George Orwell 1903 1950 Childhood Eric Arthur Blair

George Orwell 1903 -1950

Childhood • Eric Arthur Blair was born in 1903 in India • His father Richard held a post as an agent in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service • His mother Ida was about 18 years younger than her husband

Childhood cont. • In 1907, Eric and his family moved back to England • Eric’s parents were able to send him to some of the best schools, but it was difficult for them financially

Schooling • Eric was forced to work hard at the preparatory schools, although he did not see the value of his education—he knew he wanted to be a writer, and Eton (his school) was not preparing him for it. • Eric began to teach himself the art of writing by reading Swift, Sterne, and Jack London.

Schooling cont. • Eric finished 138 out of 167 in his class and was not awarded a scholarship to attend college. • Eric joined the Indian Imperial Police and was drawn to a life of travel and action.

Military Service • Eric trained in Burma and served there for five years • He resigned in 1927 because he felt life as a police officer was a distraction from the life that he wanted—to be a writer—and because he could not a support a political system that he did not believe in. • He wished to: “escape from …every form of man’s dominion over man. ”

A New Life • When Eric returned to London, he taught himself how to write. He would remain in his unheated apartment in London, thawing his hands over a candle when they became too numb to write. • In 1928, Eric decided to live among the poor, first in London, and then in Paris.

A New Life cont. • For him, the poor were the victims of injustice. He wanted to overcome the repulsion for the poor that he was trained to feel because of his class. • After his first novel, Eric changed his name to George Orwell in an attempt to take on the new identity of a classless antiauthoritarian.

Politics • After writing several novels, Eric went to Spain to write newspaper articles on the Civil War that had broken out. • It was here that he was first introduced to socialism. There were no classes and equality even though there was a shortage of everything.

Politics cont. • Orwell joined a section of the British Labour Party and received military training. • He spent a couple of months on the front, but returned to Barcelona when he was shot through the throat. • He found the town had changed—it was returning to its communist roots.

Death • Orwell died in 1950 due to his tuberculosis.

Animal Farm • Published in 1945 • Based on the Russian Revolution and Orwell’s critique of the Soviet Union • Orwell said it was the first piece he wrote where he intentionally tried to blend artistic and political goals

Why Animals? • In explaining how he came to write Animal Farm, Orwell says he once saw a little boy whipping a horse and later he wrote, • “It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the [worker]. ”

Significance Today • But why – now that Soviet Communism has fallen and the Cold War is over –does Animal Farm deserve our attention? The answer lies in the power of allegory. Allegorical fables, because they require us to make comparisons and connections, can be meaningful to any reader in any historical period. The story of Animal Farm will always have lessons to teach us about the ways that people abuse power and manipulate others.