the end of World War II (1945). Orwell himself described th books as depicing the events leading up to the 1917 Russian Revolution and than Stalin's progress in building an absolute totalitarian dictatorship to govern the Soviet Union. In Animal Farm we learn that some individuals are 'more equal than others'. The book is an excellent way of introducing younger students to issues like socialism, capitalism, and totglitarianism. The animals have an appeal for younger students that can get them thinking about real issues. That is not to say it is not a serious book ad adults should not read it, but for teachers looking for a way to get younger students thinking, it is an excellent choice. This was not Orwell's motivation. Criticizing talin was not popular at the time, both because the KGB controlled Communkst parties and associated groups around the world. And Stalin had great pestige because of the Soviet role in destroying NAZI Germany. Thus desguising the book as 'ferrt-tale' and Stalin as essentially a cartoon character avoided a orrent of criticism from the left.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1948)

It is Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four that had the greatest impact. We are introduced to Winston Smith who works in the Ministry of Truth (Mintrue). We also learn about Newspeak. It is the invented language used by the media to follow the arbitrary dictates of Big Brother, the virtually divine Party leader who rules through a omnipresent cult of personality, Nothing of course could more closely describe Hirler and Stalin. Orwell sets his novel in Airstrip One (once known as Great Britain), now a a province of the superstate Oceania. The world is locked in a state of perpetual war and Oceania is a state of omnipresent government and Party surveillance and absolute public manipulation. The govrning system is called English Socialism (Ingsoc). Big Brother is at the head of a privileged Inner Party elite that attemps to destroy all individualism and independent thinking in a kind of futuristic Spnish Inquisition. Such aactions are labeled 'thoughtcrimes' Smith conforms outwardlly, but can not help but have treasonable thoughts. He keeps a diary expressing his inner-most thoughts--a very dangerous step. He falls in love with Julia, a woman of the Party. Julia is both beautiful and brave. They both know they are doomed, but Julia sweats, "They can make you say anything -- anything --but they can't make you believe it. They can't get inside you." The timing of the book is interestng. By 1948 when the book was published, t was becoming increasingly evident that the socalist enterprise launched by the Labour Pary was not working. Threevyears after the War, raioning was still in effect and nationalizing major industris was a serious mistake. The ambiance in Winston Smith's Oceania is not unlike the grey existince in post-War London. No one knows why Orwell chose 1984. Part of the reason is of coirse he wanted a future dayte, but not in the far future. One source describescfactors like, " ... the fact that the year 1984 was featured in books by authors Orwell admired, like Jack London in The Iron Heel and GK Chestersons's The Napoleon of London. But the most telling is the fact that his wife, Eileen O’Shaughnessy (who died in 1945) wrote a poem called 'End of the Century, 1984'.

Last Years

Orwell, a heavy noker, died of tuberculosis at a very young age (1950). He was only 46 years old. It was only 6 months after <>1984 was published. He was too ill to fully understand the sucess of the book and appreciate the impact he would have on Western thinking.







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Created: 11:15 PM 10/2/2005
Last updated: 11:15 PM 10/2/2005