Themes

George Orwell is well known for his anti-totalitarian views. This was the main theme illustrated in his 1945 novel Animal Farm depicting a farm where animals drive out oppressive farmers then allowing a pig named Napoleon to take total control. This novel earned Orwell a great deal of popularity. George Orwell also published nemerous essays in newspapers expressing his opposition to totalitarianism. The essay that achieved the most recognition was titled "Politics and the English Language" written in 1946. Some have even regarded this to be the best political article of all time. The article condemmed the distortion of words as a means to hide what was actually going on in the political arena (Stade).
George Orwell is regarded as one who can "create an art out of political journalism" (Court). One interesting fact is that although Orwell was very critical of communism, he still favored socialism. His work that he titled The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius in 1941 was part of his effort to persuade the British to adopt socialism (Stade). The Road to Wigan Pier was one major work that illustrated George Orwell's favoer for socialism. This story is considered a classic portrait of the working class as it gives a detailed acocunt of poverty and unemployment that coal miners and industrial workers were suffering in Wigan, Liverpool, and Sheffield. While the story supports socialism, it also includes some of Orwell's skeptical views about its potential (Court).


Works Cited

Court, Ayesha. "George Orwell." Bookmarks July/Aug. 2004: 14-19.
SIRS
Renaissance. Tarrant County College Lib., Fort Worth, TX. Web. 19 March 2010.


Stade, George, and Karen Karbiener, eds. "Orwell, George." Encyclopedia of British Writers, 20th Century, vol. 2. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2003. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. Tarrant County College Lib., Fort Worth, TX. Web. 17 March 2010. http://www.fofweb.com