All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others. - George Orwell
George Orwell (1903-1950)George Orwell, born 1903 in Bengal, was a journalist, social commentator and author who believed in political decency and wrote about current events within his life time ("George Orwell (1903-1950)", n.d.).
Orwell's first book, "Down and Out in Paris and London", in 1933. This novel was about his poverty experience following his leave from Burma, merely a novel without a purpose. In the 1930s, he published three other novels and two documentaries, "The Road to Wigan Pier", in 1937, illustrating the lives of miners in the Lancashire town of Wigan, and "Homage to Catalonia", in 1938, talking about his time spent fighting with the Loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. Following his near death escape in the civil war, Orwell became disappointed with revolutionary politics after seeing people who were on the same side fighting each other. This experience fueled his hate of the Soviet Union, leading him to write his worldwide famous novel Animal farm, mostly an attack on dictatorships and Stalinism. However when the novel was just published, because of it’s Soviet roots it was rejected everywhere by publishers, until Fredric Warburg finally published it on August 17, 1945. Animal Farm was not only his release of hatred towards the cynicism, it was also an attack on dictatorships and the way the gained power. Another famous novel of his was "1984", famous for it's phrases such as 'doublethink' and 'Newspeak' ("Sparknotes:1984", n.d.). This book attacked totalitarian societies, absolute political control, and convinced readers to avoid any path that may lead down the dictatorship road. Both novels showed how the manipulation of language can be used to gain power. Ironically, Orwell was not against revolutions, yet he wanted people to see how disastrous it was when leaders got to do whatever they wished ("George Orwell (1903-1950)", n.d.). After the publishing of Animal farm, Orwell moved to Hebridean island of Jura to take care of his deteriorating health, and he finally died of tuberculosis on January 21st, 1950 ("George Orwell (1903-1950)", n.d.). |
Animal Farm
1984
Down and Out in Paris and London
Additional links:
http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/context.html |