A background to George Orwell’s work

Karl Marx
(May 1818-March 1883)

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Marx – father of socialist ideas; sees the world through purely economic lens
1848, The Communist Manifesto
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Capitalism is oppressing the common worker
Goal is to make $ and grows unchecked
Industry will eventually become a large conglomerate, further oppressing the worker

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As a result of unchecked capitalism:
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Workers will revolt, est. a TEMPORARY dictatorship
Dictatorship dissolve businesses, return assets to the workers
Once worker has control, needs addressed, dictatorship dissolve as no longer need gov’t structures

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Marx does not account for the dramatic change in the change in working conditions, etc. as a result of advocacy
(trust busting, unionization, labor reform, etc.)
Also does not account for the human desire for power, control
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When you are a dictator, why would you give up the power???

Vladimir Lenin
(April 1870 – January 1924)

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Lenin takes the theoretical ideas of Marx and turns them into a political movement
Exiled by Tsar Nicholas for political activism – returns to Russia after 1917 Revolution
Leader of the Bolshevik Party which takes over after Revolution, creating socialist state
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Social reforms include: nationalizing industry, providing healthcare, providing education

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Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin were both protégés of Lenin
Trotsky was leader of the military and Stalin was
Bolshevik Party Secretary
Trotsky, more moderate. Saw duty to spread communism to the world
Stalin wanted strong communist state, which included the limitation of freedoms, rights – too
Western

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Lenin dies in 1924
Secretly selected Trotsky as his successor as Lenin felt Stalin was too violent
Stalin raises the party against Trotsky and has Trotsky exiled to Mexico in 1927
During the Great Purges of 1936-1938,
Trotsky publicly spoke out against Stalin

Murder of Trotsky:
Ice pick through skull

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Stalin takes over as leader of Russia from late 1924 to his death in March, 1953
Begins his rule by overhauling the basic structures, sets unrealistic goals:
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Collectivization of lands for agriculture results in massive famine, esp. in Ukraine
Public works projects (roads, canals) cost hundreds of thousands of lives

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Fear – use of torture and gulags
Under Stalin, state controls:
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Employment
Housing
Faith (there is none)
Entertainment
Communication

The Great Purge
1936-1938
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During this period, Stalin was determined to rid Russia of all “enemies”
More than 2 million of his own people were tried and executed by the state, often admitting to false crimes under torture
Millions more sent to gulags (work camps) in Siberia to work to death

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Even though Stalin was the cause of the horror in Russia, through carefully crafted propaganda, he remained the adored leader of
Russia

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Stalin died on March
7, 1953
Millions came to pay their respects
Under his rule, approximately 10 million people died, not including the 20 million killed during
WWII

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Nikita Khrushchev, Stalin’s successor, spoke out against the tactics used by
Stalin to harm the Russian people; considered it a violation of Lenin’s plan for
Russia
Russia remained a communist state until
1991

George Orwell
(June 1903 – January 1950)

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Born Eric Blair to aristocratic parents in India
Attended school in the UK but failed out of college; joined the Indian Imperial Police and was sent to Burma (modern day Myanmar)
Felt the British were oppressing the Burmese by not allowing them to develop economically
Returned to UK on leave in 1927 and decided to resign from police
Began writing and teaching

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While conducting research for a novel The Road to Wigan Pier, Orwell was exposed to the depressed working-class of England
This experience crystallized his feelings towards socialism
In 1936 when the Spanish Civil War broke out,
Orwell went to Spain to fight against Franco’s forces and support the socialist efforts in Spain
Orwell allied himself with the Workers Party of
Marxist Unification

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Orwell saw action in numerous places, including the street fights of Barcelona
In May, 1937, Orwell was shot in the throat by a sniper, which just missed his main artery. His voice is damaged and he is declared medically unfit for service

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Orwell returned from Spain in 1938 just as the UK was entering into war
Orwell found a job at the BBC where her reported and put together programming for India to combat the Nazi propaganda designed to rip the British empire apart
He also was a member of the Home Guard, which he saw as a “People’s militia”
He quit after two years, in part to finish Animal Farm, which was published in Britain in August, 1945
Nineteen Eighty-four was published in 1949