GEORGE ORWELL A comparative study of Burmese Days, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty- Four

GEORGE ORWELL A comparative study of "Burmese Days", "Animal Farm" and "Nineteen Eighty- Four" Biography Eric Arthur Blair (later George Orwell) was born in 1903 in the Village Motihari, which lies near the border of Nepal. At the time India was part of the British Empire. His father, Richard Blair, was an agent in the Opium Department of the Indian Civil Service. Eric's mother, Ida Mabel Blair was about eighteen years younger than her husband. Eric had an elder sister called Marjorie. The Blair's had a relatively priveleged and fairly pleasant existence. Orwell later describes them as "lower-upper-middle class". They owend no property and had no extensive investments. They were like many middle-class English families of the time. In 1907 moved with his mother and his sister to England. Richard Blair stayed in India. With some difficulty, Blair's parents sent their son to a private prepartory school in Sussex at the age of eight. At the age of thirteen he won a scholarship to Wellington, and soon another to Eton, the very famous public school. Since the age of five or six, he had known that he would be a writer. He neglected to win a university scholarship, and in 1922 Eric Blair joined the Indian Imperal Police and was trained in Burma. He served there for nearly five years but he resigned in 1928. There have been at least two reasons for this: firstly, his life as a

  • Word count: 9231
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Of Mice and Men - Full Summary and Analysis

Of Mice and Men - Full Summary and Analysis Chapter One: Two men emerge from the path along the Salinas River that runs a few miles south of Soledad, California. Travelling to a nearby farm for work, they were let off by the bus driver several miles away. The two men walk in a single file path down to a deep pool near the river. Both men, George Milton and Lennie Small, wear denim trousers and coats. George is small and quick, dark of face with restless eyes and strong, sharp features. Every part of him is defined. Lennie, who walks behind him, is an enormous man with wide, sloping shoulders. Lennie drinks long gulps from the pool, and George admonishes him, telling him that he will get sick again, for the water may be dirty. George warns him that he should never drink water that isn't running. Lennie imitates the way that George wears his hat. Lennie, who is mentally deficient, asks George where they are going, and George in turn scolds him for forgetting. Lennie claims that he remembers about the rabbits, the only part of their plan that he can ever remember. George notices that Lennie has his hands in his pockets, and asks what he has. It is a dead mouse, which Lennie kept to pet with his thumb as they walked. George explains to Lennie that they are going to work on a ranch like the one in Weed from which they came, and tells Lennie not to speak when they get to the

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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In her essay "Flight," Doris Lessing illustrates the story of an old man who is learning to let go his granddaughter as she grows into an adult

Essay on "Flight" It is always hard to get separated from someone you love and with whom you have shared every moment of his life until he decides to walk on a different path than yours. You don't know how to react and confusion dominates your mind. Should you be angry at him for leaving you, or should you support and respect his decision ? In her essay "Flight," Doris Lessing illustrates the story of an old man who is learning to let go his granddaughter as she grows into an adult and is about to get married. Lessing wisely delivers this particular old man's situation to her readers through her use of literary techniques and devices. Thus, she greatly succeeded at making her readers feel and live the grandfather's difficulty to get separated from his granddaughter. Throughout the story, Lessing skillfully uses narration and description to catch the readers attention, making us feel the grandfather's state of emotions. Hence, in the beginning of the story, we first meet his granddaughter Lisa through his eyes that "travelled homewards along the road until his granddaughter swinging on the gate underneath a frangipani tree. Her hair fell down her back in a wave of sunlight ; and her long bare legs repeated the angles of the frangipani stems, bare, shinning brown stems among patterns of pale blossoms." We follow the movement of his eyes that see her as a shinning light that

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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The story "The Company of Wolves" written by Angela Carter taunts the reader's imagination by elaborating on their idea and point of view of gender roles.

