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Students will predict the characteristics of a dystopian society by making observations during the 1984 Apple Macintosh Commercial.

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I would introduce this text before students begin to read 1984, in order to provide them with some background on the genre of dystopian fiction. After reading the text, students will consider the characteristics of dystopian fiction and discuss their own connections to the world they live in.

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CommonLit | Dystopian Fiction Novels: Characteristics & Examples

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Dystopian fiction novels are commonplace in our society today. Read this text to learn about the characteristics of the genre and examples in literature.

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"The Pedestrian" would be a good short story to pair with "1984" after introducing dystopian fiction because Bradbury explores dystopian themes of nonconformity and technological dehumanization. Here, students would be prompted to think about the pros and cons of technological advancements and Mead's individualism.

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After Chapter 2: Part 1 (Historical Comparison)

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After Chapter 2: Part 1 (Historical Comparison)

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In chapter 2 of 1984, we see how children are influenced by The Party. This short reading about a child in Germany during 1933 will be used to draw parallels between the children in 1984 and in history.

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After Chapter 2: Part 2 (Historical Comparison)

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After Chapter 2: Part 2 (Historical Comparison)

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Students will only read the first three paragraphs of the article. That will be enough to make connections between the Party's "brainwashing" of children in 1984 and the U.S. government's efforts to assimilate Indigenous youth into American culture using education.

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(TW: abuse, sexual abuse, mental health, suicide)
Native American Boarding Schools (also known as Indian Boarding Schools) were established by the U.S. government in the late 19th century as an effort to assimilate Indigenous youth into mainstream American culture through education. This era was part of the United States' overall attempt to kill, annihilate, or assimilate Indigenous peoples and eradicate Indigenous culture.

The Native American assimilation era first began in 1819, when the U.S. Congress passed The Civilization Fund Act. The act encouraged American education to be provided to Indigenous societies and therefore enforced the "civilization process".

The passing of this act eventually led to the creation of the federally funded Native American Boarding Schools and initiated the beginning of the Indian Boarding School era. The duration of this era ran from 1860 until 1978. Approximately 357 boarding schools operated across 30 states during this era both on and off reservations and housed over 60,000 native children. A third of these boarding schools were operated by Christian missionaries as well as members of the federal government. These boarding schools housed several thousand children.

Native American Boarding Schools first began operating in 1860 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs established the first on-reservation boarding school on the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington. Shortly after, the first off-reservation boarding school was established in 1879. The Carlisle Indian School located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was founded by Richard Henry Pratt. He modeled the boarding school off an education program he designed while overseeing Fort Marion Prison in St. Augustine, Florida. He developed the program after experimenting with Native American assimilation education on imprisoned and captive Indigenous peoples. Pratt served as the Headmaster of the Carlisle Indian School for 25 years and was famously known for his highly influential philosophy which he described in a speech he gave in 1892. He stated, "A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."

Attendance to the boarding schools was made mandatory by the U.S. Government regardless of whether or not Indigenous families gave their consent. Upon arrival, Native children were given Anglo-American names, bathed in kerosene, given military-style clothing in exchange for their traditional clothing, and their hair would be shaved off for the boys and cut into short bob styles for girls.

Education primarily focused on trades to make Native students marketable in American society. Male students were taught to perform manual labor such as blacksmithing, shoemaking, and farming amongst other trades. On the other hand, female students were taught to cook, clean, sew, do laundry, and care for farm animals. Standard academic subjects like reading, writing, math, history, and art were also taught, however, these subjects emphasized American beliefs and values. For example, students were taught the importance of private property, materialized wealth, students were forced to convert to Christianity, and celebrate American holidays such as Columbus Day. Richard Henry Scott eventually implemented a "Placing Out System" that placed Native students into American communities for a certain amount of time, varying from a Summer to a full year. These programs tended to exploit students and used them for domestic and physical labor.

