George Orwell

First Published in 1985, the aim of this book is to define an aspect of Orwellâs literary identity which underlies and informs the sociopolitical content of his novels, and which may account for his being âmore widely readâ than perhaps any other serious writer in the twentieth century.

It is the authorâs contention that the thematic source of the Orwell novel is the problem of authentic existence, and that Orwellâs particular sociopolitical concerns were expressions of this problem. In chapter one selections of Orwellâs autobiographical writings are assessed, for in these the existential conflict between authentic and inauthentic modes of existence is traceable from childhood onwards. Orwell, it is argued, developed an inauthentic self -for- other in response to authoritarian oppressions, and he consequently pursued a double life characterized by the contradictions of âdoublethinkâ. Chapter two is an account of existential authenticity, and provides both the terms and perspectives subsequently applied in the separate chapters in which each of Orwellâs five novels are analyzed. In every case, J. P. Sartreâs âbad faithâ, Martin Heideggerâs âmineâ and âtheyâ and Martin Buberâs âIâ, âThouâ and âItâ, are seen to be crucial explanatory notions within the Orwell novel. In his conclusion, therefore, Dr Carter redefines Orwell as an existential sociopolitical writer. This is a must read for students of literature, critical theory, existential philosophy, philosophy in general