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> Orwell's thoughts and writing were shaped by his experiences of the British public school [1] system, serving in the colonial police service, living as a tram

by atmosx 13y ago

> Orwell's thoughts and writing were shaped by his experiences of the British public school [1] system, serving in the colonial police service, living as a tramp in Paris and London, fighting on the republican side in the Spanish civil war, and (late in his life) seeing how the second world war played-out. These experiences honed his conscience and anger. I disagree. I'm sure education and lifestyle was important in shaping Orwell's world-view, but I believe that he was inspired by the Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union and not by the Spanish civil war or his schooling years. He witnessed first-hand how totalitarian governments operate and a possible future outcome. A book that played a major role in his understanding of the Soviet Union was Darkness at Noon[1] by Arthur Koestler written in 1940, a book which gives an insight view of the Moscow Trials[2] in 1938. Orwell's 1984 was published in 1949. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkness_at_Noon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darkness_at_Noon [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_show_trials http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_show_trials

mogrim 13y ago
> I disagree. I'm sure education and lifestyle was important in shaping Orwell's world-view, but I believe that he was inspired by the Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union and not by the Spanish civil war or his schooling years. His experience of the Communist party and the infighting on the Republican side during the Spanish civil war was a massive influence, though.
andyjohnson0 13y ago
I agree that Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union were certainly major inspirations for his writing 1984 and Animal Farm. But those are just his best-known works. They don't really explain, for example, why he voluntarily lived as a homeless person before writing Down and Out in Paris and London, or his feelings about the plight of working people that motivated the writing of The Road to Wigan Pier. Its also worth noting that in Spain he was fighting against Franco's fascists in the mid-30s because he could already see where that belief system leads. Orwell's experience of private education resulted in his strong views about the role of class and privilege in British society at the time - concerns which are arguably still relevant today. His time in the colonial Burmese Police led him to say, in The Road to Wigan Pier, that "I hated the imperialism I was serving with a bitterness which I probably cannot make clear". It would be interesting to speculate on what he would think of UK foreign policy after 9/11. Orwell was a social critic. In the context of the issues raised Monbiot's article and the question about a "new Orwell", anyone who was successfully taking on that role would be doing more than just writing cautionary tales about possible future totalitarian dystopias.

by atmosx 13y ago

mogrim 13y ago

> I disagree. I'm sure education and lifestyle was important in shaping Orwell's world-view, but I believe that he was inspired by the Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union and not by the Spanish civil war or his schooling years. His experience of the Communist party and the infighting on the Republican side during the Spanish civil war was a massive influence, though.

andyjohnson0 13y ago

I agree that Nazi Germany and Stalin's Soviet Union were certainly major inspirations for his writing 1984 and Animal Farm. But those are just his best-known works. They don't really explain, for example, why he voluntarily lived as a homeless person before writing Down and Out in Paris and London, or his feelings about the plight of working people that motivated the writing of The Road to Wigan Pier. Its also worth noting that in Spain he was fighting against Franco's fascists in the mid-30s because he could already see where that belief system leads. Orwell's experience of private education resulted in his strong views about the role of class and privilege in British society at the time - concerns which are arguably still relevant today. His time in the colonial Burmese Police led him to say, in The Road to Wigan Pier, that "I hated the imperialism I was serving with a bitterness which I probably cannot make clear". It would be interesting to speculate on what he would think of UK foreign policy after 9/11. Orwell was a social critic. In the context of the issues raised Monbiot's article and the question about a "new Orwell", anyone who was successfully taking on that role would be doing more than just writing cautionary tales about possible future totalitarian dystopias.