Lifestory of George Orwell - Essay Example

George Orwell George Orwell is a famous English novelist and essay who was a strong critic. Born as Eric Arthur Blair in Motihari, India on 25th June 1903, Orwell rose into fame through penning novels, Animal Farm in 1945 and Nineteen Eighty-Four in 1949.Most of his writings focused on the politics of those days. His early life was not very rosy but he overcame the challenges to emerge one of the greatest writers I the world today. He had a wife and together they adopted a child (John and Kathleen 3). Orwell’s family lived in India during his early days. His father was a civil servant, who worked in India, a British empire by then, where he lived with his family until their return in 1904. His mother, Ida Mabel, took Orwell together with his two sisters, Marjorie and Avril, back to England while their father could visit occasionally. Upon return, Orwell joined St. Cyprian’s school in Sussex and later to Wellington and Eton, an exemplary college. He made several friends both at school and at home, a major friendship he developed with Jacintha, from the Buddicom family. Both kids did activities together including reading and writing poems. While in St. Cyprian’s school, Orwell encountered many difficult situations. He did not like the boarding institution despite being on a scholarship. Later on, he wrote an essay titled “Such, Such were the Joys” that expresses the highs and lows at the school (Stansky and Abrahams 4). It was at the same school where he met Cyril Conolly who published most of his essays despite being his major competitor those days. Conolly had won the Harrow History Prize while Orwell was the runners-up. Later on, he joined Eton College where he collaborated with Roger Mynors in publication of a college magazine. He was very dormant in academic work utilising the greatest chunk of his time readings books from the most respected British authors. This resulted into failure in his studies (Stansky & Abrahams 9). After college, it was difficult for Orwell to proceed with studies citing the poor performance and lack of funds unless another scholarship opportunity arose. Consequently, his parents opted that he joins the imperial police where he served for five years. His first assignment was in Burma where he served in several localities rising to the position of an Assistant District Superintendent before he contracted dengue fever later in 1927. As a result, he was given a leave in which he opted to return to England where he changed his mind and decided to resign from the police. He changed gears and got into writing after self-evaluation and being fed up of working for a political structure he disliked. In his write-ups, he cited massively from his previous experiences especially in Burma. He was a great reader and a master of languages as he served the police service in Burma, his close ally in Burma, Roger Beadon praised him as an individual capable of learning languages very fast citing his ability to speak fluent Burmese. Among his first publications included the novel “Burmese Days” that was published in 1934, and several essays such as “Shooting an Elephant” of 1936. Thirsty for a rejuvenation in his new career. Orwell paid a courtesy visit to Gow of Cambridge for mentorship in writing. Later on, he met Ruth Pitter who was very instrumental in his relocation and later gave him the advice that shaped his career. He encouraged him to give his best on familiar topics. Charged with the self-adopted responsibility, Orwell started visiting places in order to acquire additional experiences that would boost his creative and story line development skills. Through the thoughts acquired, he successfully wrote his first essay published in 1933 entitled “The Spike,” almost the same time working on his first book, “Down and Out in Paris and London.” Orwell took an initiative to live among the destitute in the society to understand and focus on their plights. The write-ups on their plights culminated into a master piece of work, the first of its kind, Down and out of in Paris and London, in 1933. In publishing this work, he rebranded from his child name Eric Arthur Blair to his new name George Orwell. He did this disconnect from his shameful Eton performance and strengthen his socialist views as an anti-authoritarian. This work not only did it give him confidence on his writing prowess but also aroused moral conscience among the people (Ingle 90). The Road to Wigan Pier was the next book in line. Published in 1937, the author placed weight on the circumstances surrounding mining and the plights of miners in North England. In addition, he expressed his displeasure on English socialists on grounds that they were hypocrites who did the contrary of what they said and pretended to advocate. Based on his accomplishments, Orwell decided to explore other frontiers. He went to Spain in 1928 to join hands with the loyalists in their fight during