Discuss, in your own words, George Orwell as a novelist.

The present novel, “Animal Farm’ is an autobiographical novel in which the readers find enough material about the life of the novelist himself. Discuss it.

What do you know about the elements of symbolism in the story of the novel, ‘Animal Farm’? Discuss it.

Ans.

Introduction

George Orwell is one of the great novelists of the modern age and his novels show a bitter satire, against the contemporary political and social system. It is by his writings that he has achieved name and fame in the whole world. He is recognized far and wide as a great man of-letters. For example, his present novel, Animal Farm shows symbolic expression showing a bitter satire against communism of Russia. Some critics have criticized him for the want of reality in his novels. They feel that he has failed as a great and realistic novelist. Some critics say that he has no or limited power of imagination in relation to the understanding of human life. He is charged of having limited sympathy with the human beings.

His Weak Plot-construction

Some critics say that George Orwell has failed to produce real and strong plot-construction in his novels. He did not feel that it is the vital part of a successful novel. For example, in his first novel, ‘Burmese Days’ he has written it with his own literary planning. He had failed to express a satisfactory form in that novel. It is said that he had followed Flaubert, a great contemporary novelist. His second novel, A Clergyman’s Daughter’ possesses weak plot-construction. Its reason is that he has combined a large number of events in a weak manner. At the same time, many scenes in the novel are very unrealistic. At many places he describes his own experiences of life after forgetting the main plot.

In the same way, ‘Keep the Aspidistra Flying’ cannot be judged as a real work of fiction, because it lacks the reality of theme. Some critics have called it a burlesque, or mockery. In the same way, his next novel, ‘Coming Up for Air has been written in the prose form. Animal Farm which was his fifth novel earned great name and fame to George Orwell. Its reason is that it shows perfect plot-construction.

His Characters

George Orwell is also known for his weak character creation because he did not have the real quality of clear and impressive expression. Its reason is that he had failed to make the real observation of human mind. Some critics say that he failed to understand the psychology of a common man in the right manner. For example, in his novel, ‘Down and Out in Paris and London’, the writer could not get the sympathy of his readers for his character named Bozo.

It is necessary to point out that his characters indicate the problem of identification and existence, so they do not show right kind of development. Their efforts prove fruitless in the end. They fail to give up darkness from their lives. For example, in his novel, ‘Nineteen Eighty Four’, the hero named Winston Smith had a desire to do something extraordinary in his life but he did not agree with the policy of his party. On the other hand, he had revolted against the party. He was caught red handed, so he was imprisoned and tortured much.

In his present novel, ‘Animal Farm’ he also failed to show justice with his characters. Napoleon who had become a dictator of the animal farm had violated the main commandments. On the other hand, Snowball who was a great warrior and a fine orator was compelled to run away from that farm when the furious dogs tried to attack him.

Thus, George Orwell’s characters are weak and passive.

An Autobiographical Element

As we study the story of the present novel, ‘Animal Farm’ and his other novels we find that they are rich with the autobiographical element. It can be shown in two ways. First of all, he was much influenced by the experiences of his own life which he had included in the pages of his novels. Secondly, the problems related to the external world also made an influence on him. With this reason he mixed both subjectivity and objectivity in his fiction but he could not find out real harmony between them in his novels.

As we study. “Animal Farm’ and his other novels we find that the autobiographical element always dominated from the beginning upto their end. In this way, the contents of all his novels look alike. All his novels show the bitter experiences of his own life. His characters lack free and independent expression so they are betrayed.

An Element of Symbolism

As we study seriously the present novel, ‘Animal Farm’ and his other novels we also find an element of symbolism in a large measure. The author was the follower of the tradition of symbolism of his time. He was influenced by the literary orthodoxy which was founded in 1910. Some critics say that the background of such symbolism proved the cause of his failure. They feel that he should not have used it in an excessive manner to get success as a true literary artist. He failed due to his wrong efforts.

Conclusion

In short, George Orwell could not make perfect plot construction, nor strong characters. His characters are certainly very weak and passive. His novels show unnecessary political influence in his novels. The use of symbolism looks to be unreal. With this reason he is not regarded a perfect novelist. Only, ‘Animal Farm’ is his great novel.