George Orwell

Fuascailt

"Every generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it."
Does anyone know what book/essay this came from? Or did he just say it? Any answer would be much appreciated!

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turgon

Have you read a lot of Orwell donegalfella??

I recently read Coming up for Air and Keep the Aspidistra Flying, going to read his two other lesser known novels in a week or two. Got "Geroge Orwell: Essays (Penguin Classics)" ordered too, contains about 50 of them which is moderate enough for Orwell I suppose. Any essays of his you particularly like?

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pwd

I've read all his books and a lot of his essays.
I thought Keep the Aspidistra flying was the worst one.

turgon

Pwd: Really?? I thought Aspidistra was more enjoyable than Coming Up For Air. I thought it was really true to life. That scene in the posh hotel on that Sunday walk in the country side: I just cant get it out of the head, he's just bang on with the emotions imo. Also a lot to be read into it especially the main character.

Coming Up For Air was a bit, well, predictable. I knew that when he returned his home town was going to be completely changed. The possibility of running into his old lover was almost definite. But once again it shows great understanding of humans, especially his wife and her friends.

I like the theme, that appears in Orwell's work I have read so far, that those who dont overly think about the problems of their situation, as in those who just accept it, are often better off. Like in Coming Up For Air with that professor of Latin and Greek: he just lives in a day dream and never questions the idealism in which he sees in the past. On the other hand the main character actually goes back to his past place and sees it destroyed and is worse off. In 1984 the regular adherents of the system often run into less trouble than Winston Smith, and Julia doesnt think too much about it and seems to be easier at mind.

Ill be sure to read those essays donegalfella. I also saw one boardsie with a quote from "The Lion and the Unicorn", and it appears to be held in high regard?

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raah!

turgon wrote: »

Pwd: Really?? I thought Aspidistra was more enjoyable than Coming Up For Air. I thought it was really true to life. That scene in the posh hotel on that Sunday walk in the country side: I just cant get it out of the head, he's just bang on with the emotions imo. Also a lot to be read into it especially the main character.

That was definatly a good scene, but you must admit that alot of that book was just terrible. Even Orwell didn't want it published, because it was aggressively edited, and the original form has never been reproduced. This is all stuff I read in the introduction to the penguin copy of it.

Anyone have a good suggestion for a collection of essays by orwell. From everything I've read he seems to be quite the essay writer, I've even read somewhere that the quality of his essays usually surpasses that of his novels.

Also my two favourite Orwell's so far were "burmese days", and "Down and Out In Paris and London". Burmese days had an amazing ending and Down and Out in Paris and Londong had some amazing scenes of poverty (my favourite is his description of the bar of people getting drunk after work, and how it built to a peak and all that) which I don't see often in the types of books I normally read.

Malached

Orwell's a difficult read, even though the prose is simple. In some thing he seems to hate modernity, yet he also hates the ingrained social structure. It's easy to see that he hated any sort of inequality, but much harder to see what should be done. Homage to Catalonia ... my favorite. Then Animal Farm, 1984, in that order. You only really understand about the rats in room 101 after HTC (on a personal level). If always found both Keep The Aspidistras Flying and Comin Up For Air too depressing.

pwd

Turgon:
I wasn't mad on Coming up for Air either.
I really liked the rest of his books though

Malached:
I'm surprised you say he's a difficult read. I agree that the prose is simple and easy to digest. He had quite strong views about keeping prose simple. So I'm not sure what you mean, unless you think it's difficult because it's depressing?
If you're interested in him personally, then you should read one of his biographies. I read one (I think the Geoffrey Stevens one but I don' relly remember) and foundi it interesting and well written.

Malached

pwd:
What I mean by difficult is that he is deceptively simple. Maybe difficult to read is the wrong way to put it. Because his writing is so deceptively simple, the ... deeper meaning in some of it is lost. I dunno, I have read almost everything, love Orwell, but still go back and find something new, despite how "simply" he writes.

turgon

I would see his writing heavy in that the scenes and the issues he discusses are so depressing. There were a handful of times when reading Aspidistra when I felt like just dropping it and going to bed, it was really depressing me. But thats very memorable too, and the only reason it depressed me so because the emotions were so true.

hatful

I read some of Orwells' poetry and some of Aldous Huxleys. Orwell is far better.

The Lesser Evil

Empty as death and slow as pain
The days went by on leaden feet;
And parson's week had come again
As I walked down the little street.

Without, the weary doves were calling,
The sun burned on the banks of mud;
Within, old maids were caterwauling
A dismal tale of thorns and blood.



I thought of all the church bells ringing
In towns that Christian folks were in;
I heard the godly maidens singing;
I turned into the house of sin.



The house of sin was dark & mean,
With dying flowers round the door;
They spat their betel juice between
The rotten bamboos of the floor.



Why did I come, the woman cried,
so seldom to her beds of ease?
When I was not, her spirit died,
And would I give her ten rupees.



The weeks went by, and many a day
That black-haired woman did implore
Me as I hurried on my way
To come more often than before.



The days went by like dead leaves falling
And parson's week came round again.
Once more devout old maids were bawling
Their ugly rhymes of death and pain.



The woman waited for me there
As down the little street I trod;
And musing upon her oily hair,
I turned into the house of God.

raah!

turgon wrote: »

I would see his writing heavy in that the scenes and the issues he discusses are so depressing. There were a handful of times when reading Aspidistra when I felt like just dropping it and going to bed, it was really depressing me. But thats very memorable too, and the only reason it depressed me so because the emotions were so true.

Yes perhaps that's quite an important part of it. At most times I found the constant dreariness and boredom of the book unbearable, but I think that those were a part of it too. That he had no money and had to waste about, trying to work but not being able to.

It was definitely memorable too, but memorable like a bad experience . That's my view of that book, I mean I wouldn't enjoy living in some crappy apartment trying to do something but never being able to. Down and Out had a similar feeling but it was more exciting I guess, and being an aspiring poet is harder to relate to for alot of people.