Chris Knox
Professor R. Dollieslager
English 111
20 November 2016
Defining Moments
George Orwell was born in India in 1903. His father, who worked for the British government, had been stationed there. One year later George and his mother moved back to England. His father did not visit often and thus the relationship between George and his father deteriorate. When George turned eight years old he was sent to a boarding school, which was normal for the time. During his time at school George first noticed the imbalance of the English class system. The students who had money were treated better than the ones without. George was never a popular student, but he did excel in his studies and earned a scholarship to Eton College. After receiving his degree, George wanted to continue his education at a university but did not have the financial means. Instead, he decided to join the imperial police force in India. (Bio.com)
During his time in India George Orwell published a story in 1936 describing how an encounter with an elephant changed his life. George was a police officer in the town of Moulmein, a British imperialist controlled town of Burma. The people of Moulmein did not trust the British rule and in turn did not trust Orwell. George was aware of the towns mistrust for him but couldn’t admit that he had the same views of the British rule as they did. This lack of trust pitted the townsfolk against Orwell often resulting in derogatory jeers being yelled at him and because of this, George hated his job. (George Orwell)
One day George received a phone call of a rampaging elephant terrorizing the town. He then went out to investigate. During his investigating, he was alerted by the screams of the people which lead him to a dead body. This body was of a local man that had been killed by the elephant. He then learned that the elephant had been spotted in a nearby field. George started off towards the field, but now a crowd had gathered to follow him. He arrived at the field with a now huge crowd behind him and spotted the elephant standing and grazing. It is at this point that George is faced with the decision to kill or not kill the elephant. On one hand, the elephant is just standing in a field eating and more likely won’t harm anyone if he is avoided. On the other hand, George feels that the crowd expects him to kill the elephant and if he does not he would be seen as a coward and be ridiculed or even worse not respected. For George there was only one option, He shot the elephant. (George Orwell) It was during this time that George saw the British imperialistic rule for what it really is, oppression. He also noted that it wasn’t just the people of Burma that were being oppressed, but also in the act of oppressing you will become oppressed. This period of Georges life was very influential to the rest of his career.
George left Burma and returned to England after five years of service. George took any job he could to fund the publishing of his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London. This book looked at the lives of the poor in these two cities. One year later George published his second book, Burmese Days, which continued his theme of exposing the lives of those who are less fortunate. It was also during this time that he met and married his wife Eileen O’Shaughnessy. (Bio.com)
In 1936 George traveled to Spain to participate in the Spanish civil war against the forces of General Francisco Franco. During the war, he was shot twice, once in the arm and once in the throat. Barely surviving his wounds George fled back to England, and just in time to avoid being charged for treason by the Spanish government. Shortly after returning George fell ill and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. Although not a lethal diagnosis, he would have to deal with the effects for the rest of his life. (Bio.com)
World war two had begun and during the next five years of Georges life, he wrote multiple essays which developed his image as a competent literary critic. He also worked for the BBC interviewing writers such as T.S Eliot and E.M Foster. This work did not satisfy George and believed that it was just a waste of time, and so he went on to become an editor of a newspaper with socialist views. In the years to follow George would write Animal Farm along with Nineteen Eighty-Four, by far his most popular works. (Bio.com)
Throughout Georges career, he consistently writes about the inequality of the social hierarchy, which I believe can be correlated back to his experiences in Burma. This continues in Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. Animal farm is an allegory for the Russian revolution of 1917, in which the oppressive Russian Tsar was overthrown only to be replaced with an even more oppressive leader. Nineteen Eighty-four examines the effect of being monitored and watched by “Big Brother.” Georges views on social injustices changed the views of many who read his writings and opened their eyes to oppression. (CliffNotes)
We all have moments in our life that help mold and shape who we are. One of my defining moments leads me to write this paper. It was a Friday afternoon and I was just getting off from a company I had been with for six years. I had just got paid, it was a normal paycheck, a few hours’ overtime. I headed home, and as usual got all my bills out to pay. I calculated what I owed verse what I had earned which left me thirty-five dollars for the next two weeks. I was not surprised by this meager amount of money left over, this was my sixth year. However, this was the moment that I decided I was going to ask my boss for a raise. Monday comes along and I head to my bosses’ office, stomach in knots. I knock on the door and he invites me in. I simply presented my case and asked for the raise, and he simply explained, “not without a degree.” To some, this may seem obvious. I grew up with the belief that in America if you work hard for a company, you could move up in position and pay, and in turn, you will be able to provide yourself a modest living. I was wrong. This is the point when I realize that I have to go back to school or live my life in poverty.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. "Shooting An Elephant." The Literature Network. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov.2016. < http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/>.
Biography.com Editors. "George Orwell." The Biography.com. 11 Aug. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
<http://www.biography.com/people/george-orwell-9429833#personal-life>.
CliffNotes. “Animal Farm.” Book Summary | CliffsNotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.
<https://www.cliffsnotes.com/literature/a/animal-farm/book-summary>.