Native students were not allowed to speak in their Native languages. They were only allowed to speak English regardless of their fluency and would face punishment if they didn't. The discipline enforced at these boarding schools was severe. Punishments varied and included privilege restrictions, diet restrictions, threats of corporal punishment, and even confinement. Additionally, Native students were neglected and faced many forms of abuse including physical, sexual, cultural, and spiritual. They were beaten, coerced into performing heavy labor. Their daily regimen consisted of several hours of marching and recreational time consisted of watching disturbing movies such as Cowboys and Indians.

Since they were used as forms of punishment, food and medical attention were scarce. This led to boarding schools becoming more susceptible to infections and diseases like tuberculosis, the flu, trachoma. Due to these conditions, Native students would become ill and die at these boarding schools often. In 1899, a measles epidemic spread through the Phoenix Indian School, experiencing rates as high as 325 cases of measles in addition to 60 cases of pneumonia, and 9 student deaths within 10 days. Parents were rarely informed of their children's deaths; some parents would learn of their child's death after they were buried in school cemeteries. Some students were buried in unmarked graves. Those that survived these inhumane conditions were scarred from the traumatic experiences for the remainder of their lives.

Although a majority of Native children were forced to attend these boarding schools, some parents chose to send their children because those were the only schools available to their children. However, several forms of resistance were performed in response to having their children pulled from their homes and forced to attend these boarding schools. Some forms of resistance included entire villages refusing to enroll their children in the boarding schools, coordinated mass withdrawals, as well as encouraging their children to run away from the school. Indian agents - individuals hired to interact with Indigenous communities on behalf of the U.S. Government - would retaliate by withholding rations and supplies to Indigenous communities. These agents were also responsible for seizing children from their families and their homes until boarding schools were filled.

While the Native American Boarding School era has ended, the U.S. government still operates a few off-reservation boarding schools. As of 2020, 7 boarding schools continue to be federally funded, 3 of which are controlled by Indigenous community leaders. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act was passed to decrease U.S. federal control of Native affairs and instead allowed for Native self-determination and self-governance. An example of this transition can be seen with the Santa Fe Indian School which was established in 1890 and originally implemented the Carlisle model. By the 1920s, the school began transitioning after Indigenous leaders fought to gain control over the school. It is currently managed by Indigenous leaders where the focus has switched to traditional arts, sovereignty, Native cultures, and community.

Native youth still face several challenges within the American education system. They rarely have access to curriculums that are culturally relevant to them and experience difficulties in the classroom at alarming rates. According to reports given by the Kids Count Data Center and The National Violent Death Reporting System, Native students are:

1.2 times more likely to be behind in 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade math

1.4 times more likely to be suspended from school

1.5 times more likely to die in a homicide or suicide

1.7 times more likely to experience two or more adverse childhood experiences

1.8 times more likely to attend a high-poverty school

2.0 times more likely to drop out of high school

The tragedies Native children faced during this era have impacted the lives of not only the children but also their families and communities. These impacts have caused Indigenous communities to experience deep-rooted ramifications in regards to mental health and the overall relationship between Native communities and the American education system. They are often displayed in the form of poverty, difficulties in the American education system, poor physical health, and poor mental health. Many Native students who survived the boarding school era went on to suffer from mental health and other related issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, a lack of cultural identity, and the development of negative stereotypes (i.e. lazy, alcoholics, etc.), to name a few. These traumatic experiences have been passed down from generation to generation and continue to impact Indigenous communities today.

Documentaries

Unspoken: America's Native American Boarding Schools ()

Unseen Tears: The Native American Boarding School Experience in Western New York, 2009 ( Films for Action )

Literature

Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila

Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928 by David Wallace Adams

They Called it Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School by K. Tsianina Lomawaima

Pipestone: My Life in an Indian Boarding School by Adam Fortunate Eagle

Websites
Additional Book Recommendations from The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

References

American Indian Relief Council. Native American History and Culture: Boarding Schools - American Indian Relief Council Is Now Northern Plains Reservation Aid, American Indian Relief Council, www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=airc_hist_boardingschools.

Bear, Charla. "American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many." NPR, NPR, 12 May 2008, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865.

