The Defining Moment of George Orwell
The famous 20th Century British author Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was born on June 25, 1903 in Motihari, Bihar, in British India. Eric’s father, Richard Walmesley Blair, worked as an agent in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service, and India at that time was a part of the British Empire. Eric Blair’s paternal grandfather was rich, and he became part of the British Raj and had served in the British Army, too. Blair's mother, Ida Mabel Blair was the daughter of a French tradesman that grew up in Burma. He had two sister name Majorie who is six years older than him, and Avril was five years younger. Orwell described his family as "lower-upper-middle class" meaning not very wealthy. His family returned to England with his mother and older sister; his father stayed in India until he retired. At the age of eight, he was sent to the private preparatory school. Eric Blair received a prestigious King’s Scholarship at Eton, the famous boys’ preparatory school. Since, he was forced to go to preparatory school and winning some awards, it became not interesting for him. He wanted to become a writer. Orwell left Eton because he was neglected to win a university scholarship (“George Orwell”). In 1922, Eric Blair joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma and severed for five years. In 1927, he quit his job. The two reasons were his job took away what he wanted to do, to be a writer, and he did not like his job because he hated British imperialism that he never believed. Eric returned to England in 1928. Eric Blair became George Orwell in 1933, by combining the names of the monarch and a nearby river. Orwell’s first novel, “Burmese Days”, was published in 1934, and it was all about his experience in prejudice and corruption, in imperial Burma. He got married to Eileen O’Shaugnessy on June 9, 1936, and adopt a baby boy name Richard Horatio Blair. Orwell’s experience in the Spanish Civil War, became a defining moment of Owell’s political awakening. Then in the 1940’s, he produced two of the greatest novels of the 20th Century, Nineteen Eighty-four and The Animal Farm. In 1946, “Politics and the English Language” was published, mocking of bad writing and its political consequences. Orwell was diagnosed with tuberculosis. At the age of 46, he died of tuberculosis on January 21, 1950 ("Biography of George Orwell").
George Orwell was known for his language, power, and political and social criticism. Orwell wanted to do was to make a political writing into an advertisement. He wrote because he wanted to enlighten the people about not being oppressed. There was some light that he wanted to expose and some facts that caught the attention (Taylor). He hated imperialism and oppression. “Shooting an Elephant”, his experience in the Spanish Civil War, “Animal Farm: A Fairy Story,” Nineteen Eight-Four, and Politics and the English Language are all about the effects of imperialism and totalitarianism on the oppressed.
In his short essay, “Shooting an Elephant,” George Orwell experienced the real nature of British imperialism as evil, when he was sub-divisional police officer in Burma. The story happened in Moulmein, in Lower Burma. Orwell hated his job and was against the imperialism. He stated, “I was young and ill-educated and I had to think out my problems in the utter silence that is imposed on every Englishman in the East.” The Burmese people did not like the British; Orwell was a representative of the oppressors. Something happened in Orwell’s job that was enlightening, and became his defining moment of his life. It was about his job answering to a report of a man who was dead. The crime had been committed by an elephant and the body was badly trampled. At first, Orwell wanted to kill the elephant, but then he realized it was not dangerous. He began to feel compassion for the creature, but he felt he must shoot it or he would be shamed in front of more than two thousand Burmese people. He used the elephant gun first, then the .44 Winchester rifle. Orwell shots the elephant three times, and the elephant did not die. He fired his two remaining shots into the elephant’s heart, and he did not see if the elephant died or it died after he left. Later, there were numerous arguments about shooting the elephant. The Burmese people and Europeans opinion were divided. Orwell stated, “I often wondered whether any of the others grasped that I had done it solely to avoid looking a fool.” “Shooting an Elephant” is all about the effect of imperialism on the oppressed and oppressor (Orwell, "Shooting an Elephant”).
Another defining moment for Orwell was when he went to Spain and volunteered to fight in the Spanish Civil War. He fought for the left-wing Republican government as an infantryman. At this time, it was under attack from General Francisco Franco’s fascists. With his Cadet Corps and police training, he made corporal. Orwell also volunteered for an anti-Stalinist unit. Paying Homage to Catalonia, he described his admiration for the lack of class structure in the places he visited. He saw the betrayal of the workers’ revolution in Spain by the Spanish Community Party, which supported the Soviet Union along with the secret police. Orwell was shot in the throat by a Kremlin-sponsored sniper and survived. His experience in Spain was a political awakening for him. He and his wife Eileen left for Spain with a lifelong hatred of totalitarianism, and this was his stance which forms the foundation of all of his upcoming work (“George Orwell”).
