n  Such Were the Joysn: Three-and-a-half stars, rounded up due to the savvy Orwellian marriage of literary craft with recollected misery. It truly makes the Canadian public educational system—one which I experienced from the broad perspective of four different provinces—appear paradisaical in comparison. If I could, I'd reach backwards in time to send poor Eric Blair the comforting gravelly timbre of Steve Earle.

n  Charles Dickensn: Four stars, and serious impetus via a critical encomium of a true English classic what delivers a hard textual hoof to the ass in signal that I must get my shit in gear and honk down on some of Chuck D's finest, toot duh sweet. Orwell's final assessment of Dickens is glorious:

n  He is laughing, with a touch of anger in his laughter, but no triumph, no malignity. It is the face of a man who is always fighting against something, but who fights in the open and is not frightened, the face of a man who is generously angry—in other words, of a nineteenth-century liberal, a free intelligence, a type hated with equal hatred by all the smelly little orthodoxies which are now contending for our souls.n

Esai "Catatan tentang Nasionalisme" adalah yang paling lama, panjang, sekaligus sulit untuk dicerna. Sementara esai yang menjadi judul buku ini adalah yang paling gore. Tetapi secara umum, Orwell memiliki daya tarik tertentu dalam caranya menulis sehingga mampu membujuk pembaca untuk menekuri esai-esainya yang bertema berat.

Entre otras cosas, aprendí a hacer un buen té.

This collection was very affecting on me. Orwell is a masterful writer and a deeply thoughtful human. His takes on fascism, communism, imperialism, literature, etc. etc. are invaluable. So much of what he writes about still feels relevant to our age. I'm sure I will be revisiting this book again and again.

Especially the Dickens, Shooting an Elephant (good fiction, and fun to interpret as an anticipation of the Peter Weir aesthetic), Good Bad Books, and Bookshop Memories.

