1984 AO3

When was 1984 published?

1948

When was George Orwell born?

25th June 1903

How did Orwell describe his social position?

Lower upper middle class

What was Orwell’s real name?

Eric Arthur Blair

What did Orwell do after Eton?

joined Indian Imperial Police in Burma

What non fiction books did Orwell write on the lower classes?

Down and Out in Paris and London

The road to Wigan Pier

Who did Orwell marry?

Eileen O’Shaughnessy

What conflict did Orwell fight in?

Spanish Civil War

Why did Orwell become disillusioned with the Spanish Civil War?

Socialist Militia taken over fascists under the banner of communism

What book did Orwell write about his experiences in Spain?

Homage to Catalonia

What did Orwell say about the Spanish Civil War?

In Spain, everyone whose opinions are to the Left of the Communist Party is sooner or later discovered to be Trotskyist or at least a traitor

What did Orwell do in WW2?

Work in Ministry of Information Propaganda Unit (in room 101!)

What was Orwell’s approach to propaganda?

‘Had no problem with the concept of propaganda for a cause which was morally right’ - Dowd

Why did Orwell resign from BBC in 1943?

believed people were conned by Soviet Intervention

Where did Orwell finish 1984v?

Jura

After Eileen’s death, how many women did Orwell propose to?

3

Who did Orwell marry when he was in hospital with TB shortly before he died?

Sonia Browell

Who was Orwell’s adoptive son?

Richard Blair

What happened to Richard Blair?

Adopted at 3 weeks old in 1944

Put into care of a nurse after Eileen’s death

Went to Jura with his father

Which book of Trotsky’s was Orwell inspired by?

The Revolution Betrayed

Direct link from The Revolution Betrayed in 1984

Theory and practice of Oligarchical Collectivism

Matthew Purdy quotes about Orwell

‘it feels as if nearly half the electorate joined the same book group’

‘the long dead British author who no one will let rest in peace’

What isn’t Orwellian

What did Orwell say about Dickens?

a writer guided by morality

‘is one of those writers worth stealing’

Trump administration =

Orwellian dystopia come to life…objective realities have increasing ceased to be relevant, and truth and the law seem to be whatever Trump declare it to be’ - Beers

bad news elements of fake news

impersonation

emotion

polarisation

conspiracy

discredit

trolling

What essay did Orwell write on politicisation of language change?

politics and the english language

When was politics and the english language published?

1946

politics and the english language

the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes

reduced state of consciousness, if not indispensable, is at any rate favourable to political conformity

political language is created to make lies sound truthful and murder sound respectable

he half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth ….

and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes

reduced state of consciousness [regarding language], if not indispensable, …

is at any rate favourable to political conformity

political language is designed to make lies sound truthful…

and murder respectable