George Orwell

And 1984

George Orwell

• 1903-1950• English author• Born Eric Arthur Blair– George Orwell is a pen name.

• Early life:– Born in Bengali, India (then a British Colony)– Served as a member of the Indian Imperial Police

(1922-1927)• Resigned in 1928..

George Orwell: Politics

• Orwell eventually came to have serious misgivings about Imperialism.– Imperialism (n.) – A political and economic policy

whereby a nation increases its power by gaining control or ownership of other territories.• They used to say “The sun never sets on the British

Empire”

• 1936 – Civil War breaks out in Spain. Orwell joins the rebellion.

The Spanish Civil War

The Republicans• The Rebels• Socialists• Supported by the USSR, and

some other European nations, as well as some volunteers from the US

• (THIS IS THE SIDE ORWELL FOUGHT ON)

The Nationalists• The conservatives in power

and their supporters• Wanted a strong central

authority (Government has a lot of power)

• Supported by Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy

Socialism, Communism, Fascism… what?

• Socialism: ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole. – “To each according to their need; from each according to their ability.”– Lots of small examples: Workers Unions, Social Security,

• Communism: (according to Marx, the guy who coined the term) Like socialism, but TOTAL. Everyone shares everything. (Global)

• Fascism: a political philosophy, that values nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader.

The Spanish Civil War

• What was at stake:– “…Many in other countries saw the Spanish Civil

War as part of an international conflict between--depending on their point of view--tyranny and democracy, or Fascism and freedom, or Communism and civilization. • From History World International.

– http://history-world.org/spanish_civil_war.htm

– And, as we know, it was a preview of the World War which would engulf Europe in 1939 • (that would be the second one…)

Random something that G.O. said about the war:

• I have little direct evidence about the atrocities in the Spanish civil war. I know that some were committed by the Republicans, and far more (they are still continuing) by the Fascists. But what impressed me then, and has impressed me ever since, is that atrocities are believed in or disbelieved in solely on grounds of political predilection. Everyone believes in the atrocities of the enemy and disbelieves in those of his own side, without ever bothering to examine the evidence.

1984• Written in 1948 (which is a possible

explanation for the title).• Imagines a future society in which a central

government authority has total control over the population.

• Orwell had some good, contemporary examples as inspiration for this society

“Big Brothers” of today…