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Narrative and Literary Critiques
Journalistic Writing - George Orwell wrote in many different ways. The main ways people interpret his writing style is between him being a literary writer or a journalism writer. Many people who argue that his writing style is not literary use the argument that he writes in a way that is more self pity than actual literature. “Geoffrey Wheatcroft repeats a familiar sentiment when he writes that Orwell’s books are no more than “projections of his own self-pity,” and that “[his] posthumous reputation is close to being literary fraud” (Saunders). Orwell still is renowned to be one of the most influential writers in the 20th century even with many critics believing that he is more of a journalist and documentary writer. Narrative Style - George Orwell’s narrative style is one that has a lot of underlying meanings. While on the surface most of his stories are shown to just show experiences and seem to entertain the reader. But, when you look closely at the narrative you can see that it’s main purpose is to share and inform the reader of experiences that people are or might start to go through with poverty and even corruption. With how deep those themes of the narrative go many people naturally have complaints about it but most eventually begin to realise and understand how Orwell went through those experiences himself. “Hunter believes Orwell’s narrative is patronizing and unsympathetic because of his upper-class background, though it should be said that Hunter goes on to delineate how Orwell “moves on” from this position. ” (Saunders).
Politics and Power
Power Warning - A key aspect of most of George Orwell’s books and essays have an underlying critic of the way that power can lead to oppression of people. “Any serious criticism of the Soviet régime, any disclosure of facts which the Soviet government would prefer to keep hidden, is next door to unprintable. And this nation-wide conspiracy to flatter our ally takes place, curiously enough, against a background of genuine intellectual tolerance. For though you are not allowed to criticise the Soviet government, at least you are reasonably free to criticise our own.” (Orwell Foundation) This helps show the abuse of power using the example of the Soviet Union that he writes about in his novels. Media Critique - The way that Orwell presents the media critique is by showing in his novels how the media just undermines everything that happens. He writes the media into a way where they don’t give attention to things the government does and they censor things for that reason. It creates a way of power in his novels that is directed towards how it is in today’s world shaping the narrative of how people and media is censored to be controlled by what is released and not to the public.. “Unpopular ideas can be silenced, and inconvenient facts kept dark, without the need for any official ban.” (Orwell Foundation)
Social and Psychological effects
Privacy Invasion - In most of George Orwell’s pieces he has an emphasis on how much privacy there is within the government and then watching the public. In his story 1984 he has the term “Big Brother is watching you” to show that in his prediction of how 1984 would be like is that the government is always gonna be watching your moves. He also talks about how the police have more insight and control over people and monitorization. “The omnipresent telescreens symbolize the Party’s ability to monitor every aspect of a citizen’s life… creating an environment where privacy is nonexistent.” (Patil) Fearmongering - The way Orwell expresses fearmongering in his pieces of work is how he highlights the government being able to control everything about the government. It helps to show the reason for all the constant surveillance he writes about and even Thought Police in his novel 1984. The reason he talks about this is to give perspective to how it can manipulate people into doing things they don't want to do or limiting them to what they say using the fear that they will be punished. “The psychological impacts of these control mechanisms on the populace are examined, illustrating the profound effects of constant surveillance and propaganda on human behavior and thought.” (Patil)
Social Class Analysis
Class Oppression - George Orwell would repeatedly talk about the class oppression he has experienced and write about the exploitation of most working class in modern and futuristic society. He did this to help show evidence of how power imbalance can affect society and corrupt society and individuals through class rank. In most of his stories he shows the harsh realities of the working class by showing how they have overcrowded housing and dangerous living conditions. While also highlighting the disadvantage they have from the elites with hardships and inequality through the structures. And, showing the power of the class elites. “Orwell then considers the working class in general, devoting chapters to specific economic and social aspects. The description of the appalling state of housing, with its dirt, decay, and overcrowding, is complemented by sections on unemployment, poverty, and working-class attitudes in the north of England.” (Enotes)
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