root causes of cynicism and/or intuition??

[kgb442000]

I am currently writing a paper that deals with the root causes of Orwell's distrust of government and also possible events in his life that could have helped him develope such incredible intuition. Was there a single event that caused him to think the way he did, or did this intuition developed over a long period of time. If so, what caused him to think the way he did. Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated.

[atiguhya padma]

I think Orwell was very disillusioned with what had happened in Russia, and this combined with his experiences in Catalonia fostered a deep distrust of political movements. Reading Homage to Catalonia, there is an ever-present feeling of admiration and respect towards individual revolutionaries, those fighting on the ground at the front, but a deep suspicion towards those that set policies and initiatives.

I would say that Homage to Catalonia and his essay Shooting an Elephant are key texts with regard to his views on organised movements and political bureaucracy.

AP

[simon]

While serving in the British army in India he saw the tyrany of the british reign over th indian peoples. If you read some of his essays they describe his growing mentality about the use of language to opress people. Down and Out in Paris and London really helped him develope 1984. From his wanderings as a bum he came to know the underdog, the guy who inevitably, without hollywood glamour, would come to or amount to nothing. I think hte character of Winston was developed overtime as he saw that tyrany was prevalent in society and wasn't going to go away. As for a specific lifetime event that changed his thinking, I think he was questioning authority from a "young age", as I seem to recall him getting kicked out of school or something.

[pigdog]

Orwell worked for the British government in India for a while. He wrote an essay about his involvement in an execution that indicates his reaction to dehumanization that is necesary to detatch one's self from the person being executed. He experienced pre-Gandhi imperialism from the inside. I can't remember the title of the essay... you may consider brousing through Burmese Days to get another glimpse at his views of imperialism.

[atiguhya padma]

Its called Shooting an Elephant, if I remember correctly

[Scheherazade]

Yes, it is. An online copy can be found here. (http://www.online-literature.com/orwell/887/) It is a very good, rewarding read.

[NewWorldOrder]

Orwell has much evolved in the aristocratic circles so maybe he know a few things like the Queen Elisabeth as reported by the Guardian and CNN :)

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/WORLD/europe/11/06/burrell.queen/

LONDON, England -- Former royal butler Paul Burrell says Britain's Queen Elizabeth II warned him his close relationship with Princess Diana could put him in danger.

In his first major interview since being acquitted of stealing some of Diana's personal belongings, Burrell said the queen told him: "No-one, Paul, has been as close to a member of my family as you have."

And he said she warned: "There are powers at work in this country about which we have no knowledge."


http://www.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4541285-103573,00.html

We should be alarmed to read that the Queen warned Paul Burrell to be vigilant in view of certain "powers at work in this country" and his close relationship with Princess Diana ('Beware, Queen told me, powers are at work', November 6).
This account by Mr Burrell of his conversation with the Queen leaves her subjects either to wonder whether she knows more about something nasty lurking under the veneer of our democracy than she would ever be prepared to say, or to assume that she knows nothing and has now joined the ranks of the much-derided conspiracy theorists.

[kaka]

Orwell wasn't an aristo, and did quite a number of menial jobs.

As far as I know he didn't bare his innermost self in his writings, so the topic is tricky and involves piecing together information from various sources.

I don't think there's any single event that 'turned him' against government and made him distrust it so much. I think his experiences in Burma and, probably even more, in Catalonia are significant. His view of the internal British politics in WWII was also a very important factor. He was disgusted with the 'about turn' in official British attitudes towards the Soviet Union after the latter was attacked by Nazi Germany in June 1941. He had a bruising face to face confrontation with the Minister of Information, Brendan Bracken ('BB'). I've gone into a little more detail on this in the thread on Orwell and current politics.