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GeeOrwell
Pre-reading
GeeOrwell(1903-1950)eishauthorandjourhurBlair。DuringmostofhisprofessioimeOrwellwasbestknownforhisjournalism,bothiishpressandinbookssuagetoia,desghisactivitiesduringtheSpanishCivilWar,andDownandOutinParisandLondaperiodofpovertyiies。Orwellisbestrememberedtodayfortwoofhisnovels,AnimalFarmay-Four。Hisworkismarkedbylucidprose,awarenessofsojustice,oppositiontototalitarianism,andoutspokensupportofdemo。Hewroteliterarycriticism,poetry,fidpolemi。Hisnon-fiworks,ingTheRoadtoier,doghisexperienceclasslifeihofEngland,arewidelyacclaimed,asarehisessaysonpolitics,literature,language,andculture。
&heSpanishcivilwarbrokeoutin1936,OrwellwaofightfortheSpaagainstFranationalistuprising。InAragoiby“aFasiper”。InBarahejoialinistSpanishTrotskyists’Workers’PartyofMarxistUnifi。Whentheunistspartlygairolaetheparty,manyofOrwell’sfrieed,shot,ordisappeared。Hebarelyescapedalivein1937。
Hisiillworksonpopularandpoliticalculture,aermOrwelliaiveoftotalitarianorauthoritariansocialpractices—hasehelaherwithmanyofhisneologisms,forinstance,cBrhtPoliemoryhole,doublethic。
Promptsf
1。WhydoesOrwellsay“Believenothihing,ofwhatyoureadaboutinternalaffairsoside”?
2。WhoarethetwosidesoftheSpanishCivil>
3。WhatistheexcuseoftheNazisfFranco?
4。Hoarreportedagtotheauthor?
&heRussianarmydeployedinSpainagtotheauthor?
6。Howdoyouuhesehereis,forinstanosugas‘sce’。Thereisonly‘Germansce’‘Jewishsce’,etc。”?
7。Whatdothe“twosafeguards”draph6?
8。OnwhatbeliefisPacifismfoundedagtheauthor?
9。Whataretheadvahewthe>
10。WhydidthewdtheisiaperformdifferentlyinfightingFascism?
11。ForwhatreasonswastheGovered?
12。Whatistheauthor’sattitudetowardstheactsofthosepowerfultriesgthe>
[1]ThestruggleforpowerbetweentheSpanishRepublipartiesisanunhappy,faroffthingwhichIhavenowishtoreviveatthisdate。Ioiosay:believenothihing,ofwhatyoureadaboutinternalaffairsoside。Itisall,fromwhateversanda—thatistosay,lies。Thebroadtruthabouttheleenough。TheSpanishbeoisiesawtheircethelabormovement,andtookit,aidedbytheNazisandbytheforcesofreaallovertheworld。Itisdoubtfulwhethermorethanthatwilleverbeestablished。
[2]IremembersayihurKoestler1,“Historystoppedin1936”,atwhioddedieuahthinkingoftotalitarianismimoreparticularlyoftheSpanishCivilWar。EarlyinlifeIhadisevercorrectlyreportedinainSpaiime,Isaortswhiotbearaothefaoteveionshipwhichisimpliedinanordinarylie。Isaortedwheretherehadbeennofighting,aesilencewherehundredsofmenhadbeenkilled。Isawtroopswhohadfoughtbravelydenouncedasdtraitors,andotherswhohadfiredhailedastheheroesofimaginaryvictories,andIsaersinLtheseliesaellectualsbuildiiouresovereventsthathadneverhappened。Isaw,infact,histwrittennotintermsofeofwhatoughttohavehappenedagtovarious“partyliinaway,horribleasallthisortant。Itedsedaryissues—hestruggleforpowerbetweeernandtheSpa-wiheeffortsoveropreveioninSpain。ButthebroadpictureofthewarwhichtheSpapreseheworldwasnotuntruthful。Themainissueswerewhatitsaidtheywere。ButasfortheFasdtheirbackers,howcouldtheyeevehetruthasthat?Howcouldtheypossiblymentiontheirrealaims?Theirversionoftheurefantasy,aaothavebeenotherwise。
