Max Harmon
3 May 2018
English 112
George Orwell Essay
Life Accomplishments of George Orwell
George Orwell was a strongly opinionated socialist writer with intense passions on the different governmental movements during his lifetime. Since his rigorous and traumatizing experiences as a young child with corrupt governments, he had been interested in the differences of power.
George Orwell was a famous writer born in 1903 in Motihari, India. Orwell was a blossoming writer with strong opinions on governments. A little over a year after his birth, Orwell and his mother moved to England while his father stayed in India where he would be a part of the opium trade for the british until 1912 when he would retire. Orwell was intelligent even at a young age. In fact he wrote his first poem at the very young age of four years old. Orwell, along with many other young boys, was sent to a boarding school in England. During his time there, he would observe the other, more rich, boys and notice how much better they were treated in comparison to the less wealthy boys at the school which he would fall into the category of. He was not popular at the boarding school, so he would spend his time reading and writing which would later lead to him writing about how he was “undervalued” during that time.
Orwell would later attend Eaton college after receiving a scholarship from the school. But even with the scholarship, his family still could not afford for him to attend the school. So, instead of attending the college, Orwell decided to join the imperial police force of India. He would then create his work “Shooting an Elephant” during his time in the force. After five years in the force and having very little success with his writing, he decided to return to england to become a more well known writer.
Orwell’s story of “Shooting an Elephant” was written in 1936. The story starts by showing the reader Orwell as an officer for the police force and giving the plot. His job was hated by many because of him being a European police officer in Burma. Orwell speaks about how he hates his job because he was able to see how an empire truly works. He states his opinion on imperialism as being an Evil government based off his observations of the empire and its cruelty towards it’s prisoners. One day, Orwell was called to deal with a rampaging Elephant who was stampeding throughout the town and had even killed a young boy. When he encountered the elephant with his gun in his and the thousands of burman people watching him, he had a decision to make. Don’t kill the elephant, as he was hoping to do, and let down the burmans watching him, or kill the elephant to satisfy what he thought would please the crowd behind him. He decided to shoot the elephant, but the first shot did not kill it. It took five shots for the elephant to lay dead. Orwell finishes his essay with a strong quote saying, “the oppressor wears a mask and his face grows to fit it.” This is to show that he did not fall to his own beliefs on the situation, but that of the ones observing him which caused him to kill the innocent elephant.
Orwell also wrote a novel called “Animal Farm”. This story is about farm animals who plot to take over their farmer and his farm. They create their own, what would eventually be corrupt, government. The pigs are the leaders of this new found government and all of the animals abide by seven commandments that would eventually end up as one singular commandment that was “ All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others.” This was Orwell’s interpretation of what was happening in the Russian government.
Orwell continued to write about dystonian societies in his work. He would go on to write the novel “1984” which would interpret his new interest in these so called dystonian governments. The government, also known as Oceania, was a police state with an exclusive party known as Big Brother. Big Brother uses technology to monitor people through their screens in order to see everything they do. This exemplifies the totalitarian government. Orwell said that the book was about how he feared democratic socialism being overtaken by totalitarian governments.
Everything had changed for Orwell once he had made the work of “Shooting an Elephant.” Orwell’s strong Socialist beliefs were shown in every piece of work he had produced. His views on governments was shown with passion and with purpose which is why is work is still beloved by readers even today.
Work Cited
“George Orwell.” Biography.com, A&E Networks Television, 15 Feb. 2018, www.biography.com/people/george-orwell-9429833. Accessed 30 Apr 2018.
Woodcock, George. “George Orwell.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Jan. 2018, www.britannica.com/biography/George-Orwell. Accessed 30 Apr 2018.