George Orwell's Account Of Life In Working Class
The Background and Perspective
Victor Gollancz commissioned Orwell to write an account of life in working class areas in the Northern England, also Victor assigned Orwell to part-time job as a bookshop assistant. In addition, Orwell was a social democrat and is convinced that socialism is the best system to address inequality. George Orwell discusses his views on socialism and the left book club in the second half of the book however, the left book and Victor Gollancz were concerned and uneasy about the second half of the book due to his argument against the left book club and socialism. Therefore, Part 1 was issued separately to part 2. However, the book was published without being proofread by Orwell.
Orwell has a political goal to inform …show more content…
the hardship, hard labour and further issues of the liberal capitalist system. In addition, Orwell believes it is his duty to “attack the Right, but not to flatter the left” (Two Wasted Years 1943, 2001). Additionally, Orwell’s views are shaped due to his experience of socialism and imperialism, in the quote “every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly against Totalitarianism and for Democratic Socialism, as I understand it" (George Orwell Why I Write, 2015).
The Left Book Club was first established in 1936 due to the economic depression. It was published by Victor Gollancz in order to educate and inform the mass audience about the political issues in England. Victor sent books subscribing member on monthly basis. The Left Book Club was uneasy with George Orwell’s book “the Road to Wigan Pier” as the book was first a favour to the Left Book Club however, due to George Orwell’s political argument in the second part of the book, only the first half of the book was published.
Methodology and Methods
George Orwell conducted an overt observation when studying the coal miners.
An advantage of using an Overt observation, it allows Orwell to be honest with the working class community and the coal miners, therefore he may collect more valid information.
It also helps avoid ethnical issues such as deception. However, a disadvantage of using an overt observation is that it may result to observer effects as the participants may change their behaviours due to Orwell’s presence, therefore he may receive invalid data. In addition, another advantage of using an overt observation is that it allows Orwell to stay professional and avoiding becoming overly personal with the participants, to avoid bias research. On the other hand, by using a overt observation it may be time-consuming compared to other methods such as …show more content…
questionnaires.
George Orwell also conducted a field experiment as Orwell conducted his investigation in the real world setting rather than a laboratory an artificial setting. An advantage of a field experiment is that it has high ecological validity as the experiment is taking place in a real life setting however a disadvantage of this is that it creates high extraneous variables, therefore it makes it difficult for George Orwell to control extraneous variables such as the weather. Another advantage of a field experiment is that results can be generalised, therefore Orwell or other sociologist are able to conduct wider research into the poverty and unemployment in England
On the other hand, a disadvantage of a field experiment is that it may be difficult to replicate George Orwell’s research for the reasons that the setting may be different; therefore it lacks reliability. Also, it may be difficult for Orwell to control the ID as the experiment is taking place in a real life setting.
George Orwell’s investigation lacks reliability as the research cannot be replicated as the experiment was conducted in real life settings with real life participants, therefore if the research was repeated results make be different and invalid. In addition, the research was conducted in a real life setting therefore, it has high ecological validity, and therefore results are more likely to be valid.
The Book Itself
George Orwell created an account of personal experiences of how life was for the working class living in the early 20th Century. Additionally, Orwell wanted to illustrate his own relationship with socialism and how socialism impacted Northern England in the 1930s. He was able to implement this in the second part of the book, as Orwell criticised the British social classes. George Orwell was able to create empathy with the rich detailed description of housing and mining conditions; this also helped the reader to imagine how life was for the working class citizens in the 1930s (The Road to Wigan Pier, 2014).
Orwell discusses his experience living with the Brookers family, where he found life entirely normal, he then moved to Wigan and lived with coal miners. Here, Orwell describes how life was for coal miners also he discusses economics of coal production. Furthermore, Orwell concludes part 1 with the cruelty of industrialism. In Part 2, Orwell discusses his political theory, as he illustrates his interpretation of socialism, in the quote ‘Socialism is such elementary common sense’ (The Road to Wigan Pier, 2014).
The legacy of the book
A book called ‘the Road to Wigan Pier revisited’ was written 75 years later after George Orwell’s original book ‘ the Road to Wigan Pier’ in order to evaluate the changes in poverty and unemployment in England.
The book was written by Stephen Armstrong in 1912. He discusses the poverty rates in England currently and also the unemployment rates as he quoted that 2.67 million people are struggling to find a job in England. Stephen goes on to examining and discussing Britain’s recession, also quotes that “If ever we needed Orwell, we do now” (The Road to Wigan Pier, 2014).
