The Road to Wigan Pier by George Orwell - Coursework Example

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Introduction

The Road to Wigan Pier is an ethnographic study the condition of working class in England, a rural area where residents depend on coal, fuel coal mining. Birmingham, Liverpool, North England were remarkable as the industrial base of the country. George Orwell’s book The Road to Wigan Pier was an instrumental book about the sociological challenges facing the 20th century Britain. The author investigated the socio-economic issues affecting the ordinary citizens and recommended a socialism approach (Orwell 2001, p. 3). Accordingly, this report reviews Orwell’s work with a focus on the methodology that the author used to collect sociological data, his contribution towards research, and the legacy that the book leaves behind. The report tackles the topic with regard to such issues as unemployment, squalor, hunger, poor working conditions, and class. The purpose of the report is to understand the key issues illustrated in the book, included the recommended approach towards handling the issues. The report offers a broader understanding of the book through interpretivist and positivist approaches.

The Context of the Book

The book was published in 1937 for the first time although it underwent subsequent publishing. The book is divided into two parts, part one talking about working condition and living condition in North England, whereas part two attacks the British socialism. According to George Orwell, British socialism has some level of fear because they the working class is small minded and hypocritical. George Orwell targeted the working-class group to sensitize them about the social inequalities. At the time the book was written, Britain was undergoing significant social, economic, and political transformations, having been to WWI and WWII. The book tackles the sociological aspect of 20th century Britain through an ethnographic research.

The Author

George Orwell, originally known as Eric Arthur Blair, was an English literary icon who lived between1903 and 1950. The English novelist was renowned for other aspects of his work, including essay writing, critique works, and journalism (Orwell 2001, p. 1). Although England has many creative writers during the fast half of the 20th century, George Orwell stood out because of his writing prowess that captivated many of his readers. In essence, the Orwell tackled the fundamental issues that affected the society, unlike most writers of his time who focused on fiction and classical writing. Orwell’s works stood out because of his articulate prose, criticism to despotism, and understanding of the injustices that bedevilled the society.

Orwell wrote many pieces of work during his lifetime, especially during the first half of the 20th century when he diversified his writing career. Besides writing novels, Orwell focused on polemical journalism, poetry, and literary criticism. Some of his best works during the early 20th century include Homage to Catalonia (1938), where he reflected on his experience in North England as a working-class citizen. When it came to dystopian fiction, Orwell wrote a masterpiece in 1949 titled Nineteen Eighty-Four. The Animal Farm (1945) was one of his best novels in the allegorical novella category. The Spanish Civil War depicted the life experiences of Orwell, given that the author was retrospective in most of his writings. Although Orwell did many novels, he was also an accomplished essayist. The essayists focused on political affairs, language, literature, and culture in his essays, which made a relevant author during his time. In essence, Orwell’s (2001, p. 2) literary accomplishments earned him popularity in Britain and abroad.

George Orwell’s literary accomplishments earned him many awards, which propelled him to popularity in the literary world and social spheres. The author’s name was inscribed on the top fifty best writers from the mid-20th century. Although George Orwell lived for less than half century, he accomplished many things in his personal and career lives. The author’s legacy as a literary critic earned him recognition, considering that his views on critical issues influenced the society significantly. Regarding Orwell’s personal life, his childhood prepared him for his authorship (Orwell 2001, p. 6). The novelist adopted a critical outlook on life, especially the social, religious, and political matters. The novelists always sought to challenge the status quo.

The Background and Perspective

Regarding the background and perspective of the book, it is worth noting that the book was commissioned. Victor Gollancz commissioned George Orwell to write the book, considering that all the events that take place in the book happen in Wigan. Victor Gollancz was a reputable person to commission the writing of the book, considering that he practiced social farming besides being actively engaged in book publishing (Orwell 2001, p. 4). The publisher wrote a book club to the individual and the left- wing to read. The author and the publisher of the book did tremendous work in writing and publishing the book to expose the discrepancies that existed in the mid-20th century Britain. The commissioning of the book lent it credibility because the commissioner was a peer with vast knowledge in publishing.

