M.+Holley

George Orwell

Life: Eric Arthur Blair was born on 25 June 1903 in Motihari, Bengal Presidency, British India. His great-grandfather Charles Blair had been a wealthy plantation owner in Jamaica and his grandfather a clergyman. Although the gentility was passed down the generations, the prosperity was not; Eric Blair described his family as "lower-upper-middle class". His father, Richard Walmesley Blair, worked in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. His mother, Ida Mabel Blair (née Limouzin), grew up in Burma where her French father was involved in speculative ventures. Eric had two sisters; Marjorie, five years older, and Avril, five years younger. When Eric was one year old, Ida Blair took him to England. In 1905, Blair's mother settled at Henley-on-Thames. Eric was brought up in the company of his mother and sisters, and apart from a brief visit he did not see his father again until 1912. His mother's diary for 1905 indicates a lively round of social activity and artistic interests. The family moved to Shiplake before World War I, and Eric became friendly with the Buddicom family, especially Jacintha Buddicom. When they first met, he was standing on his head in a field, and on being asked why he said, "You are noticed more if you stand on your head than if you are right way up". Jacintha and Eric read and wrote poetry and dreamed of becoming famous writers. He told her that he might write a book in similar style to that of H. G. Wells's //A Modern Utopia//. During this period, he enjoyed shooting, fishing, and birdwatching with Jacintha’s brother and sister.

Time Period: The time period of Orwell was mainly during war times. Orwell participated in the Spanish Civil War fighting against facisim. After the Spanish Civil War he returned to England where he rested up and wrote more works of art. Orwell's health was going bad far a few years prior to the war and after he came back it continued on it's down fall. To regain his health a little better he was moved to Marrakech. They was him there for a half a year starting in September so he could escape the English winter. While he was away getting better Orwell's father past away. At this time, World War II was coming up and Orwell was considered un fit to be in it. Orwell found a way around the Medical Board by recieving the oppurtunity to be in the Home Guard. "In August 1941, Orwell finally obtained 'war work' when he was taken on full time by the BBC's Eastern Service. He supervised cultural broadcasts to India in the context of propaganda from Nazi Germany designed to undermine Imperial links. This was Orwell's first experience of the rigid conformity of life in an office." (Greenblatt.) While he was waiting on his book, //Animal Farm//, to be published, he was working as an editor at //Tribune//. When working there he overviewed eighty book reviews. Orwell also had an oppurtunity to adopt a child, but did obtain one and named him Richard, after his father. Eileen's sister had helped give him this opportunity. Later on in March, Eileen died from hysterectomy. Eileen did not tell much of this to Orwell for the fact that he would worry about money. Works: //In Front Of Your Nose I Belong to the Left Inside the Myth As I Please Facing Unpleasent Facts Nineteen Eighty-Four Animal Farm

Animal Farm://

//Book Summary//
One night, all the animals at Mr. Jones' Manor Farm assemble in a barn to hear old Major, a pig, describe a dream he had about a world where all animals live free from the tyranny of their human masters. Old Major dies soon after the meeting, but the animals — inspired by his philosophy of Animalism — plot a rebellion against Jones. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, prove themselves important figures and planners of this dangerous enterprise. When Jones forgets to feed the animals, the revolution occurs, and Jones and his men are chased off the farm. Manor Farm is renamed Animal Farm, and the Seven Commandments of Animalism are painted on the barn wall. Initially, the rebellion is a success: The animals complete the harvest and meet every Sunday to debate farm policy. The pigs, because of their intelligence, become the supervisors of the farm. Napoleon, however, proves to be a power-hungry leader who steals the cows' milk and a number of apples to feed himself and the other pigs. He also enlists the services of Squealer, a pig with the ability to persuade the other animals that the pigs are always moral and correct in their decisions. Later that fall, Jones and his men return to Animal Farm and attempt to retake it. Thanks to the tactics of Snowball, the animals defeat Jones in what thereafter becomes known as The Battle of the Cowshed. Winter arrives, and Mollie, a vain horse concerned only with ribbons and sugar, is lured off the farm by another human. Snowball begins drawing plans for a windmill, which will provide electricity and thereby give the animals more leisure time, but Napoleon vehemently opposes such a plan on the grounds that building the windmill will allow them less time for producing food. On the Sunday that the pigs offer the windmill to the animals for a vote, Napoleon summons a pack of ferocious dogs, who chase Snowball off the farm forever. Napoleon announces that there will be no further debates; he also tells them that the windmill will be built after all and lies that it was his own idea, stolen by Snowball. For the rest of the novel, Napoleon uses Snowball as a scapegoat on whom he blames all of the animals' hardships.

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Sources

"George Orwell." __Wikipedia__. 3 Apr. 2009. 3 Apr. 2009 [|www.wikipedia.com].