The story "The Company of Wolves" written by Angela Carter taunts the reader's imagination by elaborating on their idea and point of view of gender roles. Angela Carter's characters portray these roles very similar to the way modern day Americans view gender roles. Males and females are both Collection of grown-up fairy tales. I first read this book in college and it has become one of my all-time favourites. In this collection of short stories, Angela Carter takes the fairytales, nursery rhymes, and the images and themes they contain and perverts/illuminates them. What is most striking about this collection is Carters writing style. Her language is simultaneously poetic and profane. The stories are heavy with her purple language, which is what makes them so satisfying to read. In additon to the exquisite language, Carters re-telling of classic tales such as "Snow White," "Red Riding Hood," "Puss in Boots," etc., never fails to pay off. Carter creates a world in which Red Riding hood is the savvy hunter, not the innocent hunted. These stories make us focus on the overly simplistic (and often slanted) messages we were taught as children when these tales were first presented to us. In particular, Carter makes us question what fairytales have taught us about gender roles, marriage, and sex. For a trip into the fantasic that will make you laugh and make you really THINK, read

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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of mice and men

Chapter 1 The novel begins near the Salinas River, south of Soledad in the California valley. The Gabilan Mountains rise up on one side and drop to valleys on the other. The river and its banks are alive with animals and plants. A path leads to the banks of the river, and the two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small, follow this path to the river. While George is small with sharp features, Lennie is a big man with rounded features. He drags his feet when he walks, following George step for step. They are on their way to a job at a nearby ranch, and their ride has left them several miles away. It is hot and they are tired from the walk. Topic Tracking: Landscape 1 Topic Tracking: Animal (Lennie as an animal) 1 When the two men reach the water, Lennie falls to his knees and takes a long drink. George gets angry with him for drinking so fast from water that might not be good. Lennie's action and this exchange show his mental retardation. When George sits down, Lennie imitates him exactly. And when George starts to complain about how their ride left them so far from their destination, Lennie has to ask George where they are going because he can't remember. George, annoyed, reminds Lennie about where they got their jobs and their work cards, and Lennie looks in his pocket for his. Certain Lennie would lose it, George did not let him keep his card. But Lennie does

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Of Mice and men - Overall Plot.

Overall Plot George and Lennie are two migrant American labourers, who share a dream; that one day they may buy a farm, and Lennie will be able to take care of the rabbits. Although Lennie is physically very strong and has the body of a man, he has the mind of a child. The two men arrive on a ranch near the town of Soledad, where they are about to start work as barley buckers. On arriving there, they meet Candy, an old one-handed man who mops the floor, and Curley. Curley is the Boss' son, and immediately hates Lennie because of his impressive size. George realises that Curley will undoubtedly cause trouble for them. After the two men are hired by the Boss, they meet Slim, a jerkline skinner. He has a lot of authority and has earned much respect from the men. They also meet Carlson. Later that night, after dinner, Slim gives Lennie one of his puppies. Lennie is delighted by the gift, for he loves to pet things like rabbits, puppies and even mice, although he sometimes accidentally kills the creatures, not knowing his own strength. George confides in Slim, telling him about how Lennie has caused many problems before, like in Weed. A girl thought Lennie was trying to rape her, and they had to flee. Later that night, Candy overhears George and Lennie talking about their dream, and he asks if he could join them. He has quite a bit of money saved up, and they realise that

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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What are the main themes of Pleasantville and how does the director convey them to the audience using cinematic techniques?

