Read complete books and articles on: George Orwell's 1984

Orwell, George - pseud. of Eric Arthur Blair, 1903–50, British novelist and essayist, b. Bengal, India. He is best remembered for his scathingly satirical and frighteningly political novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four. After attending Eton, he served (1922–27) with the Indian imperial police in Burma (now Myanmar). He returned to Europe in 1927, living penuriously in Paris and later in London. In 1936 he fought with the Republicans in the Spanish civil war and was seriously wounded. His writings—particularly such early works as Down and Out in Paris and London (1933), Burmese Days (1934), The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), and Homage to Catalonia (1938)—are highly autobiographical.

A socialist, Orwell was a keen critic of imperialism, fascism, Stalinism, and capitalism. His works are concerned with the sociopolitical conditions of his time, notably with the problem of human freedom. Animal Farm (1946) is a witty, satirical fable about the failure of Soviet-style Communism, and Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) is a prophetic novel describing the dehumanization of humanity in a mechanistic, totalitarian world. Orwell's other novels include A Clergyman's Daughter (1935), Keep the Aspidistra Flying (1936), and Coming Up for Air (1940). The master of a superbly lucid prose style, Orwell wrote many literary essays, which some critics find superior to his novels. His volumes of essays include Dickens, Dali and Others (1946), Shooting an Elephant (1950), and the Collected Essays, Journalism and Letters of George Orwell (4 vol., 1968, repr. 2000).

See biographies by B. Crick (1980), M. Shelden (1991), J. Meyers (2000), G. Bowker (2003), and D. J. Taylor (2003); studies by J. Meyers, ed. (1975), R. Williams (1981), L. Hunter (1984), A. Coppard and B. Crick, ed. (1985), R. Alok (1989), J. Rodden (1989, repr. 2002), and C. Hitchens (2002).

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13 of the Best Books and Articles on: George Orwell's 1984

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

George Orwell (Includes discussion of 1984 in multiple chapters) » Read Now
by Courtney T. Wemyss, Alexej Ugrinsky. 208 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

This collection of essays addresses a number of facets of George Orwell, examining both Orwell the man of letters and Orwell the political man. The less-recognized--and equally important--facets of George Orwell's works and impact on English culture presented in this collection will prove...
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This collection of essays addresses a number of facets of George Orwell, examining both Orwell the man of letters and Orwell the political man. The less-recognized--and equally important--facets of George Orwell's works and impact on English culture presented in this collection will prove informative to Orwell specialists and to scholars of 20th-century English literature.
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2.

Storm Warnings: Science Fiction Confronts the Future ("Coming Up on 1984" begins on p. 97, and "Images of Nineteen Eighty-Four: Fiction and Prediction" begins on p. 124) » Read Now
by George E. Slusser, Colin Greenland, Eric S. Rabkin. 284 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...Materials, ANSI Z39.48- 1984. To Jean-Pierre...Confronts the Future George E. Slusser, Colin...Coming Up on 1984 Frederik Pohl...Interim Report George Hay 114...the same...
3.

Student Companion to George Orwell (Chap. 9 "In Front of Our Noses: Nineteen Eighty-Four") » Read Now
by Mitzi M. Brunsdale. 180 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Written with students and general readers in mind, this volume examines George Orwell's powerful fictional writing, as well as his provocative documentaries and essays. Students will gain an appreciation for the many levels of meaning in the allegorical Animal Farm and the startlingly prescient...
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Written with students and general readers in mind, this volume examines George Orwell's powerful fictional writing, as well as his provocative documentaries and essays. Students will gain an appreciation for the many levels of meaning in the allegorical Animal Farm and the startlingly prescient 1984. Brunsdale does a masterful job of showing how personal and world events came together in Orwell's writing. A carefully drawn biographical chapter examines the development of Orwell's worldview from his impressionable student days to his later years as he struggled with his health, his political identity, and his literary career. The literary heritage chapter traces Orwell's influence as a truth-teller and reviews the literary influences that inspired Orwell to experiment and continually refine his writing style. Individual chapters provide in-depth but accessible analysis of each major work of fiction and nonfiction including the often-anthologized essay "Shooting an Elephant" and Orwell's first full-length publication Down and Out in Paris and in London. In addition to plot and character development, considerable attention is given to the historical contexts and the thematic concerns of social injustice that drove Orwell to devote his life to his writing.
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4.

