George Orwell 1984+

George Orwell

Jun 2023 · Author's Republic · Narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano

About this audiobook

It was George Orwell's early writing that helped shape his worldview and writing style. Here we focus on his works "The Spike" and "A Hanging," and his time as a police officer in Burma. Orwell's first published work was an essay titled "The Spike," which appeared in 1931. The essay is a vivid and harrowing account of his time spent in a homeless shelter in London. Orwell, who was struggling financially at the time, chose to experience a homeless shelter firsthand, and his account is an indictment of the dehumanizing conditions he encountered. In "The Spike," Orwell describes the brutal reality of life in the shelter, where men were treated like animals and forced to endure hunger, cold, and violence. "Shooting An Elephant" is too tragically eye-opening.
This would later inform his political views and writing, particularly his belief in the importance of social justice and his struggle against oppression. In his essay "How the Poor Die," Orwell describes his observations of the poor and their struggle with illness and death. He portrays a society where the poor are neglected and left to suffer in silence and without dignity. This essay is another example of Orwell's commitment to social justice and his belief in the importance of empathy and compassion. In 1931, Orwell joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma, where he served for five years. There he witnessed the brutal realities of colonialism and oppression. In his essay A Hanging," (1931), Orwell recounts the experience of attending the execution of a prisoner. Orwell describes the prisoner's final moments with empathy and his account of the execution is a moving critique of the dehumanizing effects of state-sanctioned violence.
Orwell's experiences with poverty oppression and violence informed his later political and social beliefs
As read by Emmy-nominated actor Geoffrey Giuliano. With a full biography of Orwell and selected quotations.

About the author

George Orwell was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903 in Motihari in Bengal, India and later studied at Eton College for four years. He was an assistant superintendent with the Indian Imperial Police in Burma. He left that position after five years and moved to Paris, where he wrote his first two books: Burmese Days and Down and Out in Paris and London. He then moved to Spain to write but decided to join the United Workers Marxist Party Militia. After being decidedly opposed to communism, he served in the British Home Guard and with the Indian Service of the BBC during World War II. After the war, he wrote for the Observer and was literary editor for the Tribune. His best known works are Animal Farm and 1984. His other works include A Clergyman's Daughter, Keep the Aspidistra Flying, The Road to Wigan Pier, Homage to Catalonia, and Coming Up for Air. He died on January 21, 1950 at the age of 46.