George Orwell's 1984, Animal Farm, and Burmese Days

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Political corruption and dissatisfaction affected many people in the early twentieth century; especially the prolific writer George Orwell. George Orwell’s works 1984, Animal Farm, and Burmese Days, through their ubiquitous uses of stunning imagery, extreme totalitarianism, and raw diction, warn of the dangers of ambitious figures, corrupt governmental control, and the recurrence of vicious tyrannies while reflecting impressionable events in his life.

Born on June 25, 1903 to parents Richard Walmesley Blair and Ida Mabel, “George Orwell” was born Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, Bengal, India (Merriman, “George Orwell”). Orwell referred to his own family as a member of the “lower – upper – middle class” in his 1933 book The Road to Wigan Pier; this definition means that though his family was a literal member of the middle class, their atmosphere was that of “impoverished snobbery”(Merriman; “George Orwell”, Biography.com). The class Blair had been born into was called by the Indians “sahibs” (“George Orwell”, Biography.com). The year after his birth, Blair moved with his mother back to England, where he grew up with sisters Marjorie and later Avril until his father’s return in 1912 (Merriman, “George Orwell”). He began his education at age five at an Anglican parish school in Henley – on – Thomas; he started at the St. Cyprian school in Sussex two years later, at the age of 7 years (Merriman, “George Orwell”). The common use of corporal punishment throughout schools in England in the time period leads to the belief that Blair, subjected to this abuse of power, may have come to despise and resent the exercising of authority (Merriman, “George Orwell”). His first work, published while Blair was studying at the St. Cyprian sc...

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Lawrimore, Peyton. “George Orwell: 1984.” World & I. 10.6. (June 1995): 415. Points of View Reference Center. EBSCOhost. Tennessee Electronic Library, Hendersonville, TN. 23 March 2011.

Merriman, C.D. “George Orwell.” The Literature Network. Jalic, Inc. 2006. Web. 30 March 2011.

Orwell, George. 1984. New York: Penguin, 1950. Print.

Orwell, George. Animal Farm. New York: Penguin, 1956. Print.

Orwell, George. Burmese Days. Orlando: Harcourt Books, 1934. Print. The utilized theme of Burmese Days is *****

Pritchett, V.S. “The most honest writer alive.” New Statesman. 28 May 2009. Web. 3 April 2011.

Saunders, Loraine. “Between Nineteen Eighty-Four and Brave New World: A Far Cry from Orwell’s Socialism.” Finlay Publisher. September 2008. Web. 3 April 2011.

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