Essays on Politics and Literature (Chap. 11 "Reading Nineteen Eighty-Four as Satire") » Read Now
by Bernard Crick. 259 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...Crick 1989 Edinburgh University Press 22 George Square, Edinburgh Set in Itek Times...to judge by a few who reacted to my George Orwell: a Life by not merely hinting...of...
5.

No Place Else: Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction (Chap. 9 "Utopia Reconsidered: Comments on 1984") » Read Now
by Eric S. Rabkin, Martin H. Greenberg, Joseph D. Olander. 280 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...Fantasy , edited by George E. Slusser, Eric S...Reconsidered: Comments on 1984 William Steinhoff...Zamiatin did in We , or George Orwell in 1984 . In practice...
6.

Dystopian Literature: A Theory and Research Guide ("George Orwell: 1984" begins on p. 208) » Read Now
by M. Keith Booker. 412 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

Dystopian literature is a potent vehicle for criticizing existing social conditions or political systems, and for warning against the potential negative consequences of utopian thought. This reference is a guide to dystopian theory and literature. It discusses the work of key theorists and...
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Dystopian literature is a potent vehicle for criticizing existing social conditions or political systems, and for warning against the potential negative consequences of utopian thought. This reference is a guide to dystopian theory and literature. It discusses the work of key theorists and summarizes several important utopian works to provide a background. The rest of the book summarizes and analyzes numerous dystopian novels, plays, and films.
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7.

Power of Images/Images of Power in Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four, in Utopian Studies » Read Now
by Mario Varricchio. 18 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Education, Entire Library

...Bernard. "Introduction." George Orwell. Nineteen Eighty-Four...Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1984. 1-153. Firchow, Peter...ETS, 1989. Orwell, George. Nineteen...
8.

The New Barbarians: Totalitarianism, Terror and the Left Intelligentsia in Orwell's 1984, in World Affairs » Read Now
by John David Frodsham. 22 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Structured Nightmare of 1984", Twentieth Century...R., "A Case for George Orwell?", Twentieth...Readers Guide to George Orwell (London...Read, Herbert, "1984", in...
9.

Chaos versus Contingency Theory: Epistemological Issues in Orwell's '1984,' in Mosaic (Winnipeg) » Read Now
by Alexander J. Argyros. 12 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...part on his reading of George Orwells 1984 in his recent book, Contingency...then the likelihood that 1984 will always have critical...Random, 1972. Lakoff, George, and...
10.

Transformations of Language in Modern Dystopias (Chap. 3 "It's a Beautiful Thing, the Destruction of Words") » Read Now
by David W. Sisk. 206 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

As the 20th century has progressed, dystopian fiction has gained power as utopian fiction has become increasingly irrelevant. As an overtly didactic genre, dystopia extrapolates terrifying near-futures from disturbing current trends. In order to quickly create an atmosphere that is at once plausible...
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As the 20th century has progressed, dystopian fiction has gained power as utopian fiction has become increasingly irrelevant. As an overtly didactic genre, dystopia extrapolates terrifying near-futures from disturbing current trends. In order to quickly create an atmosphere that is at once plausible and terrifying, dystopian writers almost universally turn to an idea certain to generate both fear and sympathy in the reader--the dual concept of language as the primary tool by which repressive societies stifle dissent, and simultaneously as the primary weapon used by rebels bent on understanding, resisting, and countering such oppression. This volume traces the evolution of language's centrality in 20th-century dystopias in English, including Brave New World, 1984, A Clockwork Orange, The Handmaid's Tale, Native Tongue, The Judas Rose, and Riddley Walker.
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11.

The Underground Man as Big Brother: Dostoevsky's and Orwell's Anti-Utopia, in Utopian Studies » Read Now
by Adrian Wanner. 12 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

...Graf Publishers, 1984. Manuel, Frank...1981. Orwell, George. Nineteen Eighty-Four...Massachusetts P, 1984. Rai, Alok. Orwell...the Writings of George Orwell...
12.

George Orwell, Fugitive from the Camp of Victory (Discussion of 1984 begins on p. 88) » Read Now
by Richard Rees. 149 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...long ago as 1935 George Orwell gloomily...Animal Farm and 1984 --while the rest...Animal Farm and 1984 his success was...was replaced by "George Orwell." But in fact...his...
13.

The Paradox of George Orwell (Discussion of 1984 begins on p. 78) » Read Now
by Richard J. Voorhees. 128 pgs.

Collections: Literature, Entire Library

...THE PARADOX1 OF GEORGE ORWELL THE PARADOX OF GEORGE ORWELL by Richard J. Voorhees Purdue University Studies...Brandt. From Down and Out in Paris and London , by George...