Question for everyone

[cruising_40]

Hello, one question: what exactly in George Orwells life made him write 1984, what influenced him and why? Thanks!

[The Atheist]

The Second World War, post-war Britain, the atomic bomb, the rise of socialism and technological growth which made the idea the Thought Police a possibility.

Explanation:

WWII - Orwell had just witnessed the most damaging war ever in human history. This showed him what it's possible for just one man (Hitler) to do. He theorised that a political party made up of like minds could actually take over permanently.

Post-war Britain - rationing was still in force, the USSR looked as though it was potentially going to start another war and the population was heavily depressed as victors who had won an almost Pyrrhic victory - millions dead, families decimated and still in terrible economic turmoil. He felt that the time was right for the type of revolution he wrote about.

The A-Bomb. Obviously, this created the potential for an atomic war which would increase the devastation of WWII by an order of magnitude.

The rise of socialism. Orwell felt that socialism would continue to rise, creating a power vacuum for a political cadre to exploit.

Technology - Orwell had seen the introduction of TV and saw the possibilities it offered to allow an organisation like the Thought Police to use the technology for evil purposes.

The idea had raised itself in lots of Orwell's previous work and 1984 is the logical expansion of the idea into a novel format. Orwell himself repeatedly noted that he only wrote to pass on what he thought needed telling.

Was he right?

[cruising_40]

Thanks you ever so much The Atheist! Thank you thank you Thank you!!!