Boone, Katrina. "America Has Always Used Schools as a Weapon Against Native Americans." Education Post, Education Post, 13 Dec. 2018, educationpost.org/america-has-always-used-schools-as-a-weapon-against-native-americans/.

Elliot, Sarah K. "Antiques Roadshow." PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 13 Apr. 2020, www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2020/4/13/early-years-american-indian-boarding-schools.

Little, Becky. "How Boarding Schools Tried to 'Kill the Indian' Through Assimilation." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Aug. 2017, www.history.com/news/how-boarding-schools-tried-to-kill-the-indian-through-assimilation.

Nabs. "US Indian Boarding School History." The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, boardingschoolhealing.org/education/us-indian-boarding-school-history/.

Native Hope. The Issues Surrounding Native American Education, Native Hope, blog.nativehope.org/the-issues-surrounding-native-american-education.

Melissa is a 25 year old Dominican-American from Philly. She is part of the writing team at TIF and writes articles. She enjoys hiking, reading, relaxing with her cat and hopes to expand knowledge in climate change impacts on BIPOC communities and spread awareness through The Indigenous Foundation.

(TW: abuse, sexual abuse, mental health, suicide)
Native American Boarding Schools (also known as Indian Boarding Schools) were established by the U.S. government in the late 19th century as an effort to assimilate Indigenous youth into mainstream American culture through education. This era was part of the United States' overall attempt to kill, annihilate, or assimilate Indigenous peoples and eradicate Indigenous culture.

The Native American assimilation era first began in 1819, when the U.S. Congress passed The Civilization Fund Act. The act encouraged American education to be provided to Indigenous societies and therefore enforced the "civilization process".

The passing of this act eventually led to the creation of the federally funded Native American Boarding Schools and initiated the beginning of the Indian Boarding School era. The duration of this era ran from 1860 until 1978. Approximately 357 boarding schools operated across 30 states during this era both on and off reservations and housed over 60,000 native children. A third of these boarding schools were operated by Christian missionaries as well as members of the federal government. These boarding schools housed several thousand children.

Native American Boarding Schools first began operating in 1860 when the Bureau of Indian Affairs established the first on-reservation boarding school on the Yakima Indian Reservation in Washington. Shortly after, the first off-reservation boarding school was established in 1879. The Carlisle Indian School located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania was founded by Richard Henry Pratt. He modeled the boarding school off an education program he designed while overseeing Fort Marion Prison in St. Augustine, Florida. He developed the program after experimenting with Native American assimilation education on imprisoned and captive Indigenous peoples. Pratt served as the Headmaster of the Carlisle Indian School for 25 years and was famously known for his highly influential philosophy which he described in a speech he gave in 1892. He stated, "A great general has said that the only good Indian is a dead one. In a sense, I agree with the sentiment, but only in this: that all the Indian there is in the race should be dead. Kill the Indian in him, and save the man."

Attendance to the boarding schools was made mandatory by the U.S. Government regardless of whether or not Indigenous families gave their consent. Upon arrival, Native children were given Anglo-American names, bathed in kerosene, given military-style clothing in exchange for their traditional clothing, and their hair would be shaved off for the boys and cut into short bob styles for girls.

Education primarily focused on trades to make Native students marketable in American society. Male students were taught to perform manual labor such as blacksmithing, shoemaking, and farming amongst other trades. On the other hand, female students were taught to cook, clean, sew, do laundry, and care for farm animals. Standard academic subjects like reading, writing, math, history, and art were also taught, however, these subjects emphasized American beliefs and values. For example, students were taught the importance of private property, materialized wealth, students were forced to convert to Christianity, and celebrate American holidays such as Columbus Day. Richard Henry Scott eventually implemented a "Placing Out System" that placed Native students into American communities for a certain amount of time, varying from a Summer to a full year. These programs tended to exploit students and used them for domestic and physical labor.

