There are numerous sources available on the web about George Orwell, author of Animal Farm (1945) and 1984 (1949). The Orwell Prize is an extraordinary site that has extensive biographical information about him and reproductions of his essays and fiction. A good biography of Orwell can be found at Oxford Directory of National Biography. In addition, a six-part series about him has been posted on YouTube. It runs about a half-hour. Here are the links for the Orwell program: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, and Part VI (Part VI may still be broken.) There is also a multi-part series called The Real George Orwell. Elsewhere you can read Orwell's explanation of why he writes. His reasons, to paraphrase him, briefly: (I) Sheer egotism, (II) Aesthetic enthusiasm, (III) Historical impulse, (IV) Political purpose. Click on this for 15 Things You (Probably) Didn't Know About George Orwell. Christopher Hitchens and George Packer talk about Orwell on C-SPAN (closed captioned).
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"Eric Blair (George Orwell) stands third from left in this photo from his days at the Burma Provincial Police Training School, dated 1923." from Wai Moe's article "Orwell's Old School Sold to Burmese Tycoon" in The Irrawaddy: Covering Burma and Southeast Asia, October 26, 2010. (Source: The Irrawaddy). Yangoon, largest city in Myanmar (Burma), where Orwell served as a police officer, is profiled here. You'll also find several videos about Yangoon at this page.  Question: Is the name of the country where Orwell served known as Burma or Myanmar? Here's one explanation. 
Orwell was in Burma from 1922-27. Burmese Days was Orwell's first novel, published in the U.S. in 1934. Here's an article about the house in Katha, Myanmar (formerly Burma) where he wrote the novel. You can find his essay "How a Nation Is Exploited – The British Empire in Burma" that he wrote as E.A. Blair (aka George Orwell) after returning to Great Britain in 1927.
 NPR broadcast a program about Exploring Burma through Orwell. Emma Larkin, author of Finding George Orwell in Burma, published in 2005, is interviewed. Larkin, the name is a pseudonym, learned how powerful Orwell's writing was for many Burmese. For one elderly Burmese man, upon hearing the name of the author of 1984, "his eyes suddenly lit up. He looked at me with a brilliant flash of recognition, slapped his forehead gleefully, and said, 'You mean the prophet!'" The prologue of her book, from which this passage appears, can also be found on this NPR page.
You can learn more about the recent history of Myanmar (formerly Burma) from The New York Times. and the BBC News.
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During October 2013 violence escalated between Buddhists and Muslims, with six Muslims killed on one attack upon them. From The New York Times, Oct. 15, 2013: "A series of unexplained blasts across Myanmar over the past several days has left two people dead and raised anxiety in the country’s main city, Yangon, where an explosion on Monday at a luxury hotel injured an American tourist."
Asian Elephants (as in Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant")
Some things about them: They are 6.5-11.5 feet tall; weigh around 11,000 pounds; and are 21 feet long, the World Wildlife Fund reports.
Watch from about 13:00 minutes to 19:00 minutes to see working
timber elephants in Myanamar today,
If the video does not play go to this page.
Obama’s Historic Visit
In mid-November 2012, during a trip to Southeast Asia, President Obama made a historic visit to Myanmar to “extend the hand of friendship” as the country began to throw off military rule and emerge from decades of isolation.
Obama is the first sitting American president to visit Myanmar, with the hope of solidifying the stunning changes that have transformed this country and encouraging additional progress toward a more democratic system. With the promise of more financial assistance, Mr. Obama vowed to “support you every step of the way.”
Asian Elephants (as in Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant")
Some things about them: They are 6.5-11.5 feet tall; weigh around 11,000 pounds; and are 21 feet long, the World Wildlife Fund reports.
Elephants & Timber, 1920's, is also at this page.
Rangoon - Burma (1920-1929) is also at this page.
See Working Elephant of Myanmar here at this page.
Watch from about 13:00 minutes to 19:00 minutes to see working
timber elephants in Myanamar today,
If the video does not play go to this page.
How important is the Asian Elephant to the region? Here is what the World Wildlife Fund has to say:
"Elephants are an important cultural icon in Asia. According to Indian mythology, the gods (deva) and the demons (asura) churned the oceans in a search for the elixir of life so that they would become immortal. As they did so, nine jewels surfaced, one of which was the elephant. In Hinduism, the powerful deity honored before all sacred rituals is the elephant-headed Lord Ganesha, who is also called the Remover of Obstacles."
Close-up of an Asian elephant. Source: World Wildlife Fund
Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
published June 6, 1949
14 Things You Might Not Know About Nineteen Eighty-Four
Orwell letter and Nineteen Eighty-Four
Open Culture, January 9, 2014
A similar post appears at The Daily Beast, August 12, 2013
Nineteen Eighty-Four reviews, sales, and . . .
