"If there was hope, it must lie in the proles because only there,
in those swarming disregarded masses, 85 percent of the population of Oceania,
could the force to destroy the Party ever be generated."

BEYOND ARMCHAIR ANALYSIS

"Surely sooner or later it must occur to them to do it?"
George Orwell, 1984

To Orwell Today:

Hi,

I'm wondering how often you hear from someone who says that Orwell inspired them to political activism, or much of anything besides armchair analysis?

I should have looked for an FAQ first. I'll be sure to do that next time.

Take care,

Mark

Greetings Mark,

There doesn't seem to be a group on the planet who uses Orwell as their hero for political activism, at least I've never heard from any.

By the time he wrote 1984 the only political movement Orwell would probably have fit into would have been anarchist and he had close friends of that persuasion. But he couldn't be a leader of such a group because his talents lay elsewhere, and education of the people had to come first, ie,

"Until they become conscious they will never rebel,
and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious".

1984 was Orwell's ultimate effort. In reading the biographies I am amazed at the pain he put himself through to write it. Imagine how good it would have been if he hadn't been so ill and had been able to perfect it. But he got the main message out and he did it in such a way that once a person has read 1984 they are, in a way, immune to totalitarian encroachments, at least in their mind.

One of my favourite Orwell quotes, taken from one of his essays, is:

"If you hate violence and don't believe in politics,
the only major remedy remaining is education.
Perhaps society is past praying for,
but there is always hope
for the individual human being."

Thanks for your question,

~ Jackie Jura

23.The Proles and WHY ORWELL WROTE "1984"

Jackie Jura
~ an independent researcher monitoring local, national and international events ~

email: orwelltoday@gmail.com
HOME PAGE
website: www.orwelltoday.com