Coming back to George Orwell after finishing 1984, I skimmed through his essay on ‘In defence of PG Wodehouse‘ because I am an ardent fan of Wodehouse’s writing. Again, a terrific and insightful read. I didn’t know the details of whole Nazi’s chapter and infamous German broadcasts given by Wodehouse during his internment camp. The episode (Wikipedia link here) is distastefully amusing. At the time when he was trying to be funny through these broadcasts, wartime England was in no mood for light-hearted banter, however, and the broadcasts led to many accusations of collaboration with the Germans and even treason. Some libraries banned his books. I am surprised at his political naivete and no sense of foreseeability. As Orwell put it, “Wodehouse was his own Bertie Wooster”. Orwell’s analytical essay is another deft piece of writing and his political acumen was spot on since MI5 later concurred with his observations as discovered through it’s investigations on Wodehouse being a traitor.
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Barely 1/5th into ‘1984′, I cant help discerning a fine individualistic touch of the author in the impact it succeeds in generating. Eric Arthur Blair aka George Orwell needs no introduction.
What makes a piece engaging is often the views presented behind the scenes (apart from the magic that authors like Wodehouse can create by mere wordplay) and for that, it is very important that the author says something definitive rather than filling pages with superficial frill. That is feasible only if the author holds a clear-cut view on the topic. Orwell exactly does that in Animal Farm and 1984, and drawing upon his personal experiences, spins out categorical tales woven around his ideology of politics and society.
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