The New Worker, undated
iO9, March 6, 2012
The New York Times, January 1, 1984
The Independent, June 7, 2009
BBC, February 10, 2013
The New Yorker, June 11, 2013
Wikipedia entry re: Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984)
News: Sales Of Orwell's '1984' Spike After NSA Revelations
NPR, June 11, 2013
RECOMMENDED
The Story of 1984 by George Orwell
Discovery Civilasation
News: Sales Of Orwell's '1984' Spike After NSA Revelations
NPR, June 11, 2013
RECOMMENDED
The Story of 1984 by George Orwell
Discovery Civilasation
Orwellian - The term
Search "Orwellian" on Google and you'll get about 725,000 hits. Here are some:
The Guardian, November 11, 2014
The Daily Mail, June 12, 2009
The Atlantic, September 27, 2012
Big Think, June 6, 2013
CNET, May 13, 2015
PBS Newshour, June 4, 2015
Finally . . .
Illustration by Lesley Barnes. Inspired by Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.
Book jacket by Erik Alvarado
orwell has a Hitler mustache! haha i know im not in this class but i couldnt help myself! :)
ReplyDeleteRed,
ReplyDeleteMy sentiments exactly. You should have been in 1A on Tuesday when I put it up on the big screen. I pointed to the 'stash and the class said as if they had been practicing . . . .
--Christopher McCabe
Ashleigh & Cindy's scholars video clip
ReplyDeletehttp://fr.sevenload.com/videos/GjICq6C-George-Orwell-A-Life-in-Pictures
Saecula saeculorum :
ReplyDeleteThe idea of eternity.
test......group 3
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1A
ReplyDeleteMaddie Bailey
Rachel Parnass
Alejandro cruz
Julian Urrea
Marino Bianchi
Amy Truong
Puppet-a person, group, or government, etc whose actions are prompted and controlled by another or others.
Brooke DiMartino
ReplyDeleteMiguel Pineda Lagunas
Jacqueline Cortez
Daniel Cruz Torres
Wendy Garcia
we nominate the word:
Imperialism - a domianant country takes over a nation.
English 1A, Group3
ReplyDeleteLydia Wang,
Joaquin Luna
Alex Radillo
Jelsy Gervacio
Crystal Crutcher
Our word is:
RAVAGING: plundering with excessive damage and destruction
Test
ReplyDeleteGroup 2
ReplyDeleteVicky Ho
Vicent Chiu
Ary Osorio
Margarita Melgoza
Kyle Lin
Word nominated:
Saecula / saecolorum : the idea of eternity, the Latin bibical phrase
Imperialism - is the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.
ReplyDeleteEnglish 1A Group 4
English 1A Group 4
ReplyDeleteImperialism - is the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.
Jin Shin
Jesus Sanchez
Thao Kieu
Kim Wang
Zahra Jackson
Eric Lopez
About the elephant, I wonder what an elephant eats, beside grass and peanuts? Yes, elephants love peanuts. Looking at their diet, it's weird why they become so big, if we are not saying fat. So, I guess getting fat probably not because of what we eat. Any thought?
ReplyDeleteOh, one more thing. If AHA or PETA watch the videos where the elephants are forced to work like what we watched this morning, they are probably going berserk and raise another campaign on animal's rights. Free the elephants! Free the elephants!!
Thank you, Andrew. Thank you, Andrew. Once in a great while I need words like yours. This is one of those times. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI didn't score well on the quiz this morning due to a reason on internal occurrence. A reason I said, not an excuse and I believe they contain different meaning. Anyway, I am thinking that this comment is short of redemption toward my shortness this morning.
ReplyDeleteAfter reread Orwell's "Shooting an elephant" for the second time, gives me a thought of an illustration on the elephant as a representation of British imperialism in its bigness that has took lives of the indigenous people, in this case the Burmans. No matter how the Burmans hate British imperialism, they have no audacity to go against it. Anyhow, they will cherish anyone who will take stand on behalf of their interests. To do so, it will more effective if someone who comes from the system to beat the system. Orwell is the guy for the task, confronted in the tough situation between the sentiment not to be laughed at and crushing the expensive piece of machinery of imperialism.
For Orwell's self justification, he is glad that the elephant did killed the coolie so his action is justifiable and for the Burmans, it is a rare opportunity to see a white folk so pressurized to do what is demanded by the oppressed people and comply with them for once in a sense of keeping the pride and ego. They might or might not happy to witness their countryman got crushed by the elephant, but like playing chess, let the pawn be sacrificed for the greater interest to win the game. It already happened anyway.
In this circumstance, Orwell reacts according to the situation requires, he shoots the elephant and the Burmans scavenge the elephant to its bones. To make this more interesting if not presenting a controversial thought. Leave the bones to the Chinese, they might process the bones into another form of medicine or exotic dietary for the sake of eudaemonia. Or give the bones to some museum to display an exhibit of metaphorical and historical figure of Orwell’s past.