the Spanish Civil War. He joined individuals who disregarded classes and was proud to see individuals given adequate freedom to express their beliefs. Here he successfully wrote articles and published in a political and literary journal called “Monde.” In 1929, His health deteriorated at some point forcing him to be admitted in hospital where he was served unsatisfactorily leading to his later essay entitled, “How the Poor Die.” Unfortunately, his lodging house was broken into and his possessions stolen. The Spanish experience facilitated the author to pen another Book, “Homage to Catalonia” in 1938 (Michael 2). In this book, he demonstrates the possibility of a socialism society despite the fact that total elimination of class differences, violence, and power struggles was a dream not possible to accomplish. George Orwell joined The Hawthorns High school in Hayes as a teacher in 1932. The boys’ school was not huge since it had only twenty students. He engaged in parish activities on top of his teaching duty. He did not stay for long in the institution and decided to go back to their home in Southwold. He proposed to Brenda Salkeld, a gym teacher and a daughter to a clergy for her hand in marriage but Brenda turned down. He also fell in love with Eleanor Jacques but his relationship could not materialise since Jacque had another boyfriend. At the same time, he made enormous contributions to the Adelphi magazine with essays such as the Clink storming the magazine. In 1933, Orwell joined Frays College in Uxbridge as teacher. The institution had a larger population compared to his former school. Here he engaged in making trips in the neighbourhood and its surrounding suburbs using his newly acquired motorcycle. Consequently, he fell ill and was diagnosed with pneumonia. This incapacitated his ability to continue teaching leading to a decision to go back to his parents’ home in Southwold. His parents were supportive. They took care of him until he recovered. Despite the setback brought about the illness he suffered a double tragedy when Gollancz objected to the publishing his novel “Burmese Days” citing its legality. However, luck struck when Harper opted to publish the book in the United States. His passion for writing never died, he started writing another novel entitled “A Clergyman’s Daughter” that focused on his days as a teacher as well as the days he spent with his friends and family at Southwold. He got a job courtesy of his aunt, Nellie Limouzin, in London as a bookshop run by Nellie’s friends. The job was so flexible since he worked part time in the afternoons. He used the mornings in writing while the evenings were for friends and engaging in other social activities. Eileen O’Shaughnessy came into his life as his first wife. They met in a party organised by his landlady on 11th of March 1935. She played a key role in the facilitation of the publishing of “The Road to Wigan Pier” since her husband had gone to Spain where she would later join him. Orwell had gone to fight in the Spanish civil war in 1936 determined to fight Fascism. He spent time at Lenin barracks in Barcelona and later to Aragon Front and Alcubierre among other regions. While in Spain he suffered from a poisoned hand, a time his employees took advantage and stole from him (John and Kathleen 4). Later on in 1939, Orwell joined British Broadcasting Corporation as a producer at the time when England was engaged in a war with the Germans where he was credited for his exemplary performance (Ingle 90). He resigned from the broadcaster in 1943 and joined Tribune as a literary editor. While working for tribune he started writing the book that attracted world attention, “The Animal Farm.” The book exposes the communist regime in Russia under Stalin (Michael 6). In 1949, he relocated to Jura Islands in Scotland where he wrote his book “Nineteen Eighty-Four.” This was the time when the wounds of World War II were still fresh he was able to raise many points concerning fascism. Orwell died on 21st January 1950 aged 46 years old of lung disease. Orwell was an icon who has inspired many in the literary world and being a loyalist he is remembered of his courageous and selfless acts. He depicted great sacrifice despite encountering surmountable challenges throughout his life. His major works have a worldwide audience and will continue to inspire generations. Works Cited Ingle, Stephen. George Orwell: A Political Life. Manchester: Manchester University Press. 1993. P.90 John, Rowley, and Kathleen. Author Autobiographies, Secondary Solutions. 2011.P. 3-4 Michael, Sheldon. Orwell: The Authorised Biography. William Heinemann, 19991. Orwell, George. Why I write, The Complete Works of George Orwell. Web. 23/10/2013. http://www.george-orwell.org/why_I_write/O.html Stansky, Peter. & Abrahams, William. From Bengal to St. Cyprian’s. The unknown orwell:Orwell, the transformation. California: Stanford university press. 1994. P. 5-12 Read More