[3]TheaotheNazisandFascistsresentthemselvesaspatriotssavingSpainfromaRussiandictatorship。ThisiendingthatlifeiSpainwasjustonelongmassacre(videtheCatholicHeraldortheDailyMail—butthesewerechild’splayparedwiththetalFascistpress),anditinvolvedimmeingthescaleofRussiaion。OutofthehugepyramidoflieswhichtheCatholidreaarypressallovertheworldbuiltup,letmetakejusto—thepresenSpainofaRussiaFranco2partisansallbelievediesthwentashighashalfamillion。Now,therewasnoRussianarmyinSpain。Theremayhavebeenahandfulofairmees,afewhuhemost,butanarmytherewashousandsnerswhofoughtinSpain,ionmillionsofSpahis。Well,theirtestimonymadeallupontheFrancandists,notoneofwhomhadsetfootiSpain。SimultahesepeoplerefusedutterlytoadmitthefaanorItaliathesametimeastheGermanandItalianpresswereopenlyboastingabouttheexploitsionaries”。Ihaveentio,butinfactthewholeofFascistpropagandaaboutthewarwasonthislevel。
[4]Thiskindofthingisfrighteningtome,becauseitoftehefeelingthattheveryceptofobjectivetruthisfadingoutoftheworld。Afterall,thecesarethatthoselies,oratanyratesimilarlies,willpassintohistory。HowwillthehistoryoftheSpanishwarbewritten?IfFranainsinpowerhisnomineeswillwritethehistorybooks,and(tostiypoint)thatRussianarmywhieverexistedwillbeehistoricalfadschoolwilllearnaboutitgeiosupposeFascismisfiedandsomekiieoredinSpaininthefairlyure;eventhen,howisthehistoryofthewartobewritten?WhatkindofrecordswillFrabehindhim?Supposeeventhattherecordskeptosidearerecoverable—evenso,howisatruehistoryofthewartobewritten?For,asIhavepoialready,theGoveralsodealtextensivelyiheanti-Fasgleonecouldwriteabroadlytruthfulhistoryofthewar,butitartisanhistory,unreliableoneveryminorpoierall,somekindofhistorywillbewritten,ahosewhoactuallyrememberthewararedead,itwillbeuniversallyaccepted。Soforallpracticalpurposestheliewillhavebeetruth。
[5]Iknowitisthefashiontosaythatmostofrecordedhistoryisliesanyway。Iamwillihathistoryisforthemostpartinadbiased,buteculiarteistheabaheideathathistorycouldbetruthfullywrittepeopledeliberatelylied,ortheyunsciouslycoloredwhattheywrote,ortheystruggledafterthetruth,wellknowingthattheymustmakemaineachcasetheybelievedthat“thefacts”existedandweremoreorlessdiscoverable。Andiherewasalwaysasiderablebodyoffactwhichwouldhavebeeobyalmosteveryone。Ifyoulookupthehistoryofthelastwarin,foriheEannica,youwillfindthatarespectableamouerialisdrawnfromGermaishaorianlyonmanythings,evenoals,buttherewouldstillbethatbodyof,asitwere,ralfawhieitherwouldseriouslygetheother。Itisjustthisonbasisofagreement,withitsimplithathumanbeingsareallonespeal,thattotalitariaroys。Nazitheoryindeedspecifiiesthatsugas“thetruth”exists。Thereis,forinstanosugas“sce”。Thereisonly“Germansce”“Jewishsce”,etc。TheimpliedobjectiveofthislihoughtisanightmareworldinwhichtheLeader,clique,otourebutthepast。IftheLeadersaysofsudsut,“Itneverhappeneverhappehattwoandtwoarefive—oarefive。Thisprhtensmemuchmorethanbombs—andafterourexperiehelastfewyearsthatisnotafrivolousstatement。
[6]Butisitperhapsorbidtoterrifyohvisionsofatotalitarianfuture?Befoffthetotalitarianworldasaetrue,justrememberthatin1925theworldoftodaywouldhaveseemeda’tetrue。Againstthatshiftingphantasmagoriwhichblackmaybewhitetomorrowaerday’sweatherbegedbydecree,thereareiyonlytwosafeguards。Ohowevermuythetruth,thetruthgoesoing,asitwere,behindyourbadyoutly’tviolateitinairmilitaryefficy。Theotheristhatsolosoftheearthremaiheliberaltraditioalive。LetFascism,orpossiblyevenabinationofseveralFasquerthewholeworld,awos。WeinEnglahedahiskindofthing,becauseourtraditionsandourpastsecurityhavegivealbeliefthatitallesrightihethingyoumostfearneverreallyhappens。NourishedforhundredsofyearsoureinwhichRightinvariablytriumphsichapter,webelievehalf-ievilalwaysdefeatsitselfinthelongrun。Pacifism,forinstance,isfelyonthisbelief。Doevil,anditwillsomehowdestroyitself。Butwhyshouldit?Whatevideitdoes?Andwhatihereofamodernindustrializedstategunlessqueredfromtheoutsidebymilitaryforce?