The novel, Animal Farm: A Fairy Story, illustrated Britain’s wartime ally, Russia. The novel was about a rebellion of a talking animals who desired a world in which they were free from oppression of their human masters. They created the Seven Commandments of Animalism. Later on the Commandments had been broken by the pigs, and the language of the Commandments are revised. Napoleon became the leader. His power greatly increased to the extent of a totalitarian dictator. He forced confessions from animals that were innocent, which were killed by the dogs. The Seven Commandments became a single law: “All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” The novel ended with Pilkington, bad terms with Mr Frederick of Pinchfield Farm, adjacent to Animal Farm on the opposite side, who was sharing drinks with the pigs in Jones’ house. Animal Farm was a satire about the tyrannical governments of Russian communism. Animal Farm attacked the Soviet Union, especially Joseph Stalin, its leader. Soviet Union was an ally of the United States against Germany in World War II. Animal Farm emphasized that imperialism and totalitarianism on the oppressed (Orwell, "Animal Farm").
The novel, Nineteen Eight-Four, was a story of a person named, Winston Smith. He believed that Big Brother’s is watching him. To be free from Big Brother’s tyranny, he wrote a diary. Everywhere he went, he was being watched by Big Brother, whether at the cafeteria, the bathroom and even at his home. No one was safe from Big Brother. He met several people whom he believed to be his ally and enemy. Winston met Julia and fell in love. Eventually, Julia and Winston confessed to O’Brien, who they believed to be a member of the Brotherhood, which they hated. O’Brien gave Winston a copy of the “Book,” written by their leader, Emmanuel Goldstein, former ally of the Big Brother turned enemy. Later, Winston was caught and put in a prison. O’Brien had watched Winston for the past seven years, and he spent few months torturing Winston to change his mind. O’Brien placed a head mask made of wire to Winston, and threatened him with rats. Winston surrendered his last trace of being human. George Orwell wanted to emphasize the consequence of a dictatorial society, where emotions and natural feelings were not allowed to be conveyed. Big Brother was a government which constantly watches us. George Orwell feared it may happen in the future (Orwell, "Nineteen Eighty-Four").
In the essay, "Politics and the English Language", he made a mockery of bad writing and its political consequences. George Orwell believed that many individuals were not conscious of the common misusage of the English language. He described a weakening of language by economic origins and political, that resulted in deceptive communication. George Orwell suggested to get rid of the bad habits so a person’s mind was clear to attain clear thinking. Orwell stated, “Words like romantic, plastic, values, human, dead, sentimental, natural, vitality, as used in art criticism, are strictly meaningless.” He determined that the political language was full of ambiguity and many questions. Writing in politics was the worst of any kind. Many synonyms were used, but were not clear to the reader or listener, and unable to decipher what the writer was trying to convey. Orwell stated, “Political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.” Orwell believed that this can be remedied by each person using proper words by using the simplest words as possible to get their meaning across (Orwell, "Politics and the English Language").
George Orwell’s works illustrated that everyone must not be oppressed by our oppressor. One must have strong values and beliefs, so they can stand up to those who are trying to put them down. And one must be aware of the enemies, governments who desire total dictatorships and the thrill of victory. These individuals will do everything in their power to oppress. Don’t let this happen, the future depends on us (AWResistance).
Work Cited
AWResistance."A Final Warning from George Orwell." YouTube. 05 Jun 2011. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ox-shlDXKO4>.
"Biography of George Orwell." George Orwell 1903-1950. Web. 25 Apr. 2015. <http://www.george-orwell.org/l_biography.html>.
"George Orwell." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. 28 April 2015. Web. 28 Apr. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Orwell>.
Orwell, George. "Animal Farm." George Orwell 1903-1950. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/summaries/animf.html>.
Orwell, George. "Nineteen Eighty-Four." George Orwell 1903-1950. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/summaries/1984.html>.
Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language." George Orwell 1903-1950.Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/language.html>.
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." George Orwell 1903-1950. Web. 21 Apr. 2015. <http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/site/work/essays/elephant.html>.
Taylor, Dj. "The Real George Orwell (1/6)." YouTube. 10 July 2010. Web. 27 Apr. 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Db3-svhC4k>.