The implication of the commissioning of the book was substantial, considering that the book gained popularity both in Europe and across the globe. Orwell highlights social discrepancies in his book that resonates with the modern and 20th-century societies in many ways. The working class aims at raising the awareness of the public, in addition to promoting justice. Accordingly, the commissioning of the book raised awareness about the challenges facing the society, including the most effective approaches in surmounting the challenges to bring about equality in the society.

The author’s perspective depicts his worldview on many aspects of the society, including his political, religious, social, economic, and cultural views. The work has a purpose behind it, considering that the book was published in the mid-20th century Britain when Britain was reforming its political and socio-economic policies. Orwell narrates his life experiences in the book with the objective of enlightening his readers about the social construction of the early to mid20th century. In essence, the book The Road to Wigan Pier tells the tales of workers of the 20th century Lancashire and Yorkshire, particularly their socio-economic constructs. The issues that Orwell tackles in the book are relevant to the modern society in the same measure that they were relevant to the 20th-century British society (Orwell 2001, p. 10). In reality, many aspects of the British socio-economic pillar have changed, raising inequality levels to unprecedented states. The vivid illustration of slum housing, hunger, social injustice, filth, mining conditions, and unemployment enhance the relevance, reliability, and validity of the book.

The author aims his work at the public and the authorities to be sensible in how they handle societal issues. The book cuts across the socio-economic, cultural, and political spectrum with preciseness to allow readers to notice the problem with an unequal society. Conversely, the book uses Wigan Pier as a classic example to demonstrate how socio-economic inequality can affect the society and the political stability of a country. It is important to direct the issued to the public so that the public is aware of the discrepancies that surround them, especially when it comes to their environment, work conditions, social amenities, and basic needs. The public ought to recognize the role of the government in creating an enabling environment for socio-economic sustainability. Besides, the book enlightens the society to understand human rights, particularly how people can advocate for such rights.

Methodology and Methods

Orwell employs assorted techniques to gather and represent his data. The author writes the book with full cognizance of the variation in the interpretive and inferential skills of the readers. In essence, the author uses two key methods to gather and present his data, namely positivism and Interpretivism. The book employs the two approaches as the approaches are effective in social science research. Although novelists can use the approaches differently, Orwell applies the concepts to the British situation to unearth the social ill that bedevilled the 20th-century British society (Clarke, C 2009, p. 28). The author aims at offering the most effective description of the social issues so that readers from diverse backgrounds can understand, interpret, and act upon the themes. Positivism and interpretivism take different perspectives concerning the critical issues. However, the author reconciles the two approaches to highlight the political, social, cultural, and economic impacts of the book.

Positivist Approach

Positivism is evident in the book where Orwell employs empirical research, specifically the quantitative methods, to gather data and evidence. However, the positivist approach is not as pronounced as the humanistic approach in the book. Through positivism, Orwell interviewed some of the workers and residents of Lancashire and Yorkshire (Clarke, C 2009, p. 28). The data was important because it enhanced the reliability of the author’s arguments and inferences. Additionally, positivism ensured representativeness because some of the author’s data and recommendations could serve as scientific evidence for the period in which the author collected the data. The positivist approach that Orwell adopted made him conclude that the social stressors such as hunger, unemployment, work conditions, slum settlement, environmental cleanliness, and social injustice.

The positivist approach has both its pros and cons, just like any other methodology. However, the benefits of the data collection method outweigh its demerits. The use of official statistics about the housing conditions, unemployment rates, and social injustices enhance the reliability of the book (Clarke, C 2009, p. 29). Readers can resonate with the plight of the mid-20th century British citizens through the synthesis of the official data collected at the time. The data that the author collected from Wigan is representative of the entire British population, and it may apply to the situation in most parts of the world. The author adopted the positivist approach to illustrate the impact of the social circumstances on individuals. Although the positivist approach has many benefits, it has its downsides.

