Criticism > Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism > Special Commissioned Entry on George Orwell, W. Scott Lucas - Orwell As Studied

1. Printable Version
2. Download PDF
3. Cite this Page
4. Tweet This

ORWELL AS STUDIED

RECEPTION

Since his death in 1950, Orwell may have received more academic and popular attention than any other British writer of the twentieth century. His work is now a standard source for authoritative comment not only on politics and ideology but also on culture. This commentary, however, has not been driven primarily by a search to evaluate and commemorate Orwell as a literary figure. Instead, it has been prompted by his central position in the political and cultural context of the Cold War and by his adoption, at a time when the future status and composition of England is the focus of general debate, as an archetypal representative of “Englishness.”

In an excellent 1984 essay that is still relevant today, Alan Brown noted that Orwell had been a constant presence on the British curriculum since World War II. Studying examination questions and syllabi, Brown concluded that the emphasis was not the literary quality of Orwell's...

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass

1. Introduction
2. About George Orwell
3. Orwell At Work
4. Orwell's Era
5. Orwell's Works
6. Orwell On Orwell And Writing
7. Orwell As Studied
8. Copyright

1. George Orwell