Such, Such were the Joys...
This essay is about Orwell's school years and also somewhat of a criticism of the educational system of the time. A section that I found particularly amusing was on how the English treated the Scottish Highlanders: "The pretended belief in Scottish superiority (At Orwell's school; they had an obsession with Scotland) was a cover of the bad conscience of the occupying English, who had pushed the Highland peasantry off their farms to make way for the deer forests, and then compensated them by turning them into servants." 4/5
tCharles Dickens
In this essay George Orwell tries to find in Dickens' works his political ideology, which Orwell does by discovering what Dickens is not, instead of what he is. He says that Dickens was good at criticizing many of the issues of the day, but that instead of proposing a new system for the issues, he just wanted a more "moral" version of the current system, which Orwell contributes to Dickens not being imaginative enough. It also contains a pretty good statement from Orwell on the French Revolution: "In reality the whole of the Terror, so far as the number of deaths goes, was a joke compared to one of Napoleon's battles." 4/5
tThe Art of Donald McGill
Orwell explains why British artist Donald McGill's post cards are so popular and some of the underlining meanings behind them. 4/5
tRudyard Kipling
Orwell's opinions on Kipling and his writings, and a good explanation and criticism of the British Imperialism of Kipling's time. He also came up with a perfect summary of Kipling that I had nearly come to on my own after reading The Man Who Would Be King: "Kipling is a jingo imperialist, he is morally insensitive and aesthetically disgusting." Another funny description Orwell made of Kipling was that he was a "good bad poet." 5/5
tRaffles and Miss Blandish
This essay mainly focuses on how the detective novels had changed between the dawn of the twentieth century and the time Orwell wrote this essay (1944). Detective novels of his day had become much more violent and sadistic (No Orchids for Miss Blandish is the example he uses for this) then earlier detective novels like Sherlock Holmes and Raffles. He also makes the argument that authoritarianism is much more visible and rampant in the newer detective novels, where the only thing differentiating the police and the criminals is that the police are more powerful (might makes right), as the police use the exact same tactics in these novels as the criminals (torture, murder, random beatings etc.). 4/5
tShooting an Elephant
This is a story from Orwell's time in Burma as a sub-divisional police officer, when an elephant had escaped from captivity and rampaged through a village and killed a man. According to Orwell this is the event that showed to him the real nature of imperialism and why despotic governments act the way they do. 5/5
tPolitics and the English Language
This essay is a criticism of the direction the English language was (and possibly still is) going, particularly in the way it is being warped to help convey political messages. There are many criticisms in this essay, but the two that I found the most interesting were that Orwell held that writers are becoming much more abstract and less concrete in writing and how many Saxon based words are being switched out for their Greek or Latin "scientific" sounding equivalent. Two quotes that can summarize this essay quite well are "Political speech and writing are largely the defence of the indefensible," and "Political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness." 5/5
tReflections on Gandhi
Orwell's opinions on Gandhi are mixed. On the one hand, he seems to admire his push for Indian sovereignty and his non violent methods, while on the other hand, he does not agree with many of the personal moral standards he advocates, as in fasting, emotional dis attachment (to the extent of not even having any close friends), complete abstinence etc., which he considers "inhuman". "No doubt alcohol, tobacco, and so forth, are things that a saint must avoid, but sainthood is also a thing that human beings must avoid." 4/5
tMarrakech
Orwell briefly describes some of the things he observed in his time in Marrakech, Morocco. The relations between different ethnic communities, how they are often taught that their European overlords were superior to them, how many of the Europeans (Including Orwell himself) often noticed the plight of the animals before the plight of the natives, and overall a glimpse into the racism that is pervasive in an imperialistic power. 5/5
tLooking Back on the Spanish War
Looking Back on the Spanish War is a brief recollection of Orwell's time fighting against the Fascists (the side that eventually won) in the Spanish Civil War. I found the entire essay very interesting, particularly the parts about how foreign governments and the left and right of Britain's political parties were taking sides in the war and how each would make the side that it supported into angels and the opposing side into demons. I think that we have a lot to learn from this essay in light of the current situation in Syria. A section I found extremely interesting in this essay was the one on atrocities in war, which the following quotes are taken from. "But unfortunately the truth about atrocities in war is far worse than that they are lied about and made into propaganda. The truth is that they happen," and "But what impressed me then, and impressed me ever since, is that atrocities are believed in or disbelieved in solely on ground of political predilection." My only complaint for this essay is that it is too short, though I heard that he covers much more about his time in Spain in Homage to Catalonia, which after reading this essay I now plan to read. It is also interesting to see many of the themes that Orwell ends up covering in 1984 first being contemplated in this essay. 5/5 (Is 6/5 possible?)
tInside the Whale
The first section is somewhat of a review of a novel called Tropic of Cancer, which, as I have not read (or even heard of) up until this point, I will not go any further into details. The second section is a talk on some of the popular poems of the post World War I period, and how the themes and styles of the popular poets and authors changed between the end of World War I and the dawn of World War II. This section contains an interesting description of Communism in Western Europe though: "The Communist movement in Western Europe began as a movement for the violent overthrow of capitalism, and degenerated within a few years into and instrument of Russian foreign policy." The third section goes back to discussing the works of Henry Miller (The author of Tropic of Cancer) and Orwell's interpretation of the story of Jonah, and thus the namesake of this essay. This section also shows an intense pessimism for the future of Western Civilization, which he predicted would descend into dictatorships which would try to kill the individual and freedom of thought (Basically the themes of 1984). 4/5
tEngland your England
According to Orwell, every country is different and each has its own outlook and mentality. This essay is Orwell's attempt to show England's national outlook. The first section is merely an introduction to the theme while also briefly mentioning patriotism, which Orwell says that you cannot understand the modern world unless you accept how influential it is. The second section goes on to talk about how people from a certain country always carry certain stereotypes(which Orwell calls "national characteristics"), and he goes on to give a couple of examples, which I do not entirely agree with. The rest of the section goes on to discuss the national characteristics that Orwell has found true about the English people, which may or may not be true (I have never known anyone from England), although from my reading of English history it appears many might well be. Orwell also says that for how massive the British Empire was, that the mentality of the English people themselves was very peaceful and anti-militaristic. In the third section Orwell justifies his talking about the British people as a single people, even though many groups (Scottish, Welsh etc.) would disagree with his doing so. The fourth section is about the declining competency and usefulness of the ruling class and how useless they had become, and how for the entirety of the British Empire only a few of the English upper class were the ones benefiting and the rest of the British Empire (Even England itself) was on the whole still extremely poor. The fifth section talks about the decay of certain subsections of the middle class (he calls them the "Blimps") in the post World War I period, and a criticism of the left wing intelligentsia of the time. The sixth and last section of the essay talks about the changing economic circumstances of Britain and the rise of the "indeterminate" social class. He presents his dream for the post World War II England, which unfortunately for him, was just that. A dream and nothing more. 5/5
tBoys' Weeklies
Orwell studies the weekly stories for boys of his day and attempts to identify the views of the people that read the stories, and the messages that the stories try to convey to their readership. He does this by examining the two oldest and longest running of the boys' weeklies, the Gem and the Magnet, though later he examines the newer weeklies. An interesting topic he brings up about the new weeklies is that they are more violent and adventurous, but were still no where as violent as the American equivalent of the day, which starred the typical American hero who "puts everything right by socking everybody else on the jaw." 4/5
tWhy I Write
The sixth and final essay- and the main reason I read this book. I wanted to find out what Orwell's inspiration for writing books like Animal Farm and 1984 was. It answered that and also had a short biography of what got him into writing. I am a little disappointed that it was so short, but it was still very good nonetheless. 5/5

A brilliant read. George Orwell can write about anything and make it interesting.