In this story, Orwell is just a practical tool for both sides, the occupying society and the Burmans as the occupied ones. Doing something that he intends not to, but he has to. It is quite lucky for Orwell that he doesn't face any consequences upon his act, merely his consciousness. He does serve purposes and he is a winner.
Andrew, Wow! Great comments and thanks for posting. Your ideas will be meaningful for readers of Orwell's essay for a long, long time. Yes, as you say, "Orwell is the guy for the task, confronted in the tough situation between the sentiment not to be laughed at and crushing the expensive piece of machinery of imperialism." Perfect!
ReplyDeleteWRITING
ReplyDeleteA. In a few paragraphs (about 250 words) respond to this question: What idea or ideas does the elephant represent in Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant”? Offer specific examples and reasons based on your reading of his essay and your interpretation of it.
B. Write four questions for discussion about Orwell's "Shooting an Elephant."
C. List 10 words that you believe are most important to understanding the essay. Include words that you may understand but believe that you need to know better. For example, you may know the term "imperialism," but you'd like to consider its meaning further and/or you believe it is significant to the essay. Also, include words that are not familiar to you, or were not before you read "Shooting an Elephant."
GROUP QUESTIONS
1. Orwell says, "I was hated by large numbers of people--the only time in my life that I have been important enough for this to happen to me" (295). Does Orwell really feel that he is important? Point out several examples (note the page and paragraph numbers) where this is true or not.
2. Orwell recalls conducting an investigation of the whereabouts of the elephant. He says, we "failed to get any definitive information." He continues, "That is invariably the case in the East; a story always sounds clear enough at a distance, but the nearer you get to the scene of events the vaguer it becomes." (297) Explain how this applies within "Shooting an Elephant." Also, explain how it might apply in different situations.
3. Why would people, as Orwell points out, not care much about "the elephant when he was merely ravaging their homes, but it was different now that he was going to get shot"? Wouldn't both events--"ravaging their homes" and "going to get shot"--have equal importance in their lives? (298)
4. Orwell declares, "And my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at." (299) Explain what this sentence reveals about Orwell. Why do you think Orwell believes this to be true?
5. The Europeans had divided opinions about the shooting of the elephant. As Orwell relates, "The older men said I was right, the younger men said it was a damn shame to shoot an elephant for killing a collie, because an elephant was worth more than any damn Coringhee coolie." What does this difference of opinion reveal about the divergent beliefs the older and young men have? Point out the ethical and political issues that might be addressed with this example.
6. Compare words that each group member listed in response to "C." Which words are duplicated on the lists of your group members? Define these words as best you can as a group.
7. Post one question from each group member on the Comment section of the Orwell page. Include the full name of each group member next to their question.
Group 1 Questions
ReplyDeleteWhy was there no way of shutting off the telescreen completely? (p.2)
Why does Winston dislike women? (p. 10)
Why did Goldstein cause painful emotions for Winston? (p.12)
Why was Winston’s hatred directed towards Big Brother, as opposed to Goldstein? (p.14)
Group 2 Questions
What did he dislike so much about the dark haired girl?
Why does the party depend on stupid people? Refer to “Parsons was Winston’s fellow…” (p.22)
Why do they see “the hanging” as a form of entertainment? (p.23)
Why is he frightened of the new generations of kids?
Why does language placate the populace? Refer to “which Winston received…” (p.40)
Why do they assign uniform for spies? Refer to “both of them…” (p.23)
Is Winston having flashbacks because it was traumatic or just because he wanted to reminisce the past?
Group 3 Questions
Why is it a good idea for the government to condense the English vocabulary/Newspeak dictionary? (p.51)
Why does Orwell make it clear that the Record Department easily gets to choose what they can erase from history and what could be preserved? (p.42)
Why is regulated media different in 1984 than in present society? (p.44)
Why does Winston find work to be his greatest pleasure? (p.43)
Group 4 Questions
Why did the party want to remove all pleasure from sex? (p.65)
Why does the party say to reject the evidence of your eyes? (p.81)
Why is the deadliest danger talking in your sleep? (p.64)
Why did life not resemble what was being said and shown on the telescreens? (p.73)
Why do the ministries ignore the lower class? (p.74)
Group 5 Questions
Why did Orwell repeat “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength”? Why is it so important to him and what does it mean?
Why is Winston the only one concerned about the quality of life before the Revolution vs. quality of life after the Revolution?
Why does he say that “if there was hope, it lay in proles”? (p.86)
Group 5 M/W 145-350
ReplyDelete1. Why did Winston kick the severed hand into the gutter (84)?
2. Why is the old man talking about the past 'incorrectly' according to the party (88)?
3. Why does Winston believe the shopkeeper when he says that there is no telescreen in the upstairs room (97)?
4. Why were party members always assumed to be taking part in communal activities (81)?