George Orwell's Biggest Fear Went Far Beyond Big Brother

[xchrom]

http://www.businessinsider.com/george-orwells-biggest-fear-went-far-beyond-big-brother-2013-6



The totalitarian surveillance state imagined in George Orwell's "1984" is often cited to describe government encroachments on privacy, which is why the recent National Security Agency leaks led to a spike in sales of the dystopian novel on Amazon.com.

When you look at Orwell's other novels, however, it becomes clear that his central fear went far beyond government spying. The British author, who was born on June 25, 1903, also wrote pessimistic novels about imperialism, capitalism, commercialism, and war.

All of his novels (except for "Animal Farm," which is a specific historical allegory) revolve around a thwarted desire to escape the constraints of modern society.

The theme of escape in Orwell's writing has been noted by Dominic Cavendish, who describes "an Orwellian preoccupation with imprisonment and escape, his urge to examine human beings in the most straitened circumstances and consider their often thwarted urges for freedom."



Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/george-orwells-biggest-fear-went-far-beyond-big-brother-2013-6#ixzz2XE3yuknh



*** to really get to the root of modern anxiety -- i think you have to read orwell in tandem with kafka.

[cali]

1. Auden's Age of Anxiety makes a good addition to Orwell and Kafka

[xchrom]

2. indeed. nt