Modernism
George Orwell
1903 – 1950
British writer and journalist (1903–1950)
- United Kingdom · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland · France
- British
About
Eric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Portrait by Cassowary Colorizations (CC BY 2.0) via Wikimedia Commons.
Life on the Timeline
Major Works
Exam Dossier
Most-asked topics
- Animal Farm as political allegory (Russian Revolution)
- Nineteen Eighty-Four: totalitarianism, surveillance, and Newspeak
- Orwell's concept of doublethink and thoughtcrime
- "Politics and the English Language" and Orwell's prose style
- Orwell's socialism and critique of imperialism (Burmese Days)
- Documentary/autobiographical writing: Down and Out in Paris and London, The Road to Wigan Pier
- Homage to Catalonia and the Spanish Civil War
- Dystopian fiction and Orwell's place in the genre
Previous-year themes
- Allegorical correspondence between Animal Farm characters and Russian Revolution figures
- Key concepts from Nineteen Eighty-Four: Big Brother, Newspeak, doublethink, Room 101
- Orwell's essay 'Politics and the English Language' and rules for clear prose
- Orwell as a documentary/reportage writer versus novelist
- Chronological ordering of Orwell's major works
- Orwell's political stance: democratic socialism and anti-totalitarianism
- Famous opening and closing lines from Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four
Common confusions
- Confusing Animal Farm (1945, allegorical fable about the Russian Revolution) with Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949, dystopian surveillance state) as if they depict the same regime type.
- Mixing up 'doublethink' (holding two contradictory beliefs simultaneously) with 'Newspeak' (the reduced official language of Oceania) in Nineteen Eighty-Four.
- Assuming Orwell was a Marxist-Leninist rather than a democratic socialist critical of Stalinist totalitarianism.
- Confusing Homage to Catalonia (Spanish Civil War memoir) with The Road to Wigan Pier (account of poverty and working-class life in northern England).
- Misattributing the phrase 'Big Brother is watching you' to Animal Farm instead of Nineteen Eighty-Four.
- Forgetting that 'Orwell' is a pen name; his real name was Eric Arthur Blair.
Memory tricks
Animal Farm = 'A for Allegory' — published 1945, allegorising the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalinism.
'BIG Brother, Big Slogans' — remember the three Party slogans (War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength) as the pillars of doublethink.
Pen name mnemonic: 'Orwell' from the River Orwell in England; 'George' a common English name — chosen for a plain, English persona, unlike his real name Eric Blair.
Chronology mnemonic: 'Down, Burma, Clergy, Aspidistra, Wigan, Catalonia, Air, Animal, 1984' follows Orwell's actual publication order 1933-1949.
