A Presentation Of George Orwell And His Protest Novels

Eric Arthur Blair was born on June 5, 1903, in Bengal, India. His father was not a wealthy man. He supported his family only on the salary of a civil servant. When his writing career began, his penname became George Orwell. Orwell received his formal education from Eton Academy during a period ranging from 1917 to 1921. After completion of Eton, Orwell did not continue his education; instead he joined forces with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. He served with the police until he began teaching. He was a high-ranking officer during his years on the police force. His life was poverty stricken until the mid-1930’s. He was considered to be a “combination of middle class intellectual and working class reformer” (Stewart). Orwell chose to live among tramps in England and the working class in Paris. His experience in England and Paris was the basis for his first book Down and Out in Paris in London, first published in 1933. For many years, Orwell worked as a teacher. A Clergyman’s Daughter was based on his experience as a teacher (Borman 5-6). Considered a novelist and a social critic, Orwell’s fame began in 1945 with the publication of his first protest novel, Animal Farm (Stewart).

Animal Farm is just one of Orwell’s protest novels, but disputably the best protest novel of all time. The novel is allegedly based on the Russian Revolution. Animal Farm is an allegory of the political strife in twentieth-century Europe (Brown 72). According to Orwell his inspiration for Animal Farm came from a little boy, perhaps ten years old driving a huge cart-horse along a narrow path, whipping it whenever it tried to turn. It struck me that if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat. (Williams 339)

During the Russian Revolution, leaders such as Russia’s Joseph Stalin negotiated with England but made plans secretly with other leaders and nations. In Animal Farm various animals personify or represent political leaders and factions of the Russian Revolution. In the novel Old Major represents Karl Marx, a German economist of the Russian Revolution. Joseph Stalin is portrayed, in the novel, by Napoleon. Stalin was known for negotiating with England but also leading acts of corruption with other countries. In Animal Farm Napoleon negotiates with Mr.