The demerits of the positivist approach are far-reaching, particularly when the data collected is inaccurate. The positivist approach draws on scientific inferences, which makes it a more complicated process than the humanistic approach (Clarke, C 2009, p. 28). Unlike the scientific proof of the laws regulating the physical world, it is not possible to ascertain the laws governing the social world with absolute certainty. The comparative technique employed in the positivist approach may create the wrong impression because of the variation of socio-economic circumstances across nations.

When it comes to the ethical perspective of the positivist approach, the empirical technique comes with significant ethical implication. For instance, Toynbee (2003, p. 33) tackles the low social class of British workers in the modern society, and the process requires accurate data collection. The comparative technique ought to protect the privacy of the individuals mentioned in the research, including all the variables that appertain to the society. Social ethics is important when conducting positivist data collection and presentation. Inaccurate manipulation of data or significant omissions in the critical societal aspects could send wrong ethical cues to the world, and jeopardize the validity of the book.

Interpretivism

The interpretivist approach is evident in the book, especially where the author employs qualitative methods. Unlike the positivist approach that takes the quantitative approach, interpretivism employs humanistic strategies. The author used participant observation and unstructured interviews to establish the plight of the mineworkers and the living conditions of the people. Unlike the positivist approach, the interpretivist approach disabuses the notion that people react to social influences (Clarke, C 2009, p. 31). The approach is more subjective than the positivist approach, as the author elucidated in various sections of his book. Through interpretivism, Orwell produces qualitative data with the interpretivist approach. The approach ignores the scientific methodology in establishing the reasons behind the socio-economic discrepancies as illustrated in the book. Although interpretivism is subjective, it has its pros and cons, depending on the nature of the socio-economic discrepancies as highlighted in the book.

The interpretivist methodology has many advantages, considering that the author gathered and represented data subjectively without any empirical formula. The use of non-scientific techniques helps the author to view and understand the social issues bedevilling the residents of Wigan. The author can use subjective approach to understand the issues in an in-depth manner (Clarke, C 2009, p. 34). The qualitative technique of data collection used in the interpretivist approach helped the author of the book to interact closely with the victims of social injustice, unemployment, slum dwellers, and filthy environment. Compared to the positivist approach, the interpretivist approach offers a more comprehensive description of the social conditions of the respondents in the book. Although interpretivism scores highly relative to positivism, it has certain drawbacks.

Interpretivism has disadvantages that reduce its reliability in the context of the book. For instance, the subjective nature of the methodology renders the collected data inaccurate or biased, to the extent of the data collector’s preferences and biases. Orwell is a staunch critic of the social norm, and most of his works, including the book, demonstrate his bewilderment with the social injustices (Clarke, C 2009, p. 28). Although some thinkers could have different perspectives, social bias invalidates the data collected in social research. The drawbacks of interpretivism in the book raise critical ethical questions.

With regard to the ethical aspect of interpretivism, the lack of objectivity in the research of the social group may lead to the exaggeration of certain social phenomena. The researcher faces an ethical dilemma whether to integrate empirical formula to obtain accurate and unbiased results or be empathetic to conclude the narrations of the participants (Goldkuhl 2012, p. 135). However, the ethical perspective ought not to override the essence of the story because the author told the story from a realistic perspective rather than an ethical perspective.

The Book itself

In the book, Orwell (2001, p. 8) explores many themes that associated with social ills occurring in Britain between the early and mid-20th century Britain. Although the author narrates the stories of other people in his book, he reflects on his personal experience in Britain. The author narrates how he experienced life in the workplaces and residential areas, both of which he terms as ‘pathetic.’ Although the book reflects the socio-political circumstances of Lancashire and Yorkshire in the early 1900s, the social and economic ills are still relevant in the modern political, social, and economic environments. Accordingly, the book explores such themes as social injustice, informal settlements, hunger, mining conditions, rising unemployment, and squalor.

