George Orwell was an English novelist, journalist, essayist, and a critic whose work is marked by his awareness of societal issues such as social injustice, socialism, and opposition. The essay will use three of his works; ‘Can Socialists be happy?’, ‘Shooting an Elephant’ and ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’ to identify and represent the patterns of form and content that form the basis of his writing. The essay will analyze the claims the author uses to describe the work and form the basis of his arguments.
Can Socialists Be Happy?
George Orwell uses the concept of Christmas, a festive season characterized by periods of happiness and relief from the regular work schedule. He describes the season as marked by incomplete happiness because it comes once in a year and people have plenty to eat. The joy is not continuous despite the efforts of people to create a utopian society(Orwell, Can Socialists Be Happy? 1). George further compares the happiness to that of a man having a toothache who feels that joy comes in when he is not having any pains. George's effort to understand utopia from a society that is governed by temporary happiness led him to develop his philosophical context of understanding socialism.
George justifies the understanding of socialism using values such as equality, justice, and freedom. Orwell’s thinking of ethical considerations that govern social justice acts as the bridge between socialism and the basis of the future societal transformation. Orwell provides the analogy of men being trapped in political struggles and wars because they want humans to love and live in happiness with each other. Orwell wonders about the concept of happiness that must be realized after a journey of struggle(Orwell, Can Socialists Be Happy? 1). Therefore, the author justifies his essay topic if socialists can be happy. It is evident that the happiness in the world is temporary and thus the society lacks endless ways of making it permanent.
Moreover, Orwell concept depicted in the essay is that the real aim of socialism is not happiness. It is clear that happiness is a by-product of socialism that is temporary. His takeaway on the central objective of socialism is that it brings people’s brotherhood. Just as Orwell notes, it is impossible to tell people what socialism will look like in future because it needs a lot than just meeting the needs of today. However, it is difficult to claim that one can meet all their needs required beyond the basics of survival. Therefore, Orwell asserts that there is still human misery and social injustice under socialism and thus people will still be imperfect creating no happiness in the world. Socialism is dependent on brotherhood. Even though siblings can fight and compete with each other, they always look out for each other(Orwell, Can Socialists Be Happy? 1). Therefore, Orwell depicts the concept as socialism as a return of community and not happiness that may be temporary.
Shooting an Elephant
The descriptive essay is about Orwell’s experience as an officer. The story revolves around Orwell’s inner conflict with the British Empire and keeping the law. The story begins when Orwell is refuted the British ideas in Burmese because he appears to be on the side of Burma(Orwell, Shooting an Elephant 1). The colonial rule oppresses the people and as, a police officer, Orwell sees the brutalities of the imperial project that makes him resent on the presence of British in Burmese.
Orwell uses his personal experience to explain the concept of British imperialism in Burma. Throughout the narrative, Orwell discusses the nature of the British colonial rule as experienced during his career as a police officer. He reveals the cruelty of the British presence in Burma by using images of tortured convicts to support his claims(Orwell, Shooting an Elephant 1). Orwell’s awareness at the face of the colonialists is the major point of contention as he struggles to avoid shooting the elephant.
Furthermore, Orwell uses internal conflict to advance his claims in the narrative. For example, he states his allegiance to the Burma people and his opposition to the British power that he embodies as a police officer. This explains Orwell’s feelings for his work and the position he holds in Burma. Again, it encapsulates the internal conflict that exists when he is tasked with upholding the integrity of the British oppressors and ‘shooting the elephant’ that he values. The narrative gives an insight into the cultural context that may exist and conflict with the role of a person in society(Orwell, Shooting an Elephant 1). It is evident that Orwell is tom between serving the British as part of his duties and standing with the Burmese community to fight against their oppression.
Down and Out in Paris and London
The story begins with the narrator, George Orwell living in Paris in a bug-infested hotel. Orwell is presented as hardworking and able to support himself by giving English lessons and writing articles. However, his financial situation grows dire after he gets robbed from the hotel. His life of poverty begins as he discovers the setbacks to his existence and humiliations(Orwell, Down, and Out in Paris and London 25). The narrative represents a society that is stricken by poverty where people are struggling to survive amidst other challenges such as social injustice.
Orwell narrative is a representation of his philosophical understanding and analysis of man versus the society. Orwell expounds on the theme of a character being oppressed by the community. For instance, in the story, the unnamed narrator and his allies face opposition from the society including the government, religion, landlords, and their employers. The British government maintained policies that made the life of the poor people miserable. For example, the law that forbids men from staying more than a night at a spike forced people to travel long distances to get different spikes thus wasting a lot of time and energy. Besides, the employers made unreasonable demands on the employees. The long working hours with minimum wages were oppressive to the poor(Orwell, Down, and Out in Paris and London 36). It is evident that the author uses his own experiences to show the injustices and oppression the poor people are likely to encounter within the society.
The context used in the novel can be described as autobiographical because it uses the author’s experiences to dash the misconceptions about the poor and illustrate how the society exploits the weak. Orwell attacks the idea that poverty that the affected deserve because of their lack of merit, ability, and will to move out of poverty. He disputes the notion and asserts that most of the people he met during his time became poor as a result of bad luck and misfortunes(Orwell, Down, and Out in Paris and London 75). Therefore, Orwell wants to create a society that does not oppress the poor instead uphold the dignity of every community member because the causes of poverty are not related to the inability of the person.
Moreover, Orwell uses his experiences to create an understanding of conventional wisdom that the poor are not different from the rich. He asserts that the two groups of people are by nature similar and should be accorded the same treatment by the government and the employers. The author attributes the poverty to a reversal of fortune that is beyond the control of the poor. He gives an example of Bozo, a London artist who becomes poor after an accident that left him destitute. Therefore, he asserts the fact that reversal of fortune can occur thus making one poor. The employers should never use the criteria of best dressing and physical appearance to rule if they should employ a person. For example, a poor person may appear hungry and weak thus discrediting him from having a job(Orwell, Down, and Out in Paris and London 89). It is evident that the societal culture of discriminating and oppressing the poor should be condemned.
Conclusion
George Orwell art of writing is presented as a straightforward and thoughtful expression of ideas. The author is presented as a socialist who is interested in society and the injustices that prevail within the community. In his writing, he uses his biography and personal experiences to highlight the culture of the society and pin out the dissatisfaction and injustices prevailing in the society. It is evident that culture can play a critical role in propagating oppression in a community. Orwell skills can be emulated by many to create a literature pool of writing that are philosophical and based on an artistic presentation of ideas.
Works Cited
Orwell, George. "Can Socialists Be Happy?" Dystopian Stories (n.d.). .
Orwell, George. "Down and Out in Paris and London." (1933): 254. .
Orwell, George. "Shooting an Elephant." The Short Story of the Day (2018). .
