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A review by anabradley
Essays by George Orwell
4.0
A real range of writing that has something interesting for everyone. The ones that most stuck out to me are:
* 'Shooting an Elephant' - More like a short story than an essay, this is one of those narratives that are so deeply tragic that they have you thinking about them for days afterward.
* 'The Lion and the Unicorn' - Interesting in his separation of nationalism and patriotism, Orwell argues that the former is backward while the latter is, to some degree, necessary. In a polarised world where the love of your own country (particularly if your own country is the UK or the US) is associated with bigotry and conservativism, it was interesting to read a socialist arguing that at least some patriotism is necessary to protect democracy.
* 'Such, Such, Were the Joys' - An essay I have heard referred to various anti-public school writing but had never actually read until now. It's sad that, while the treatment of children in boarding school has improved since Orwell wrote, the psychological effect that it has on them (as detailed in modern books like 'Sad Little Men') is much the same.
The only thing I would say is that despite Orwell's condemnation of racism, anti-semitism, and classism, he does not seem to condemn homophobia. Anti-gay sentiment is only mentioned in one or two lines, and his personal view on it isn't made clear, but the casual references to homophobia are jarring given how reasonable and, in most cases, modern, Orwell's views seem to be.
* 'Shooting an Elephant' - More like a short story than an essay, this is one of those narratives that are so deeply tragic that they have you thinking about them for days afterward.
* 'The Lion and the Unicorn' - Interesting in his separation of nationalism and patriotism, Orwell argues that the former is backward while the latter is, to some degree, necessary. In a polarised world where the love of your own country (particularly if your own country is the UK or the US) is associated with bigotry and conservativism, it was interesting to read a socialist arguing that at least some patriotism is necessary to protect democracy.
* 'Such, Such, Were the Joys' - An essay I have heard referred to various anti-public school writing but had never actually read until now. It's sad that, while the treatment of children in boarding school has improved since Orwell wrote, the psychological effect that it has on them (as detailed in modern books like 'Sad Little Men') is much the same.
The only thing I would say is that despite Orwell's condemnation of racism, anti-semitism, and classism, he does not seem to condemn homophobia. Anti-gay sentiment is only mentioned in one or two lines, and his personal view on it isn't made clear, but the casual references to homophobia are jarring given how reasonable and, in most cases, modern, Orwell's views seem to be.