Don't get me wrong, I like Orwell, but it seems odd that Shakespeare and orwell are the only authors with their own forums. I suppose people just like to talk about these guys more than other authors?
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Don't get me wrong, I like Orwell, but it seems odd that Shakespeare and orwell are the only authors with their own forums. I suppose people just like to talk about these guys more than other authors?
Good question. I also wonder the reason. I think they are Admin's favorite authors.
He might, but that's not the reason. Apparently, Orwell was/is the most popular author on the site. Check this thread for more information.
Thanks, Criasor.
But I'm sure in a year someone will come with same question "Why Orwell is?" again. It would be better to put the reason somewhere on forum.
Becuase Orwell is The ****.
You're welcome, Caspian.
Well let me ask now, why Shakespeare?
(asking as a common reader, who has tried to read Shakespeare, yet couldn't find something really-really special about the lad's works).
At least teachers do and that's why more and more students will spend their time searching for more info about him :). All lit teachers talk about Shakespeare no matter if they like his works or not, he's considered too important not to be mentioned in schools. That's my opinion anyway :)
Because Shakespeare is probably the second writer of all times (and I assume that he's a sought author in these forums). The question is, why doesn't the greatest of them all have a separate page? :)
The second?
But then who is the first?
Could it be .....
....me?
Well, I must say that I am flattered. I know that you didn't mention my name, but we can all read between the lines, can't we? ;)
Though I haven't written anything greater than, say, a sonata, I have certainly thought of writing great pieces of music, poetry and literature. So it is totally understandable.
No false modesty!
Sincerely yours,
Taliesin and his
EGO
Quote:
Originally Posted by crisaor
That's my point Cris..We should have separate thread for each greatest writer from each genre (how's that sound..) and to determine who's the best, we can make ourselves a poll...let the honorable members of the forums decide ;)
and Taliesin...your big "EGO" made me smile ;)
For the record, I was referring to Homer, but Taliesin, feel free to send your work my way anytime. ;)
Sub, I don't think that's possible. I have a favourite, and so do you, and so does everybody else. There's just not enough space (in a manageable way) to assign a particular forum to all those great writers out there. It'd simply get out of control.
I agree with Crisaor that it would be very difficult to decide the favorite author/s... and dedicate threads to them, but anyone who would like to discuss a particular author and his/her works can start a new thread under General Literature folder I guess...
Oh you broke my heart :bawling:Quote:
Originally Posted by crisaor
he is relevant
I could never understand why Orwell is the second most popular author on here. I know it's subjective, but he seems like a second rate writer compared to Tolstoy or the ever-controversial Joyce.
A lot of people I know in school have to read Orwell. Animal Farm or whatever. In high school I'm sure we all read 1984. I think John Dos Passos is a better writer than Joyce and if you take his trilogy U.S.A as a complete work (which is how it should be read) it is probably more important than Joyces Ulysses. But that's subjective and I'm sure plenty of people will disagree. It's like how everyone likes Led Zeppelin but no one has ever heard of The Quicksilver Messenger Service. I think Zeppelin sucks but again most people would disagree.
Orwell's ideas are still important and influential. The name Big Brother is still often used to describe intrusive government surveillance into people's private affairs. This is still hugely current issue, with CCTVs everywhere and the security services wanting to snoop into people's emails. The term was so powerful they they named a TV program after it. It was him who coined the term Newspeak in which language is craftily redefined to mean something it originally didn't. I sometimes think our government comes pretty close to wanting to implement Thought Crime. People can find themselves in jail pretty quick, it seems, if they say something unpleasant on the internet. Even the concept of Double Think resounds as much as it ever did. Our legal system is most intolerant of free speech where it involves racism or incitement to violence of some kind. I suppose a society has to impose some restrictions on people's liberty to say absolutely anything. In addition, the security services do have to seek out people who would want to create violence or topple the legitimate government. However, the language of Orwell helps us to resist government imposed restrictions on liberty with insufficient justification.