It took me a long time but I finally finished this diverse collection of essays. The average rating of the 41 essays is 4 stars, which is an excellent achievement in my mind. I didn't expect to find so many essays I'd like but here it is.

Orwell has a very keen mind and manages to get to the bottom of things that interest and fascinate him in the world, be it literature, history, or politics. I really enjoyed his analyses of various authors and genres, so my selection of favourite essays is skewed towards them rather than his excellent political essays. But as is the nature of politics, the subject matter may come over as slightly more dry than a casual reader may desire, and although his thoughts on totalitarianism, communism, and nationalism are excellently presented, I wasn't always in the mood for it.

His autobiographical essays are rather more critical towards society than his political ones (well, it's rather hard to be entirely objective when it's your life you're dissecting), but there's always this glimmer of sunlight in them that turns them into painful but not depressing reads. I was especially touched by his regard for nature – he rightly observes that by living in the city one loses a deeper bond with natural cycles that enrich human life. Simple enjoyments in nature should be an integral part of life, teaching people that they share the planet and to not wantonly destroy it.

Here are some of my favourite essays in the collection:
Why I Write
Charles Dickens
The Lion and the Unicorn
In Defence of P.G. Wodehouse
Notes on Nationalism
The Sporting Spirit
The Prevention of Literature
Books v. Cigarettes
Politics and the English Language
Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
Politics vs Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels
How the Poor Die

rip orwell you would’ve loved a sour apple vape

He leído con cierta frecuencia que Orwell era mejor ensayista que escritor de ficción. Creo que es una afirmación demasiado general, y que sucede como con la mayoría de la obra de este escritor (y de muchos otros): hay momentos de verdadera brillantez entre cosas sin las que una puede pasar perfectamente.
Sus ensayos políticos giran casi exclusivamente en torno al rechazo de los regímenes totalitaristas de cualquier signo ideológico y el estado de la izquierda inglesa en el siglo XX. Estos ensayos son los más complicados, no porque los conceptos detrás de ellos sean difíciles de entender, sino porque son los más áridos y también los más largos. En estos ensayos, no obstante, es posible encontrar perlas a modo de epitafio que merece conservar escritas en alguna parte.
Los ensayos sobre otros temas, pero especialmente aquellos en los que se decanta más por la descripción, son los que para mí han sido más agradables y fáciles de leer. Orwell rara vez (d)escribe en exceso, ni se vale de imágenes complejas, y de alguna forma te hace sentir aquello que describe. Algunos de estos ensayos ('Such, such were the joys'; 'How the poor die', 'Confessions of a book reviewer') se valen de largos tramos de descripción que no se hacen pesados.
Sus ensayos literarios son interesantes en su mayoría, aunque en estos suele también mezclar algo de política. Aunque quizá el más conocido en este ámbito sea 'Inside the Whale', creo que el que más me ha gustado ha sido 'Politics vs. Literature: An Examination of Gulliver's Travels', donde no he podido evitar ver al propio Orwell como una especie de Swift de la Edad Contemporánea, dejando de lado las circunstancias biográficas de cada autor.

Cerita-cerita (bermuatan kritik-reflektif) terhadap kemanusiaan di dalam esai-esai George Orwell, yang dituliskan dengan dasar pengalamannya sendiri dalam buku ini, menurut saya begitu kuat dan tak jarang membuat saya kehilangan kata-kata ketika terlarut dalam cerita itu.

Saya ikut patah ketika kematian tampak begitu biasa dan sepele bagi mereka yang masih hidup yang dikisahkan dalam “Hukuman Gantung”. Meski saya ikut meringis membayangkan momen-momen akhir si gajah, saya juga dapat merasakan perasaan serba salah penulis untuk keputusan yang diambilnya ‘karena tidak ingin terlihat bodoh’ dalam “Menembak Seekor Gajah”. Saya tertegun untuk refleksi yang mendalam tentang realita (yang naif sekaligus getir) dari perbedaan warna kulit dan kolonisasi dalam “Marrakesh”. Saya ikut kehilangan kata-kata dalam haru yang kompleks, merenungi sebab perubahan si jurnalis dalam “Dendam Itu Pahit Rasanya”. Lalu terakhir, yang paling kuat di antara semua, saya kembali mempertanyakan etika sosial dalam pelayanan sosial-kemanusiaan (meski kondisinya mungkin sudah banyak berubah dari era saat itu), sepanjang saya membaca “Bagaimana Si Miskin Mati” —esai yang menjadi judul buku kumpulan esai inipula.

