Context
What happened in 1949 (year of pubblication)?
- WWI (1914-1918)
- WWII (1939-1945)
- Spanish civil war (1936-1939) (proxy war between ideologies) (coup by Franco)
- Wall street crisis (1929)
- Atomic bombing (1945)
- Rise/fall of fascism/nazism
- Boschevik revolution (1917) → communism (no social classes) obtained with violence
Every ancient regime was destroyed in Europe → changes in economy, way of living…
Lenin → Stalin (totalitarianism, one party as a leader)
These events led to: modernism, new ways to communicate without following rules, to reflect what was happening in the society (no structures)
Literature can’t follow the events happening in the world, mainly modernist texts in the years around 1949
Differences between writer and journalist:
Journalist:
Style is: Formal, spread information, objective, simple style, easy language with short sentences, realistic language
The content is: Real facts, politics, gossip, sports
Writer:
Style is: Informative
The content is: Revealing facts, drawing conclusions from them
Speculative fiction
Science fiction, fantasy
To speculate, theorize, think, ponder, ask questions and give them an answer, to be curious, make hypotesis, “what if?”
Dystopian novels are part of speculative fiction Dystopian society → no balance, unhappiness, society is suffering, mass of people, individuals always fail, two social classes (mass and controllers), happiness only inducted by drugs
George Orwell
Pseudonym of Eric Blair In 1936 he goes to Spanish civil war
In 1949 he publishes 1984
Who was Orwell?
Born in British India Son of a colonial officer that died and then the mother went to England with Eric Studied in one of England best schools (Eton) Came in touch with problem of social classes in India Against imperialism Became journalist In England writes books regarding his experience and condition of miners in England Down and out → “al verde” Important books: 1984, the animal farm