15 Little-Known Facts About George Orwell and His Dystopian Classic 1984
'1984' remains one of the most widely read books of all time. We have gathered information you probably didn't know about this stunning book and its author.
1. The book was almost not called "1984". Orwell was going to call it "The Last Man in Europe".
2. "1984" could have been written by P.S. Burton, Kenneth Miles, or H. Lewis Allways, not George Orwell.
George Orwell was the nickname of the writer. The artist's real name was Eric Arthur Blair.
3The artist's mind was not only confused about the name, but also about the date in which the event took place. Orwell also considered 1980 and 1982 dates as well as 1984.
4. Orwell was also struggling with tuberculosis while writing the book.
Orwell, who started writing his book in peace in a farmhouse in Scotland, later fell ill and was hospitalized in a sanatorium
5. Orwell also faced a risk of drowning during the writing process of the novel!
In 1947, again in Scotland, the author, sailing with his son and nephews without life jackets, had a difficult time when the boat capsized.
Fortunately, his family members survived the accident, but the incident had an even worse effect on Orwell, who was in poor health.
6. Orwell was indeed under surveillance when he wrote the book.
Orwell was under surveillance by the British government for his earlier writings and works.
Intelligence reports stated that he had 'advanced communist ideas' and 'wore bohemian clothes'.
7. George Orwell worked as a propagandist for the BBC before writing his critique of propaganda.
8. "2+2=5" was a slogan that the Communist Party actually used.
The phrase '2+2=5' was used in reference to the five-year development plans that began in the Soviet Union in 1928. The plus value was supposed to be created by the enthusiasm of socialist workers.
9. Orwell owed the repressive policies in his book to different governments around the world.
Although he was a socialist, he was opposed to Stalin and criticized many policies in the Soviet Union.
He also developed the concept of thoughtcrime by considering the Japanese practice of arresting people for 'unpatriotic thoughts' called Kempeitai.
10. Orwell is thought to have modeled his second wife Sonia Brownell when developing the character of Julia in the book.
11. Orwell was inspired by his office at the BBC, "Room 101", which he described in the book as a place where you could be subjected to all kinds of torture.
So what did the room look like? In 2003, artist Rachel Whiteread made a replica of the room in the image.
12. Orwell died only 7 months after 1984 was published.
Although Orwell became famous with 'Animal Farm', he unfortunately did not have the chance to see the impact of '1984'.
He died on January 21, 1950, only 7 months after the publication of the work.
13. The asteroid discovered in 1984 was named after Orwell.
The asteroid, named '11020 Orwell', was discovered by astronomer Antonin Mrkos on July 31, 1984.
14. For 40 years after the publication of "1984" and "Animal Farm", Orwell held the record for being the author whose two books were translated into the most languages.
Both books were translated into 65 languages.
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