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George Orwell was a writer most known for his novels 1984 and Animal Farm, Born in India, he was a writer from an early age, having a poem published in his local newspaper at age 11. His early writing career did not have much success, having him working as a dishwasher at times to make ends meet. in 1936 he joined the fight against Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil war, he was shot and was badly injured in the war. He returned to England after that event. He worked at the BBC during WWII as a propagandist, he later resigned in 1943 after his distaste for the job had grown. He then became an editor for a newspaper up until his death in 1950. The later years of his life is when he published his most well known works, Animal Farm in 1945 and 1984 in 1949.

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Early Life

Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, India, on June 25, 1903. The son of a British civil servant, Orwell spent his first days in India, where his father was stationed. His mother brought him and his older sister, Marjorie, to England about a year after his birth and settled in Henley-on-Thames. His father stayed behind in India and rarely visited. (His younger sister, Avril, was born in 1908. Orwell didn't really know his father until he retired from the service in 1912. And even after that, the pair never formed a strong bond. He found his father to be dull and conservative.

According to one biography, Orwell's first word was "beastly." He was a sick child, often battling bronchitis and the flu.

Orwell took up writing at an early age, reportedly composing his first poem around age four. He later wrote, "I had the lonely child's habit of making up stories and holding conversations with imaginary persons, and I think from the very start my literary ambitions were mixed up with the feeling of being isolated and undervalued." One of his first literary successes came at the age of 11 when he had a poem published in the local newspaper.

Education

Like many other boys in England, Orwell was sent to boarding school. In 1911, he went to St. Cyprian's in the coastal town of Eastbourne, where he got his first taste of England's class system.

On a partial scholarship, Orwell noticed that the school treated the richer students better than the poorer ones. He wasn't popular with his peers, and in books, he found comfort from his difficult situation. He read works by Rudyard Kipling and H.G. Wells, among others.

What he lacked in personality, he made up for in smarts. Orwell won scholarships to Wellington College and Eton College to continue his studies.

After completing his schooling at Eton, Orwell found himself at a dead end. His family did not have the money to pay for a university education. Instead, he joined the India Imperial Police Force in 1922. After five years in Burma, Orwell resigned his post and returned to England. He was intent on making it as a writer.

Early Writing Career

After leaving the India Imperial Force, Orwell struggled to get his writing career off the ground and took all sorts of jobs to make ends meet, including being a dishwasher.

'Down and Out in Paris and London' (1933)

Orwell's first major work explored his time eking out a living in these two cities. The book provided a brutal look at the lives of the working poor and of those living a transient existence. Not wishing to embarrass his family, the author published the book under the pseudonym George Orwell.

'Burmese Days' (1934)

Orwell next explored his overseas experiences in Burmese Days, which offered a dark look at British colonialism in Burma, then part of the country's Indian empire. Orwell's interest in political matters grew rapidly after this novel was published.

War Injury and Tuberculosis

In December 1936, Orwell traveled to Spain, where he joined one of the groups fighting against General Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell was badly injured during his time with a militia, getting shot in the throat and arm. For several weeks, he was unable to speak. Orwell and his wife, Eileen, were indicted on treason charges in Spain. Fortunately, the charges were brought after the couple had left the country.

Other health problems plagued the talented writer not long after his return to England. For years, Orwell had periods of sickness, and he was officially diagnosed with tuberculosis in 1938. He spent several months at the Preston Hall Sanatorium trying to recover, but he would continue to battle with tuberculosis for the rest of his life. At the time he was initially diagnosed, there was no effective treatment for the disease.

Literary Critic and BBC Producer

To support himself, Orwell took on various writing assignments. He wrote numerous essays and reviews over the years, developing a reputation for producing well-crafted literary criticism.

In 1941, Orwell landed a job with the BBC as a producer. He developed news commentary and shows for audiences in the eastern part of the British Empire. Orwell drew such literary greats as T.S. Eliot and E.M. Forster to appear on his programs.

With World War II raging on, Orwell found himself acting as a propagandist to advance the country's national interest. He loathed this part of his job, describing the company's atmosphere in his diary as "something halfway between a girls' school and a lunatic asylum, and all we are doing at present is useless, or slightly worse than useless."

Orwell resigned in 1943, saying "I was wasting my own time and the public money on doing work that produces no result. I believe that in the present political situation the broadcasting of British propaganda to India is an almost hopeless task." Around this time, Orwell became the literary editor for a socialist newspaper.