What are the main themes of Pleasantville and how does the director convey them to the audience using cinematic techniques? Pleasantville, directed by Gary Ross, is a year 2000 comedy with powerful underlying themes. Pleasantville is an inspiring and oddly touching story about two 90's kids who are thrust into the black and white world of Pleasantville, a cheery and seemingly perfect sitcom complete with picket fences, soda shops and warm cookies. When a somewhat unusual remote control transports them from the jaded real world to the TV arena, the two teenagers (Tobey Maguire and Reese Witherspoon) are forced to play along as Bud and Mary-Sue, the obedient children of George and Betty Parker. Maguire, an obsessive Pleasantville devotee, understands the need for not toppling the balance of things; Witherspoon, on the other hand, starts shaking the town up, most notably when she takes American football stud, Skip, up to Lover's Lane, to do exactly what the name suggests. Soon enough, Pleasantville's teens are discovering sex along with rock and roll, free thinking and liberating Technicolour. Filled with delightful and shrewd details about sitcom life, for example, no toilets, no double beds and only two streets in the whole town. Pleasantville is a joy to watch, not only for its comedy but also for its groundbreaking visual effects and astonishing production design as

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Theme in The Catcher in the Rye.

Theme in The Catcher in the Rye J.D. Salinger in The Catcher in the Rye shows the turbulence and confusion experienced during many childhoods. This confusion is expressed through Salinger's use of long, run-on sentences that often contradict themselves. A clear example of this stylistic technique is found on page 62, when Holden states, "I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you're supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be careful about doing crumby stuff to it, like squirting water all over it. It's really too bad that so much crumby stuff is a lot of fun sometimes." The structure of these two sentences reveals a character that is coming to terms with his impending adulthood and trying to establish his identity. By using long, run-on sentences, J.D. Salinger provides room for Holden to contradict himself and argue both sides of his arguments. Currently, Holden sees the same acts as both "crumby" and "fun", and he hasn't had an opportunity to make up his mind yet. One of his main sources of confusion is interpersonal relationships. Salinger devotes fifty-three words in a single sentence to Holden's musings about girls and where to draw the line with them. Relationships are just one of the things that don't make sense yet to Holden because his life experiences are

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Study Questions for the Short Story, "Hills Like White Elephants" by Hemingway

Study Questions for the Short Story, "Hills Like White Elephants" General Directions: The questions for this story will get you to think about a theme for the story. Before you re-read and again after you re-read the story, review the study questions and try to answer them for yourself. They may be the basis of quiz questions in a course, or they may help you to write an essay about the story. The theme of a story is some implication about human nature that goes beyond the literal story. It's a statement that the author seems to be driving at--or to be driven by. It's your view of the meaning behind the story based on your image of the characters, their motivation, the setting and plotting of the story, the trustworthiness of the narrator, the author's writing style and symbolism, as well as the cultural, historical, and biographical implications for the story. After you figure out what the author's image of life is, you need to go back through the story to figure out what details support your view. You also need to be able to explain away any details that don't support your view of the story's meaning. Study Questions for "Hills Like White Elephants" . Looking back on the story, list the evidence that tells what kind of operation Jig is confronting. How risky is it physically and emotionally? (See one group's answer here.) The Evidence for Abortion LOOKING BACK ON

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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Three characters in The Great Gatsby and the theme of obsession

Three characters in The Great Gatsby and the theme of obsession. Deep within feelings of love, hope, determination and perseverance is a dark entity, a slow growing parasite that feeds off feelings of rejection, despair, failure-the feelings people keep hidden, suffocating inside. The entity is a shape shifter of sorts, transforming and rooting itself in the empty realities created by individuals. In its new form, obsession has embedded its roots into three specific characters of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby: Jay Gatsby, an overly hopeless romantic, Daisy Buchanan, a lady of incredibly high maintenance, greed and impossible standards, and George Wilson, a meager car mechanic with a broken marriage. The obsession shrouds the minds of these characters with a miasma of denial and false hope, which inevitably destroys something within them. The characters of this riveting novel are the driving force behind that one incredible, but tragic summer in the midst of the Roaring '20s. Jaded, Arrogant, Youthful. Jay Gatsby is-was, the epitome of the undying and passionate love that one human can offer another. But was what he was feeling really love? Obsession, in his case, plagued the true perception of love and dedication and transformed those feelings into a compulsive and unrealistic desire to possess Daisy Buchanan, Gatsby"s one, "true" love. Gatsby's obsession

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: English
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