Commentary on "The Sporting Spirit" - George Orwell

Authors Avatar by mramy95hotmailcom (student)


  • What human issues form the subjects of the work? Did you find any of them particularly well handled?

The Sporting Spirit encapsulates instincts, pride, appearances, nationalism, symbolism, social identity, and human penchants as core issues that foment the gravity of the essay; “savage” instincts coagulate with nationalism and appearances to foster one’s pride, symbolizing the proudness of being labelled by one’s country – American, British, Russian, or otherwise. Pride fosters greed, which disinters the need for war – either literally or figuratively. Orwell conveys symbolic war in his essay, The Sporting Spirit, depicting sports as a means of a battle between spectators, between two nations. It is a game where you either lose or win; there is no alternative. “Sport is frankly mimic warfare,” George Orwell says.

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Orwell touches on many human issues as subjects, but focuses on differences of communities, spectators, and nations to elucidate his opinion, adding to his authenticity. In paragraph seven, Orwell differentiates between urban and rustic communities, and how they view sports. Sports provide escapism for people in urban societies – big towns – as a way to wander from their sedentary life. The diction of “sedentary” crafts this aura of idleness, which contrasts the theme of “savage” spectators – spectators who are ardent to win through violent ways. ...

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