Scarica George Orwell and his books e più Sintesi del corso in PDF di Inglese solo su Docsity! GEORGE ORWELL LIFE George Orwell was born in 1903 in Bengal, his father was an official in the Indian colonial administration. In 1911 he won a scholarship for a “preparatory school” in Britain, after he won an other scholarships and went to Eton, where he began to develop his intellectual interests. He refuses to go on to university and decided to go to Burma, as a superintendent in the Imperial Police. Here he continued to feel an outcast, unable to fit in with the other colonial administrators. He realized that the Empire was based on a false and inequitable concept, so he returned to England and resigned from the Imperial Police. This experience gave origin to his first book, Burmese Days. He set out to prepare himself for writing in social themes in a realistic way by living among the urban poor of Paris and London. He worked doing a number of casual jobs and slept in chap workingmen’s accommodations, slums, and public dormitories for the homeless. All this was written in Down and Out of Paris and London. By this time Orwell was acquainted with radical political theories: at first he embraced anarchism, but later moved closer to socialism. He went to Spain to continue his journalistic work and to fight in the ranks of the supporters of the left-wing Loyalists. Orwell had been wounded and his led him to return to England. Orwell returned to journalism and political studies. When the Second World War broke out, he applied for military service, but was rejected as physically unfit. He then worked for the BBC, and became the literary editor of the Socialist newspaper “Tribune”. At the same time worked on Animal Farm. His wealth was declining rapidly and his last novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four was published in 1949, a few week before his death. ———— he maintained that the language a writer used should be simple, but first of all clear and direct, so as to become an actual instrument of information and communication. He is against any form of exploitation of the common people as used by absolute governments. The masses are generally manipulated, and their revolutions are doomed to failure. He is also against the omnipresent control in the totalitarian countries on every citizen on his outward actions and inner thoughts. ——— THEMES BURMESE DAYS This was his first book inspired by his work-experience as superintendent in the Imperial Police in Burma. Imperialism Imperialism is defined as a form of government based on domination. In other words, an empire dominates a certain colonized territory in terms of economy. In the text, the treatment received by the Burmese is not the same as the treatment received by the English. The English assume that because the Burmese are not educated in the same manner as the English, they are not as intelligent and Since the country is not industrialized they have no ambition. And they think there is a difference between white and brown skin. Since, they are mild mannered and the colonists wouldn't fight the English (who have guns), they have surrendered to their natural place in society. Racism Most of the English club members, , have a distaste for the Burmese natives, viewing them as "black, stinking swine", there is a sense of opposition to the racism by other club members, like Flory and Mr. Macgregor. Mr Macgregor, the secretary of the club, is the one to raise the issue of admitting a native to their all-white club. Even the mention of this elicits a strong reaction from Ellis, who claims he would rather "die in the ditch" before belonging to the same club as a native. In the end, Mr Macgregor retains his distaste for the Burmese, similar to the other Englishmen. It is rather clear that most of the English see nothing admirable in the Burmese people and instead view them with distaste. The English believe that to maintain their power they need to oppress the natives. They do this through their racist attitudes, actions, and beliefs which put the natives lower in the power hierarchy by treating them as lesser humans who need the English aid.
