George Orwell

George Orwell

1903-1950
1. Born Eric Arthur Blair, in Bengal, India
  1. Son of an opium agent in Bengal government
    1. "Lower-upper middle-class"
  2. Taken to England in 1906-7 (?) by his mother
    1. Attended an Anglican school in Henly-on-Thames
      1. Scholarship to St Cyprian's prep school
        Scholarship to Eton College
        Intellectual elite
        Developed passion for lit.
    2. Goes to Burma aged 19 to be a policeman
      1. Practical consequences of imperialism
      2. Returns to London aged 24 to make living as a writer
        London still focal point of society
        1928: Moved to Paris for a year and a half to write (unsuccessfully)
2. Married in 1936
  1. Went to fight in Spain later that year for the republic
    1. Escaped after being wounded a year later
    2. Made repeated attempts to enter army despite tuberculosis
Social impact
1. Early 20th C. marked boost in philanthropy
  1. Orwell's writing situated in this
    1. Lived in Paris in poverty willingly
      1. Social investigation
Literature
1. Orwell didn't have a wide audience
  1. 'Animal Farm' brought him instant fame
2. Themes
  1. Poverty & the lower-classes
  2. War & the military

Resource summary

	Created by Kathryn Kilby almost 8 years ago