Revisiting a Man of the World: The Writings of George Orwell
By Jonathan Berohn
First I’ll start with a confession: I think it’s always a good time to revisit George Orwell’s writings. He is one of my favorite authors, and he was one of the unique voices of the twentieth century. On the other hand, it would be hard to argue that Orwell’s works do not shine interesting light on the critical events of our times as well as his. Like any truly great writer, Orwell’s real insights don’t lose any strength to the passage of time. If anything, like history, they tend to repeat themselves.
1984
Most people that are familiar with Orwell at all have heard of 1984. In this classic dystopian novel, Orwell explores a totalitarian state that isn’t content with just ruling its subjects; it also has to control their thoughts. Read just as a story, 1984 is frightening. The idea that a government, by controlling language can reign in—and even eliminate—thoughts it doesn’t like by simply eliminating the words and concepts needed to think about them isn’t very uplifting in the best of times. Now add in a real world where one U.S. President claims that sex isn’t sex and another insists that WMD are still somewhere to be found Iraq, but that they don’t really matter anymore anyway, and you start to see the power of Orwell’s vision.
Non-Fiction
Orwell also examined his world through essays and non-fiction writing. In fact, one of his better essays, “Politics and the English Language,” found in A Collection of Essays, puts a practical spin on the tortured misuses of English concocted by politicians (and other writers). Homage To Catalonia, a book length work, details Orwell’s experiences in the Spanish Civil War and recounts the immolation of the Spanish republic in the face of Franco’s fascists—certainly another cautionary tale for those trying to build a nation out of the rubble of Iraq.
Animal Farm
Finally, no overview of Orwell would be complete without mentioning Animal Farm. In this short novel, Orwell tells the tale of a revolt by farm animals against their human masters. The animals’ victory, though decisive, is quite hollow and short lived, as the dominant animals fall into the same corruption as their previous masters and carry it out even more brutally. Originally crafted as a response to communism, Animal farm remains a powerful reminder of the dangers of any kind of totalitarianism.
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