Native students were not allowed to speak in their Native languages. They were only allowed to speak English regardless of their fluency and would face punishment if they didn't. The discipline enforced at these boarding schools was severe. Punishments varied and included privilege restrictions, diet restrictions, threats of corporal punishment, and even confinement. Additionally, Native students were neglected and faced many forms of abuse including physical, sexual, cultural, and spiritual. They were beaten, coerced into performing heavy labor. Their daily regimen consisted of several hours of marching and recreational time consisted of watching disturbing movies such as Cowboys and Indians.

Since they were used as forms of punishment, food and medical attention were scarce. This led to boarding schools becoming more susceptible to infections and diseases like tuberculosis, the flu, trachoma. Due to these conditions, Native students would become ill and die at these boarding schools often. In 1899, a measles epidemic spread through the Phoenix Indian School, experiencing rates as high as 325 cases of measles in addition to 60 cases of pneumonia, and 9 student deaths within 10 days. Parents were rarely informed of their children's deaths; some parents would learn of their child's death after they were buried in school cemeteries. Some students were buried in unmarked graves. Those that survived these inhumane conditions were scarred from the traumatic experiences for the remainder of their lives.

Although a majority of Native children were forced to attend these boarding schools, some parents chose to send their children because those were the only schools available to their children. However, several forms of resistance were performed in response to having their children pulled from their homes and forced to attend these boarding schools. Some forms of resistance included entire villages refusing to enroll their children in the boarding schools, coordinated mass withdrawals, as well as encouraging their children to run away from the school. Indian agents - individuals hired to interact with Indigenous communities on behalf of the U.S. Government - would retaliate by withholding rations and supplies to Indigenous communities. These agents were also responsible for seizing children from their families and their homes until boarding schools were filled.

While the Native American Boarding School era has ended, the U.S. government still operates a few off-reservation boarding schools. As of 2020, 7 boarding schools continue to be federally funded, 3 of which are controlled by Indigenous community leaders. In 1934, the Indian Reorganization Act was passed to decrease U.S. federal control of Native affairs and instead allowed for Native self-determination and self-governance. An example of this transition can be seen with the Santa Fe Indian School which was established in 1890 and originally implemented the Carlisle model. By the 1920s, the school began transitioning after Indigenous leaders fought to gain control over the school. It is currently managed by Indigenous leaders where the focus has switched to traditional arts, sovereignty, Native cultures, and community.

Native youth still face several challenges within the American education system. They rarely have access to curriculums that are culturally relevant to them and experience difficulties in the classroom at alarming rates. According to reports given by the Kids Count Data Center and The National Violent Death Reporting System, Native students are:

1.2 times more likely to be behind in 4th-grade reading and 8th-grade math

1.4 times more likely to be suspended from school

1.5 times more likely to die in a homicide or suicide

1.7 times more likely to experience two or more adverse childhood experiences

1.8 times more likely to attend a high-poverty school

2.0 times more likely to drop out of high school

The tragedies Native children faced during this era have impacted the lives of not only the children but also their families and communities. These impacts have caused Indigenous communities to experience deep-rooted ramifications in regards to mental health and the overall relationship between Native communities and the American education system. They are often displayed in the form of poverty, difficulties in the American education system, poor physical health, and poor mental health. Many Native students who survived the boarding school era went on to suffer from mental health and other related issues such as anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, a lack of cultural identity, and the development of negative stereotypes (i.e. lazy, alcoholics, etc.), to name a few. These traumatic experiences have been passed down from generation to generation and continue to impact Indigenous communities today.

Documentaries

Unspoken: America's Native American Boarding Schools ()

Unseen Tears: The Native American Boarding School Experience in Western New York, 2009 ( Films for Action )

Literature

Code Talker: The First and Only Memoir By One of the Original Navajo Code Talkers of WWII by Chester Nez and Judith Schiess Avila

Education for Extinction: American Indians and the Boarding School Experience, 1875-1928 by David Wallace Adams

They Called it Prairie Light: The Story of Chilocco Indian School by K. Tsianina Lomawaima

Pipestone: My Life in an Indian Boarding School by Adam Fortunate Eagle

Websites
Additional Book Recommendations from The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition

References

American Indian Relief Council. Native American History and Culture: Boarding Schools - American Indian Relief Council Is Now Northern Plains Reservation Aid, American Indian Relief Council, www.nativepartnership.org/site/PageServer?pagename=airc_hist_boardingschools.