Famous Books

Sometimes called the conscience of a generation, Orwell is best known for two novels: Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Both books, published toward the end of Orwell's life, have been turned into films and enjoyed tremendous popularity over the years.

'Animal Farm' (1945)

Animal Farm was an anti-Soviet satire in a pastoral setting featuring two pigs as its main protagonists. These pigs were said to represent Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky. The novel brought Orwell great acclaim and financial rewards.

'Nineteen Eighty-Four' (1949)

Orwell's masterwork, Nineteen Eighty-Four (or 1984 in later editions), was published in the late stages of his battle with tuberculosis and soon before his death. This bleak vision of the world divided into three oppressive nations stirred up controversy among reviewers, who found this fictional future too despairing. In the novel, Orwell gave readers a glimpse into what would happen if the government controlled every detail of a person's life, down to their own private thoughts.

Essays

'Politics and the English Language'

Published in April 1946 in the British literary magazine Horizon, this essay is considered one of Orwell's most important works on style. Orwell believed that "ugly and inaccurate" English enabled oppressive ideology and that vague or meaningless language was meant to hide the truth. He argued that language should not naturally evolve over time but should be "an instrument which we shape for our own purposes." To write well is to be able to think clearly and engage in political discourse, he wrote, as he rallied against cliches, dying metaphors and pretentious or meaningless language.

'Shooting an Elephant'

This essay, published in the literary magazine New Writing in 1936, discusses Orwell's time as a police officer in Burma (now known as Myanmar), which was still a British colony at the time. Orwell hated his job and thought imperialism was "an evil thing;" as a representative of imperialism, he was disliked by locals. One day, although he didn't think it necessary, he killed a working elephant in front of a crowd of locals just "to avoid looking a fool." The essay was later the title piece in a collection of Orwell's essays, published in 1950, which included 'My Country Right or Left,' 'How the Poor Die' and 'Such, Such were the Joys.'

Wives and Children

Orwell married Eileen O'Shaughnessy in June 1936, and Eileen supported and assisted Orwell in his career. The couple remained together until her death in 1945. According to several reports, they had an open marriage, and Orwell had a number of dalliances. In 1944 the couple adopted a son, whom they named Richard Horatio Blair, after one of Orwell's ancestors. Their son was largely raised by Orwell's sister Avril after Eileen's death.

Near the end of his life, Orwell proposed to editor Sonia Brownell. He married her in October 1949, only a short time before his death. Brownell inherited Orwell's estate and made a career out of managing his legacy.

Death

Orwell died of tuberculosis in a London hospital on January 21, 1950. Although he was just 46 years old at the time of his death, his ideas and opinions have lived on through his work.

Statue

Despite Orwell's disdain for the BBC during his life, a statue of the writer was commissioned by artist Martin Jennings and installed outside the BBC in London. An inscription reads, "If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear." The eight-foot bronze statue, paid for by the George Orwell Memorial Fund, was unveiled in November 2017.

"Would he have approved of it? It's an interesting question. I think he would have been reserved, given that he was very self-effacing," Orwell's son Richard Blair told The Daily Telegraph. "In the end I think he would have been forced to accept it by his friends. He would have to recognise that he was a man of the moment."

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Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, India, on June 25, 1903. The son of a British civil servant, Orwell spent his first days in India, where his father was stationed. His mother brought him and his older sister, Marjorie, to England about a year after his birth and settled in Henley-on-Thames.

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Animal farm is set in rural England in the early to mid 1900's. The animals run the farmer, Mr Jones, off of the farm and rename it to Animal Farm from Manor Farm. It is located adjacent to two other farms, Foxwood and Pitchfield. Foxwood is a larger farm that is neglected by its owner, where Pitchfield is smaller and is ruled by an aggressive owner. The setting and the farms around it are made to draw connections to the nations at the time, in particular both Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany.

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This piece features a large man towering over the landscape, his progression brings with him death and destruction as the lands around him are scorched and destroyed. The image evokes feelings of dread and fear, as the man slowly makes his way across the landscape. This feeling is purposeful, as it is supposed to represent the impact of Fascism on Europe at the time. The feelings generated by this image server as their own motivation, as it compels who ever sees it to prevent the spread of Fascism. It uses our own moral responsibility to protect our community to lead opposition to Fascism. It connects to our own deep desire for safety and security, and our fears of what would happen if that was revoked, and uses that promote action.

