Nineteen Eighty-Four

Nineteen Eighty-Four George Orwell

Eric Blair = George Orwell • Eric Arthur Blair known by his pen name George Orwell. • June 25, 1903-Janurary 21, 1950 • English novelist and journalist

Born • Eric Blair was born in Bihar, India • His great-grandfather was a wealthy country gentleman. He had an income as an landlord of slave planation's in Jamaica.

Early Life • When Eric was one year old, his mother took him and his sisters to England. He was brought up in the company of his mother and sisters. • When he was young he read and wrote poetry. He dreamed of becoming a famous writer. Blair family home at Shiplake They moved here before WWI

Eton College • He earned a scholarship to attend Eton College. However, the scholarship did not guarantee a place, and none was immediately available for Blair. He stayed at St. Cyprians until 1917 when a place became available at Eton. He studied at Eton until December 1921, when he left at he age of 18.5

Academic Performance • Academic performance reports suggest that he neglected his academic studies but during this time he worked with Roger Mynors to produce a College maganize, “The Election Times.” • His parents could not afford to send him to a university without another scholarship, and they concluded from his poor results that he would not be able to win one.

Therefore, he left Eton and joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burman, then a British colony. • He resigned in 1927 and decided to become a writer. • In 1928, he moved to Paris where lack of success as a writer forced him into a series of menial jobs. He described his experiences in his first book, Down and Out in Pair and London. Published in 1933 • He took the name George Orwell shortly before its publication.

Animal Farm • In 1945, Orwell's 'Animal Farm' was published. A political fable set in a farmyard but based on Stalin's betrayal of the Russian Revolution, it made Orwell's name and ensured he was financially comfortable for the first time in his life.

Nineteen Eighty-Four • . 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' was published four years later. Set in an imaginary totalitarian future, the book made a deep impression, with its title and many phrases - such as 'Big Brother is watching you', 'newspeak' and 'doublethink' - entering popular use.

Considered the 20th century’s best chronicler of English culture. • He wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction and journalism. • He is best known for the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. • Nineteen Eighty-Four was considered dystopian which is a creation of an utterly horrible or degraded society.

Diagnosed of tuberculosis in December 1947. • Early on the morning of January 21, 1950, an artery burst in his lungs, killing him at age 46.

Nineteen Eighty-Four