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George orwell

George orwell. Decline of the british empire. Decline of the british empire. Begins in earnest after WWI, accelerates rapidly after WWII Individual independence matched by drive for colonial independence. Wave of anti-colonial independence movements after 1945: India, Egypt, Zaire, etc.

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George orwell

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  1. George orwell Decline of the british empire

  2. Decline of the british empire • Begins in earnest after WWI, accelerates rapidly after WWII • Individual independence matched by drive for colonial independence. • Wave of anti-colonial independence movements after 1945: India, Egypt, Zaire, etc. • Britain no longer dictator of world history, but only a part of it. • Starting to feel like a small nation again • Requires admission and adjustment • Self-examination: rage & anger, esp. in youth culture (rock & roll – The Who). • Language & Identity: English rarely kicked out after independence • Conflicted relationship with English lit. tradition (love/hate) (cf. Gordimer, Walcott, Naipaul)

  3. George orwell (1903-1950) • Was a colonial police official in Burma during late 1920s. • Wrote political essays and fiction. • Was a socialist much of his life, yet abhorred party orthodoxy of any kind (totalitarianism) -- cf. 1984 & Animal Farm • “Shooting an Elephant” (1934) about events during late 1920s.

  4. Theater of the absurd (samuelbeckett) • Absurd = out of the rational • Human existence has no intrinsic meaning or purpose • (aside from what we assign arbitrarily) • No logical construction • Irrational speech  ultimate silence • Bizarre dialogue and weird situations highlight the arbitrariness of human meaning • Irrational world – This is the way things are because this is the way they are

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