George Orwell (Pseudonym of Eric Arthur Blair) was born on June 25, 1903 at Motihari, a town of Bengal in India. He is regarded as an English novelist, essayist and critic, most famous for his two novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty Four (1949) both of which were published towards the end of his life. Orwell's Animal Farm was an anti-soviet satire in a pastoral setting. This novel brought Orwell great acclaim, fame and financial rewards. In 1949, Orwell published another masterpiece Nineteen Eighty Four. 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. Both Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty Four have been turned into films and have gained tremendous popularity over the years. Orwell opines that socialism is the most effective remedy to modern ill. He was opposed to the totalitarian regime of Stalinist Russia and the fascist regime of Franco in Spain. He was a social critic presenting social problems. The message of Animal Farm is that power corrupts those who wield it. However, he does not give a solution for where common men may find efficient and honest rulers.
Assistant Professor, Department of English, Mirza Ghalib College, Gaya