Bear, Charla. "American Indian Boarding Schools Haunt Many." NPR, NPR, 12 May 2008, www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16516865.

Boone, Katrina. "America Has Always Used Schools as a Weapon Against Native Americans." Education Post, Education Post, 13 Dec. 2018, educationpost.org/america-has-always-used-schools-as-a-weapon-against-native-americans/.

Elliot, Sarah K. "Antiques Roadshow." PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 13 Apr. 2020, www.pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/stories/articles/2020/4/13/early-years-american-indian-boarding-schools.

Little, Becky. "How Boarding Schools Tried to 'Kill the Indian' Through Assimilation." History.com, A&E Television Networks, 16 Aug. 2017, www.history.com/news/how-boarding-schools-tried-to-kill-the-indian-through-assimilation.

Nabs. "US Indian Boarding School History." The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition, boardingschoolhealing.org/education/us-indian-boarding-school-history/.

Native Hope. The Issues Surrounding Native American Education, Native Hope, blog.nativehope.org/the-issues-surrounding-native-american-education.

Melissa is a 25 year old Dominican-American from Philly. She is part of the writing team at TIF and writes articles. She enjoys hiking, reading, relaxing with her cat and hopes to expand knowledge in climate change impacts on BIPOC communities and spread awareness through The Indigenous Foundation.

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The U.S. history of Native American Boarding Schools - The Indigenous Foundation

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(TW: abuse, sexual abuse, mental health, suicide) Native American Boarding Schools (also known as Indian Boarding Schools) were established by the U.S. government in the late 19th century as an effort to assimilate Indigenous youth into mainstream American culture through education. This era

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Students will individually analyze quotes from Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and 1984 in their notebooks. Students will then be numbered by four to form groups. Then, they will make connections between 1984 and Brave New World with their group--written within 15 years of each other.

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Text to Text Connections Use these quotes from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World writtern in (1)

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After reading "1984", students will watch Apple's Macintosh Commercial 1984 before reading this article to help them draw connections between the article and today's concern of "cancel culture" promoting Orwellian beliefs. This article will prompt students to discuss the consequences for people who don't comply with narratives promoted by the media, academia, and elites. Here, students will be able to compare/contrast how Oceania and today's nations deal with nonconformity.

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In 1983, as Apple was about to debut its new Macintosh computer, the company hired English film director Ridley Scott to make what is now one of the most iconic ads in cultural history, " 1984." Taking a page out of George Orwell's book, the Super Bowl ad was designed as an anti-conformity message, selling the idea that technology empowers individuality and individual thought can change the world.

We see a young woman run through a room full of human drones and heave a hammer through "Big Brother's" screen as he says, "We have created for the first time in all history a garden of pure ideology, where each worker may bloom, secure from the pests of any contradictory true thoughts." The world of Orwell's "1984," where free thought was replaced with group think, is beginning to feel a lot like the "cancel culture" that now permeates college campuses, social media, major newsrooms and corporate boardrooms, an increasingly alarming environment, driven by a self-defined infallible elite.

But it was another Englishman 125 years earlier, whose essay, "On Liberty," delivered one of the most important rationales for individualism in what he saw as an inherent conflict between tyranny and liberty that continues today. John Stuart Mill argued that speech gives us the opportunity to listen, to debate and understand differing views and ideas. More, not less, speech leads to rationality and liberty.

In too many venues today, the purpose of political speech isn't to question and debate ideas but rather to ensure ideological conformity dictated by a cancel culture elite that punishes those with "contradictory true thoughts" because those thoughts are seen as incompatible with what amounts to an absolute belief in the infallibility of their own dogma.

Bari Weiss, a former opinion page editor of The New York Times, is a case in point. She sent shock waves across the ideological spectrum when she issued a blistering indictment of the Times' oppressive newsroom in her resignation letter.