[7]siderforihere-institutionofslavery。WhocouldhaveimagiyyearsagothatslaverywouldreturntoEurope?Well,slaveryhasbeeoredunderourheforpsalloverEuropeandNorthAfricawherePoles,Russians,Jeolitiersofeveryracetoilatroad-makingors-drainingfortheirbarerations,aresimplechattelslavery。Themostonesayisthatthebuyingandsellingofslavesbyindividualsised。Inotherways—thebreaking-upoffamilies,forihesareprobablyworsethaheAmeriplantations。Thereisnoreasthatthisstateofaffairswillgewhileanytotalitariandominationegraspitsfullimplis,beysticalwaywefeelthataregimefoundedocollapse。Butitisworthpariionoftheslaveempiresofantiquitywiththatofae。Civilizationsfoundedonslaveryhavelastedforsuchperiodsasfourthousandyears。
[8]WhenIthinkofantiquity,thedetailthatfrightethosehundredsofmillionsofslavesonwhosebackscivilizatieieiobehindthemever。WedoheirhewholeofGreekandRomanhistory,howmanyslaves’oyou?Ikoftwo,orpossiblythree。OadtheotherisEpictetus4。Also,intheRomanroomattheBritishMuseumthereisaglassjarwiththemaker’snameihebottom,“Felixfecit”。IhaveavividmentalpictureofpoorFelix(aGaulwithredhairaalcollarrouihavebeehereareonlytwoslaveswhoseelyknorobablyfewpeopleremembermore。Theresthavegoouttersilence。
。。。
[9]ThebaeoftheresistaFrancoanishw—class,especiallytheurbantrade-uhelongrun—itisimportaitisonlyinthelongrun—thewclassremaireliableenemyofFascism,simplybecausethew-dstogainmostbyadestruofsolikeotherclassesories,it’tbepermalybribed。
[10]TosaythisishewthellethathasfollowedtheRussiaionitisthemanualworkerswhohavebeeisimpossiblewastheirownfault。Timeaftertime,intryaftertry,theanizedw-entshavebeencrushedbyopen,illegalvioleheirradesabroad,lihemiicalsolidarity,havesimplylookedohing;ahis,secretarayals,haslaihatbetweenwhiteandcoloredworkersthereisnoteveosolidarity。WhobelieveinthesternatioaftertheeveeheBritishwclassthemassacreoftheirradesinVienna,Berlin,Madrid,orwhereveritmightbe,seemedlessiiaerday’sfootballmatch。YetthisdoeshefactthatthewclasswillgagainstFascismaftertheothershave。OheNaziquestofFraheastoionsamoelligentsia,ineoftheleft-wingpolititelligeelligehepeoplewhosquealloudestagainstFasdyetarespectableproportionofthemcollapseiismwhenthepiheyarefar-sightedenoughtoseetheoddsagainstthem,aheybebribed—foritisevidentthattheNazisthinkitworthwhiletobribeiuals。Withthewclassitistheotherwayabout。Tooignorahroughthetrickthatisbeihem,theyeasilyswallowthepromisesofFascism,yetsooertheyalthestruggleagaidoso,betheirowheyalwaysdiscoverthatthepromisesofFasotbefulfilled。Towihew—classpermaheFascistswouldhavetoraisethegeandardofliving,whichtheyareunableandprobablyunwillingtodleclassislikethegrolaisblindandstupid,butitkokeeppushingupwardstowardsthelight,anditwilldothisinthefadlessdisents。Whatarethewfor?Simplyforthedetlifewhichtheyaremoreandmoreawareisnoossible。Theiressofthisaimebbsandflows。InSpain,forawhile,peovingtoalwhichtheywaoreadbelievedtheycouldreach。ItatedforthecuriouslybuoyalifeiSpainhaddurihsofthewar。TheonpeoplekheirboheRepublicwastheirfriendandFrancowastheirehattheywerei,becausetheywerefightingforsomethingwhichtheworldowedthemandwasabletogivethem。
[11]OorememberthistoseetheSpanishwariive。Whehiy,squalor,andfutilityofwar—andinthisparticularcaseoftheiheperses,theliesandthemisuandings—thereisalwaysthetemptationtosay:“Onesideisasbadastheother。Iamral。”Inpractice,however,oberal,andthereishardlysugasawarinwhichitmakesnodifferens。Nearlyalwaysoandsmoreorlessfress,theothersidemoreorlessforrea。ThehatredwhichtheSpanishRepublicexmillionaires,dukes,als,play-boys,Blimps5andwhat-notwouldinitselfbeenoughtoshowohelandlay。Iwasaclasswar。Ifithadbeenwon,themonpeopleeverywherewouldhavebeehewaslost,andthedividend-drawersallovertheworldrubbedtheirhands。Thatwastherealissue;allelsewasfrothonitssurface。
。。。
[12]TheouteoftheSpanishwarwassettledinLondon,Paris,Rome,Berlin—atainSpaihesummerof1937thosewitheyesintheirheadsrealizedthattheGoverotwinthewaruhererofouheiio-up,aofightonNegrihersmayhavebeenpartlyiheexpethatthehichactuallybrokeoutin1939wasingin1938。Themuch-publicizeddisunityosidewasnotamaincauseofdefeat。TheGoveriaswerehurriedlyraised,ill-armedandunimagiheirmilitaryoutlook,buttheywouldhavebeenthesameifpletepoliticalagreemeedfromthestart。Attheoutbreakofanishfactoryworkerdidnotevenknowhowtofirearifle(therehadneverbeenuniversalsinSpain),aionalpacifismoftheLeftwasagreathandicap。ThethousandsnerswhoservedinSpainmadegoodinfantry,buttherewereveryfewexpertsofanykindamorotskyist7thesisthatthewarcouldhavebeenwoionhadagedrobablyfalse。Tonatioories,demolishchurdissuerevolutionarymaoswouldhearmiesmoreeffit。TheFasbecausetheywerethestroheyhadmodernarmsahershadn’t。Nopoliticalstrategycouldoffsetthat。