Part one of the book illustrates some socio-economic themes that are relevant in the modern world. The working class lives a horrible life, as Orwell explains in the book. The British industrial heartlands are composed of different social class because of socio-economic inequality. The wealthy can afford the social amenities in addition to having adequate accommodation in their residential areas. However, the low-class individuals cannot fit in the same socio-economic environment as the rich. The people with low social class suffer many social inadequacies, ranging from hunger to informal settlement (Toynbee, P 2003, p. 84). With regard to the workplace conditions, Orwell states that the coal miners work under unsafe and unhealthy conditions, which borders on exploration.

The socio-economic aspects of the miners reflect on their living standards, as Orwell rightly states. However, Toynbee offers a more insightful perspective on the lives of British workers, especially the coal miners who toil from dawn to dusk for meagre wages. According to the author, the socio-economic plight of the low-class citizens is a direct reflection of the greed and irresponsibility of the political leaders Orwell (2001, p. 43). The author urges all the political leaders to read, digest, and act upon the recommendations of his book. In essence, the poor working conditions and low living standards depict the cruelty that existed in the 20th century British society. The workers accept the low pay due to the rising unemployment in the country and the region. The pathetic housing situation forces the workers to live in informal settlements.

Orwell (2001, p. 52) talks about the Coal, Miners and the British society, and the way the coal companies and the government Trade Union treated the miners to look in a passive politically. The mining companies exploited the workers and violated the people’s rights. For example, if a miner were injured at work, the mining company would try to cut their compensation down. Knowing that no one would say anything because of their low-class "status" which means they could not demand their rights to be met. Orwell (2001) describes the socio-economic plight of the British in the following manner:

Here was a man who had been half blinded in one of the most useful of all jobs and was drawing a pension to which he had a perfect right, if anybody has a right to anything. Yet, he could not, so to speak, demand this pension—he could not, for instance, draw it when and how he wanted it. He had to go to the colliery once a week at a time named by the company, and when he got there, he was kept waiting about for hours in the cold wind. For all I know he was also expected to touch his cap and show gratitude to whoever paid him; at any rate, he had to waste an afternoon and spend sixpence in bus fares (p. 44).

Part Two of the book offers a complex yet controversial perspective of the social and economic life in 20th century Britain. Orwell injects weighs in on the issues bedevilling the society and establishes socialism as the cure for the socio-economic disparities. The author argues that socialism can help Britain improve the conditions of life in many ways. Orwell deduces that the appalling conditions as described in the book are unacceptable and require intervention by all the relevant stakeholders. The author fronts socialism as the most effective strategy in streamlining the social constraints as envisaged in the book. However, the author wonders why the society has refused to embrace socialism in a wholesome manner.

The legacy of the Book

The book The Road to Wigan Pier left a significant legacy because its contents affect the manner in which the society operations across the world. The book contributes towards the understanding of the social conditions that create inequality and the parties responsible for such socio-economic ills. The British government and other jurisdictions where socio-economic inequalities thrive can understand the situation from Orwell’s (2001, p. 54) perspective and take decisive action. Besides, the research has an emotional, intellectual, and moral impact on the reader to the extent that the reader is compelled to think rationally when handling societal aspects. Although the research in the book does not have an aesthetic value, the ethnographic perspective leaves an impressive legacy.

Conclusion

The report offers an in-depth understanding of George Orwell’s book The Road to Wigan Pier, especially through a comprehensive ethnographic research. The sociological context of the book and the methodology enhances reliability, credibility, and validity of the book. Interpretivism and positivism are the main methodological approaches adopted by the author. Although Orwell recommends socialism as the remedy for the socio-economic ills, he wonders why the British government is reluctant to adopt the idea. The book explores how social class in the mid-20th century British economy resulted in hunger, unemployment, informal settlements, squalor, and poor work conditions.