Weiss hit the newspaper hard.
"Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences, rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw their own conclusions."
Her advice for up-and-coming writers and editors?
"Rule One: Speak your mind at your own peril. Rule Two: Never risk commissioning a story that goes against the narrative. Rule Three: Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain. Eventually, the publisher will cave to the mob, the editor will get fired or reassigned, and you'll be hung out to dry."
Her letter raises larger issues. Does true free speech still exist? Or is true free speech only for those who comply with "woke" narratives? And what are the consequences for careers and advancement for those who don't comply? These questions are being raised in media organizations, but also in workplaces and other settings across the country.

A chilling effect

Public opinion shows that cancel culture is having its intended effect and not just on conservatives. The latest July 16-18 survey by Winning the Issues shows that the concern and potential fear of consequences for not complying with certain narratives is not limited to conservatives, and may be much more broad-based than assumed.

A majority of the electorate (52 percent) identified with the statement that "true free speech and freedom of belief do not exist in this country today because of political correctness and potential consequences such as losing a job for not conforming to beliefs and narratives being promoted by the media, academia and elites." Only 34 percent agreed that "free speech and freedom of belief exist in this country" and felt free to speak their minds and express their personal beliefs in the workplace and social settings.

Across party and ideology, the only ones who felt free to express their beliefs at work or in social situations were, not surprisingly, liberal Democrats, by a 51 percent to 38 percent margin.

In a 2019 Freedom Forum Institute survey on the First Amendment, almost half the respondents (46 percent) said they were willing to shut down a speaker at a public institution if the appearance would be "likely to offend." Anyone who values liberty should be concerned that so many Americans are willing to let others restrict their right to free speech and assembly. When one side can effectively stifle the views of the other, that's not democracy. It's tyranny. And who gets to decide which thoughts are allowed and which are not? A student mob, the faculty Senate, the university president?

John Stuart Mill must be turning in his grave at the state of free speech today, as we devolve into a cancel culture that validates personal destruction as a means to invalidate an opposing view, rather than arguing the merits of one's position. When historians criticized the empirical underpinnings of the 1619 Project, they weren't arguing that Nikole Hannah-Jones didn't have the right to express her opinion on the origins of the American Revolution. Their issue was with the accuracy of that opinion, and now its assertions are under scrutiny.

Liberal alarm

What's alarming is how quickly the cancel culture has taken root throughout society with conservative thought its first casualty, but not likely its last - a fact not lost on a group of mostly liberal writers and academics who sent an open letter to Harper's on "Justice and Open Debate."

After the usual bashing of conservative opinion, the progressive activists wrote, "The way to defeat bad ideas is by exposure, argument, and persuasion, not by trying to silence or wish them away." Elsewhere they wrote, "We uphold the value of robust and even caustic counter-speech from all quarters. But it is now all too common to hear calls for swift and severe retribution in response to perceived transgressions of speech and thought."

If "On Liberty" was a milestone in the intellectual journey toward freedom and enlightenment, the harsh tenor of today's political discourse is setting us back on what has never been an easy road.

When a conservative student stays silent in a liberal professor's classroom rather than risk a grade, we lose ground. When a Chuck Todd announces that those who disagree with his views on climate are no longer welcome on "Meet the Press," we lose ground. When an opinion piece costs an editor his job for believing that airing opposing views is not only right but necessary to honest political debate, we are entering dangerous territory, the kind Mill and Orwell warned us about.
"To refuse a hearing to an opinion, because they are sure that it is false, is to assume that their certainty is the same thing as absolute certainty. All silencing of discussion is an assumption of infallibility." - John Stuart Mill David Winston is the president of The Winston Group and a longtime adviser to congressional Republicans. He previously served as the director of planning for Speaker Newt Gingrich. He advises Fortune 100 companies, foundations, and nonprofit organizations on strategic planning and public policy issues, and is an election analyst for CBS News.

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As 'cancel culture' spreads, is America entering Orwellian territory?

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Opinion - Does true free speech still exist? Or is it only for those who comply with "woke" narratives? Those are questions America is grappling with today.

