GEORGE ORWELL AND ME
I wrote a spoof before (Feb. 28, 2006) about William F. Buckley and me (scroll way down). Although it wasn’t taken as a spoof by some readers and, like most ‘good’ satirizing, it was partly based on fact: the fact that he has a much better vocabulary than I. His vocabulary is so much better than mine that I have difficulty reading him. I know it would be good for me to plow through his stuff with a dictionary at my side. But the hell with it.
Which brings me to George Orwell, who also had a better command of English than I have. I am a huge fan of Orwell. Not Animal Farm or Nineteen Eighty-Four, those were the product of Orwell. The real man is in Down and Out in Paris and London, Burmese Days, The Road to Wigan Pier, and Homage to Catalonia. Read one. Read them all if you like honesty in literature and clear prose. The man bared his soul. Especially poignant is the essay, "Shooting an Elephant". He had to do it even though he knew it was wrong.
I know I don’t come up to his level in this blog but that was the goal line I never expected to cross. I’ve aimed high (to mix a metaphor) and given it a shot. Have I left things out in my little stories? Yes. Things that might make me look bad? Yeah, some things. But do you suppose Orwell put everything into his stories?
I have gone farther than Orwell, being an English Gentleman, could possibly go. I am satisfied with this blog so far. It is the essence of me. A couple of friends have suggested I write a book about my life. That is pretty much what I am doing here.
AFTERTHOUGHT: On the subject of hiding things in one’s life, when I went to get a job as a security guard there was an application to fill out and a list of questions. One of the questions was: Have you ever done anything illegal? What a great question. Only a moron would write “No.” Anyone who wrote, “No,” could immediately be dismissed as a moron and a liar.
Of course I answered, “Yes.”
So you might be wondering, “What has he done that is illegal?”
I will not deny anything because any denial of things not true will narrow it down to what is true.
AFTER-AFTER THOUGHT: There is also this parallel between Orwell and me (although I reiterate, in a different class): He started as an extreme leftist, even to the point of fighting on the Communist side in the Spanish Civil War. Then in later life he became the scourge of the left with his anti-Communist writings.
If one lives long enough does the truth become apparent? Ha, ha! That’s funny. No way. People get mired in the dried mud of a lifetime of their own and their ancestors’ opinions, which they will pass on to their offspring.
ONE MORE THING: I said to my friend, Alvin Duskin, that I had to be telling the truth herein because it would be too hard to remember so many lies.
No, he said, it’s easier to remember what you’ve written than what actually happened.
He’s got a point.
AND ANOTHER THING: George Orwell died at the age of 46. He had done many things and accomplished much. I married for the first time at 46 and had lived a varied and interesting life till then. I had always thought, in my adventures, I was trading longevity for excitement in my life. Much to my surprise, I have lived another varied and interesting life since then.
Which brings me to George Orwell, who also had a better command of English than I have. I am a huge fan of Orwell. Not Animal Farm or Nineteen Eighty-Four, those were the product of Orwell. The real man is in Down and Out in Paris and London, Burmese Days, The Road to Wigan Pier, and Homage to Catalonia. Read one. Read them all if you like honesty in literature and clear prose. The man bared his soul. Especially poignant is the essay, "Shooting an Elephant". He had to do it even though he knew it was wrong.
I know I don’t come up to his level in this blog but that was the goal line I never expected to cross. I’ve aimed high (to mix a metaphor) and given it a shot. Have I left things out in my little stories? Yes. Things that might make me look bad? Yeah, some things. But do you suppose Orwell put everything into his stories?
I have gone farther than Orwell, being an English Gentleman, could possibly go. I am satisfied with this blog so far. It is the essence of me. A couple of friends have suggested I write a book about my life. That is pretty much what I am doing here.
AFTERTHOUGHT: On the subject of hiding things in one’s life, when I went to get a job as a security guard there was an application to fill out and a list of questions. One of the questions was: Have you ever done anything illegal? What a great question. Only a moron would write “No.” Anyone who wrote, “No,” could immediately be dismissed as a moron and a liar.
Of course I answered, “Yes.”
So you might be wondering, “What has he done that is illegal?”
I will not deny anything because any denial of things not true will narrow it down to what is true.
AFTER-AFTER THOUGHT: There is also this parallel between Orwell and me (although I reiterate, in a different class): He started as an extreme leftist, even to the point of fighting on the Communist side in the Spanish Civil War. Then in later life he became the scourge of the left with his anti-Communist writings.
If one lives long enough does the truth become apparent? Ha, ha! That’s funny. No way. People get mired in the dried mud of a lifetime of their own and their ancestors’ opinions, which they will pass on to their offspring.
ONE MORE THING: I said to my friend, Alvin Duskin, that I had to be telling the truth herein because it would be too hard to remember so many lies.
No, he said, it’s easier to remember what you’ve written than what actually happened.
He’s got a point.
AND ANOTHER THING: George Orwell died at the age of 46. He had done many things and accomplished much. I married for the first time at 46 and had lived a varied and interesting life till then. I had always thought, in my adventures, I was trading longevity for excitement in my life. Much to my surprise, I have lived another varied and interesting life since then.
posted by Walter Guest at 3:25 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home