Born: 25 June 1903
Died: 21 January 1950
Nationality: British
Eric Arthur Blair used George Orwell as his pen name, was one of the most renowned English novelist, essayist, journalists, and critic. Through many of his literary works, he was marked as having awareness of social injustice, opposition to totalitarianism, and outspoken support of democratic socialism. Coming from a civil servant Orwell was born in British India while his father was stationed there. As a child, he was often ill and was diagnosed with bronchitis and flu. Orwell was reportedly composing his first poem around the age of four. He finished his education in Britain but since his family cannot afford to send him to university, he joined India Imperial Force in 1922.
After finishing his listing in India, he wrote his first major work, Down and Out in Paris and London in 1933 which explored his being frugal living in these two cities. In 1934, he published Burmese Days that explored dark look at British colonialism in Burma. This novel marked the beginning of his interest in political matters. Orwell is best known for his two novels, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, both of which were published toward the end of his life. Animal Farm, published in 1945, was an anti-Soviet satire in a pastoral setting featuring two pigs as its main protagonists. These pigs were said to represent Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky. The novel brought Orwell great acclaim and financial rewards.
In 1949, Orwell published another masterwork, Nineteen Eighty-Four. This bleak vision of the world divided into three oppressive nations stirred up controversy among reviewers, who found this fictional future too despairing. In the novel, Orwell gave readers a glimpse into what would happen if the government controlled every detail of a person's life, down to their own private thoughts.
George Orwell was one of the Great Utopians for his literary work that has inspired and influenced many generations until today. He also contributed the term Orwellian, which describes totalitarian or authoritarian social practices has entered the language together with many of his neologisms.