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Introduction to Orwellian characteristics

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What "Orwellian" really means - Noah Tavlin

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Introduction
(1903-50). English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell was famous for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949). Both became classics that remained popular into the 21st century.

George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903, at Montihari in Bengal, India, where his father was a minor British official. His family had social status but little money. This fact influenced Orwell's later attitude toward the English class system and the British Empire's treatment of its subject peoples. About 1911 the family returned to England. Blair went to a boarding school in Sussex, where he was distinguished both by his poverty and his intelligence. He later wrote of his miserable school years in the essay "Such, Such Were the Joys" (1953). He attended Eton College from 1917 to 1921 but decided against pursuing a university degree. Instead, in 1922 he went to Burma (now Myanmar) as a member of the British imperial police.

Early Works
Blair's own poverty, plus his growing aversion to Britain's imperial policies, led him to resign from the government in 1928. Blair then spent several years among the poor and outcast of Europe and among the unemployed miners in the north of England. He recounted these experiences in Down and Out in Paris and London (1933). In the book he rearranged actual incidents into something like fiction. This is the first work he published using the pen name George Orwell. (He derived the name Orwell from the River Orwell in East Anglia, a traditional region of eastern England.) The book's publication earned him some initial literary recognition.

Orwell's first novel, Burmese Days (1934), portrays a sensitive but emotionally isolated individual at odds with an oppressive social environment. Orwell would follow this formula in his subsequent work, including A Clergyman's Daughter (1935) and Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936). In The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), Orwell returned to writing about the destitute and unemployed. He combined reporting with a tone of anger that was to characterize his subsequent writing.

By the time The Road to Wigan Pier was in print, Orwell was in Spain. He went as a journalist to report on the Civil War there and stayed to join the Republican militia. He was seriously wounded in battle, and damage to his throat permanently affected his voice. Orwell later fought in Barcelona against communists who were trying to suppress their political opponents. In May 1937 he was forced to flee Spain in fear of his life. He described his experiences in Spain in Homage to Catalonia (1938), which many consider one of his best books.

After returning to England, Orwell wrote Coming Up for Air (1939). In it he explored the decency of a past England and expressed fears about a future threatened by war and fascism. When World War II began, Orwell was rejected for military service because of poor health. Instead, he headed the Indian service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). He left the BBC in 1943 and became literary editor of the Tribune, a socialist newspaper. During this period Orwell was a prolific journalist, writing many newspaper articles and reviews. He also wrote serious criticism and a number of books about England.

Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-four
In 1944 Orwell finished Animal Farm, but he did not find a publisher for it until the next year. The novel is a political fable based on the Russian Revolution and its betrayal by Joseph Stalin. The book follows a group of barnyard animals who overthrow and chase off their exploitative human masters. They then set up a society of their own where everyone is equal. Eventually, however, the pigs desire more power. They form a dictatorship even more oppressive and heartless than that of their former human masters. The success of Animal Farm allowed Orwell to devote himself to writing.

Orwell's last book was Nineteen Eighty-four (1949). The novel is set in an imaginary future in which the world is dominated by three warring totalitarian police states. The book's hero, the Englishman Winston Smith, holds a minor party office in one of those states. To keep its rule, the government distorts the truth and rewrites history to suit its own purposes. Smith's longing for truth and decency leads him to secretly rebel against the government. Smith has a love affair with a woman who shares his views, but then they are both arrested by the Thought Police. Smith is subsequently imprisoned and tortured. The process is intended not merely to break him physically or make him submit but to rid him of his independence and destroy his dignity and humanity. The government's ultimate goal is to make him love only the figure he previously hated-the apparent leader of the party, Big Brother.

Orwell wrote the last pages of Nineteen Eighty-four in a remote house on Jura, one of the Hebrides islands of Scotland. At times he was hospitalized for tuberculosis. He died of the disease in a hospital in London, England, on January 21, 1950.

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(1903-50). English novelist, essayist, and critic George Orwell was famous for his novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949). Both became classics that...