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Ashley Marie's Blog

Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel

7/6/2021

George Orwell (1903-1095) was a English journalist, novelist, author, and self-proclaimed democratic socialist whose work focused on politically and social commentary and continues to be influential and relevant today, with a notable themes of:

  • anti-facism which is a form of far-right, authoritarian ultranationalism characterized by dictatorial power, forcible suppression of opposition, and strong regimentation of society and of the economy

  • anti-communism, a political and economic theory advocating class war and leading to a society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs.

  • anti-totalitarianism, a system of government that is centralized and dictatorial and requires complete subservience to the state.


Two of Orwell's most famous works are Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty Four: A Novel (1949), often referred to as 1984. Animal Farm is a fable offering political satire in its examination of real-life characters and conditions leading up to and during Stalin's leadership of the Soviet Union. Both publications were featured in Modern Library's 100 Best 20th century novels; Time magazine's All-Time 100 best English-language novels published since 1923; and the BBC's year long public survey that resulted in 2003's top-100 list of novels known as The Big Read.

George Orwell published a total of 9 novels while he was alive, but his articles and other works have been compiled into many published collections since his death in 1950. Photograph: Public Domain.

The story behind this literary masterpiece is harrowing in itself. He stayed at the Scottish home of his editor, battling his creative demons and worsening health as he penned what would be his final contribution to the world. He coined several terms that we use today: "Big Brother," "Thought police," "Newspeak," and "2+2=5.' The term Orwellian is an adjective used in reference to any thing that is repressive, dictatorial, restrictive.