Dua esai menarik yang lain dari George Orwell dalam buku ini, juga memiliki sisi-sisi yang menggugah pemikiran. Misalkan, dari esai “Bisakah Para Sosialis Berbahagia?”, saya jadi merenungi makna ‘surga’ dan keterkaitannya dengan ‘kebahagiaan’ dan ‘utopia’.

Tapi, surga tetap belum pernah digambarkan sebagai sebuah tempat yang benar-benar ingin ditinggali oleh manusia kebanyakan. Sudah tak terhitung berapa pendeta Revivalis atau Jesuit yang menakut-nakuti jemaah mereka dengan cerita akan betapa mengerikannya neraka (sebagai contoh, lihat khotbah seorang pendeta dalam Portrait of the Artist karya James Joyce). Namun, apabila topik yang dibahas adalah surga, mereka akan dengan mudahnya kembali pada kata-kata klise tak bermakna seperti “sukacita” atau “kebahagiaan”, tanpa mau berepot-repot mencoba menjelaskan apa isi surga.

Para spiritualis, meski senantiasa meyakinkan kita bahwa “semuanya terang dan cantik”, juga tidak mampu menggambarkan kebahagiaan surgawi yang kiranya akan diinginkan atau paling tidak diterima oleh orang yang berpikir.

Percobaan untuk menggambarkan kebahagiaan sempurna yang tidak utopis atau surgawi juga selalu gagal, dan pada akhirnya hanya menggambarkan kesenangan indrawi.

Mungkin, manusia tidak mampu menggambarkan atau membayangkan kebahagiaan, kecuali bila ada kontras antara kebahagiaan dan kesengsaraan. Inilah alasan mengapa konsepsi surga atau utopia berbeda dari zaman ke zaman. Pada zaman praindustrialis, surga digambarkan sebagai sebuah tempat dimana manusia beristirahat tanpa henti, yang jalan-jalannya dilapisi oleh emas, karena kebanyakan orang di zaman itu bekerja terlampau keras dan hidup terlampau miskin.

Akhirnya, esai ‘Mengapa Saya Menulis’ sepertinya perlu dibaca oleh setiap penulis. Khususnya, mereka yang memerlukan alasan lebih untuk menulis, lebih dari sekedar hobi dan estetika.

Terakhir, sekali lagi (setelah terjemahan Candide dari Voltaire), saya begitu menikmati membaca terjemahan buku Bagaimana Si Miskin Mati, oleh Widya Mahardika Putra.

Beberapa penderitan seabad yang lalu tidak jauh lebih buruk di abad ini. Penyakit psikologis manusia hanya berubah pada tahapan istilah, yang mungkin sedikit lebih luas namun semakin sulit. Kebanyakan perilaku dan bagaimana kita memandang dunia didasari oleh beberapa dorongan karena tidak ingin terlihat bodoh, obsesi yang berlebih, dan berbagai dorongan primitif yang bahkan tidak ingin kita sadari. Meluangkan waktu untuk dunia yang dibangun oleh manusia (dengan harapan pembebasan dan iming-iming kebahagiaan) namun menutup mata pada semesta dalam diri sendiri. sebab, ketika kita memilih untuk menelusuri dunia, manusia lupa menelusiri diri sendiri. Orwell menuliskan beberapa peristiwa yang menarik untuk dijadikan pembanding di era ini. Dimana penjara manusia mungkin tidak lagi seperti apa yang digambarkan pada masa imperialisme, atau setelahnya ketika perang dunia II terjadi, dimana semua kepala akan sepakat bahwa peluru dan nuklir adalah perang, dan lingkungan kekerasan berasal dari pecut pendamping asrama dimasa kecilnya, atau rumah sakit tempat si miskin mati, yang kehadiran perawat dan dokter pun tidak lebih buruk ketika mereka tidak ada, dan kesedihan dan penderitaan membusuk bersamaan dengan penyakit pasien lain yang bertumpuk di ruangan sama. Saat ini, kesuraman, kekerasan dan kesewenang-wenangan mungkin saja hadir lebih subtil.