George Orwell
George Orwell was a British author whose political novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm have become the defining texts of dystopian fiction. His concept of Big Brother, doublethink, and thoughtcrime have entered the language as descriptions of authoritarian surveillance and propaganda. Though he did not consider himself a science fiction writer, his influence on the genre is enormous.
Works
- Nineteen Eighty-FourDystopian novel depicting a totalitarian state controlling thought itself
- Animal FarmAllegory of animal revolution that degenerates into totalitarianism
- Keep the Aspidistra FlyingNovel of a lower-middle-class man struggling against social decay
- Coming Up for AirNovel of a man's awakening to working-class consciousness before war
- Burmese DaysNovel of an English police officer's moral corruption in colonial Burma
- Homage to CataloniaOrwell's firsthand account of fighting for the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War
- The Road to Wigan PierEssay documenting the lives of miners and working-class poverty in industrial England
- Shooting an ElephantEssay examining imperialism through Orwell's experience as a police officer in Burma
- Inside the Whale and Other EssaysCollection of essays exploring politics, literature, and modern intellectual life