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Let America Be America Again, by Langston Hughes

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This poem is a great example of how the moral responsibility can be used to forward a goal. In the poem there are two opposing goals being pushed, one's moral responsibility to their country being used to push to "Let America be America again" . And the other using our moral responsibility to fight for justice and equality to prevent the other goal from being achieved and to further equality. In the poem there is an inherent power imbalance in these two goals, one being that of systemic power, pushing to reverse the progress made in civil rights and to strengthen systems of privilege and white supremacy. And the other being that of the disenfranchised, particularly of POC and the working class. The goal being to further secure more rights and to free themselves from systems of oppression and discrimination. This contrast is brought into center in this work, and contrasts similarly with the core text. In Animal Farm the pigs original act to secure more rights for all animals, but they eventually shift to putting themselves in a position of power over all others, using moral responsibility to their government to justify their actions in the process.

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Let America be America again.
Let it be the dream it used to be.
Let it be the pioneer on the plain
Seeking a home where he himself is free.

(America never was America to me.)

Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-
Let it be that great strong land of love
Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme
That any man be crushed by one above.

(It never was America to me.)

O, let my land be a land where Liberty
Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath,
But opportunity is real, and life is free,
Equality is in the air we breathe.

(There's never been equality for me,
Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")

Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark?
And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?

O, let America be America again- And yet must be-the land where
The land that never has been yet-

every man is free. The land that's mine-the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-
Who made America,
Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,
Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain,
Must bring back our mighty dream again.

Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-
The steel of freedom does not stain.
From those who live like leeches on the people's lives,
We must take back our land again,
America!

Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death,
The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies,
We, the people, must redeem
The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers.
The mountains and the endless plain-
All, all the stretch of these great green states-
And make America again!

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Let America Be America Again - Let America be America again.

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Outside Connection: Ted Talk (clip from 1:00 to 1:30)

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Outside Connection: Ted Talk (clip from 1:00 to 1:30)

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The clip shown in this ted talk is of a teen called Brendan Dassey. He was wrongfully convicted of murder and sexual assault. He convicted based on a false confession he made during a police interrogation. During this police interrogation the interrogator used the concept of moral responsibility to your family in order to get a confession out of Brendan, even when the evidence contradicted what he said. Brendan had an intellectual disability which made it more difficult for him to process what was happening alongside the stressful environment he was in. Brendan was later exonerated in 2016 after serving 9 years in prison. What is important here is the language that the police use in order to mislead and to compel Brendan to confess. The concept of moral responsibility here is used in order to compel that confession, with disastrous results. This language mirrors the language used in Animal Farm, where the pigs often compel the other animals that what they are doing is for the greater good, even if those actions harm the other animals.

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Lindsay Malloy: Why teens confess to crimes they didn't commit

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Why do juveniles falsely confess to crimes? What makes them more vulnerable than adults to this shocking, counterintuitive phenomenon? Through the lens of Brendan Dassey's interrogation and confession (as featured in Netflix's "Making a Murderer" documentary), developmental psychology professor and researcher Lindsay Malloy breaks down the science underlying false confessions and calls for change in the way kids are treated by a legal system designed for adults.

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Propaganda is a tool often used to rally support around an idea. In this example we see two men assembling something underneath an American flag. the text at the bottom reads "United we win". This example is from WWII, and says that we need to be united in order to win the war. This poster is using the concept of our moral responsibility to our country to push for a goal, in this case the goal at hand is winning the war, and it is using the concept of unity in order to reach that goal. Similar language is used in Animal Farm, with the pigs calling for unity in the fight against humanity. This message of unity changes over the course of the story, with the pigs adapting it to suit their needs.

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Real World Connection: 2022 State of the Union

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Real World Connection: 2022 State of the Union

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https://www.whitehouse.gov/state-of-the-union-2022/

In this speech the concept of moral responsibility is used frequently to forward a goal. One example of this is using our moral responsibility to our communities and our country to unite to support Ukraine. This is a common tactic in politics and politics speech, and is used frequently in this speech and in politics in general. This also mirrors Animal Farm heavily, with the concepts of moral responsibly to our country, community, and each other, being used as a means to forward most of the goals that the pig propose. For example when the pigs state that they will be taking the milk and apples for themselves, they justify it by saying it is for their health and that they are serving their community by being able to lead better in good health.