It was also Orwell who most articulately described the corruption process that always seems to occur when a popular movement sweeps away a previous corrupt regime and takes power, and it was Orwell who showed the danger of allowing a charismatic leader to establishing himself as the head of a personality cult. Time after time this happened during the 20th century: Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Mao. Whenever you see a big-mouth national leader, who becomes intolerant of criticism or starts subverting the democratic process, you are reminded of Animal Farm. Whenever you see a people who profess devotion to their national leader while living in ideologically induced poverty as in North Korea, you think 1984.
I also think Orwell is popular for some of his non-fiction books, especially among the Left. He fought against the fascists in the Spanish Civil War and was nearly killed. He lived among the destitute and homeless in the 1930s. He wrote about all these experiences.
Orwell and Shakespeare aren't the only authors with their own section on the forum. There are tons of them.
This thread was started in 2004.Quote:
Originally Posted by Volya
And I was replying because other people brought the thread up again...
Yes, but when the thread was started, Orwell and Shakespeare were alone - and eight years later the mystery remains.......
I doubt very much that Shakespeare will be seriously challenged for his place at the top, despite other heavyweights such as Dante, Homer etc. being to the fore, but although Orwell might be called into question on the quality of his writing, no other 20th century writer has had the impact that he has in terms of highlighting the dangers inherent in political idealism, even though, paradoxically, he was a political idealist himself.
The issue is mostly popularity in the sense that they are the most "frequented" ones, which is mostly due to the fact that they are still widely read and taught all over the world. Many students visit the Forum seeking for assistance or guidance on their works.
It is not because the Admin thinks they are "better" writers than the rest.
I've never understood Orwell's popularity here. Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan, but 1984 taking the number 1 spot in the 100 Favorite Books thread? That just seems weird.
It's not weird if you consider its influence. There have been writers such as Zamyatin and Koestler who also warned of unqualified support for totalitarian regimes and in particular that of the now defunct USSR. The fact that it is defunct is due in no small measure to 1984 which pointed up the naivety of left-leaning intellectuals and has acted as a counter measure to their influence in academia and elsewhere.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis
Okay, but that still doesn't explain, or necessarily justify (not that it really needs justification), why it gets the top spot, considering there are plenty of great authors who have had just as much, and more, influence. Homer, Dante, Shakespeare, Dickens, and a whole bunch of others have had much greater influence.
Few of their readers in the 20th century actually experienced what they had written about, whereas many of Orwell's readers did as they witnessed Soviet Russia's control of its Eastern and Central European satellites and had to live with the cold war that ensued.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis
So what?
Actuality will usually get the vote over related past experience, which is why Orwell resonates to a greater degree with his readers than would otherwise be the case.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis
I agree . . . when it comes to your average reader. If the poll was just a bunch of random people, of course Orwell would seem more influential/relevant than Shakespeare or Dante, but then again, Dan Brown, Stephanie Meyer, and the chick who writes the 50 Shades books would seem more relevant and influential to the average reader than Orwell. I find his place at number 1 odd because it was a choice made by people who are devotees to literature, and go beyond what's just contemporarily relevant.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emil Miller
Important writers shape the world they live in and beyond. None of the rubbish merchants you have mentioned can be considered to have done so but Orwell's legacy is that of someone who did and continues to do so.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis
Never said they did.Quote:
Originally Posted by Emil Miller
I'm not sure if you're trying to argue with me or not. I don't even know if there's anything to argue about.
Apparently, 1984 and Animal Farm have sold more copies than any two books by any other 20th century author.
I think we get more posts on 1984 from the please-do-my-homework-for-me crowd than any other book.
:lol: You're right about that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Calidore
No I'm not trying to argue but genuinely trying to explain what makes Orwell a top writer on the forum.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mutatis-Mutandis
Arighty. :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Emil Miller
I think it's a little strange as well, but that may be just me.
Well, I think it's strange . . . so maybe it's just the two of us.