George Orwell’s book has become an essential source to tackle England’s poverty and unemployment rates. As Britain’s poverty and unemployment rates is exceedingly similar to Orwell’s findings in 1930s. Furthermore, George Orwell and other sociologist such as Seebohnm Rowntree were able to make slight in improvements to society such as convincing the liberal government to introduce the welfare state which improved living condition for the working class community also it decreased mobility and mortality rates.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “the Road to Wigan Pier” has helped tackle unemployment and poverty rates in Northern England. This report has shown George Orwell political arguments and his rich detailed description of working class lives in 1930s which has helped readers today to understand, and also imagine how Northern England was in the 1930s. In addition, the book allows George Orwell to express his thoughts on the left book club and socialism. Overall, George Orwell created an honest picture of how life was for working class individuals living in Northern England in 1930s.
Victor Gollancz commissioned Orwell to write an account of life in working class areas in the Northern England, also Victor assigned Orwell to part-time job as a bookshop assistant. In addition, Orwell was a social democrat and is convinced that socialism is the best system to address inequality. George Orwell discusses his views on socialism and the left book club in the second half of the book however, the left book and Victor Gollancz were concerned and uneasy about the second half of the book due to his argument against the left book club and socialism. Therefore, Part 1 was issued separately to part 2. However, the book was published without being proofread by Orwell.
Orwell has a political goal to inform …show more content…
the hardship, hard labour and further issues of the liberal capitalist system. In addition, Orwell believes it is his duty to “attack the Right, but not to flatter the left” (Two Wasted Years 1943, 2001). Additionally, Orwell’s views are shaped due to his experience of socialism and imperialism, in the quote “every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written, directly or indirectly against Totalitarianism and for Democratic Socialism, as I understand it" (George Orwell Why I Write, 2015).
The Left Book Club was first established in 1936 due to the economic depression. It was published by Victor Gollancz in order to educate and inform the mass audience about the political issues in England. Victor sent books subscribing member on monthly basis. The Left Book Club was uneasy with George Orwell’s book “the Road to Wigan Pier” as the book was first a favour to the Left Book Club however, due to George Orwell’s political argument in the second part of the book, only the first half of the book was published.
Methodology and Methods
George Orwell conducted an overt observation when studying the coal miners.
An advantage of using an Overt observation, it allows Orwell to be honest with the working class community and the coal miners, therefore he may collect more valid information.
It also helps avoid ethnical issues such as deception. However, a disadvantage of using an overt observation is that it may result to observer effects as the participants may change their behaviours due to Orwell’s presence, therefore he may receive invalid data. In addition, another advantage of using an overt observation is that it allows Orwell to stay professional and avoiding becoming overly personal with the participants, to avoid bias research. On the other hand, by using a overt observation it may be time-consuming compared to other methods such as …show more content…
questionnaires.
George Orwell also conducted a field experiment as Orwell conducted his investigation in the real world setting rather than a laboratory an artificial setting. An advantage of a field experiment is that it has high ecological validity as the experiment is taking place in a real life setting however a disadvantage of this is that it creates high extraneous variables, therefore it makes it difficult for George Orwell to control extraneous variables such as the weather. Another advantage of a field experiment is that results can be generalised, therefore Orwell or other sociologist are able to conduct wider research into the poverty and unemployment in England
On the other hand, a disadvantage of a field experiment is that it may be difficult to replicate George Orwell’s research for the reasons that the setting may be different; therefore it lacks reliability. Also, it may be difficult for Orwell to control the ID as the experiment is taking place in a real life setting.
George Orwell’s investigation lacks reliability as the research cannot be replicated as the experiment was conducted in real life settings with real life participants, therefore if the research was repeated results make be different and invalid. In addition, the research was conducted in a real life setting therefore, it has high ecological validity, and therefore results are more likely to be valid.
The Book Itself
George Orwell created an account of personal experiences of how life was for the working class living in the early 20th Century. Additionally, Orwell wanted to illustrate his own relationship with socialism and how socialism impacted Northern England in the 1930s. He was able to implement this in the second part of the book, as Orwell criticised the British social classes. George Orwell was able to create empathy with the rich detailed description of housing and mining conditions; this also helped the reader to imagine how life was for the working class citizens in the 1930s (The Road to Wigan Pier, 2014).
Orwell discusses his experience living with the Brookers family, where he found life entirely normal, he then moved to Wigan and lived with coal miners. Here, Orwell describes how life was for coal miners also he discusses economics of coal production. Furthermore, Orwell concludes part 1 with the cruelty of industrialism. In Part 2, Orwell discusses his political theory, as he illustrates his interpretation of socialism, in the quote ‘Socialism is such elementary common sense’ (The Road to Wigan Pier, 2014).
The legacy of the book
A book called ‘the Road to Wigan Pier revisited’ was written 75 years later after George Orwell’s original book ‘ the Road to Wigan Pier’ in order to evaluate the changes in poverty and unemployment in England.
The book was written by Stephen Armstrong in 1912. He discusses the poverty rates in England currently and also the unemployment rates as he quoted that 2.67 million people are struggling to find a job in England. Stephen goes on to examining and discussing Britain’s recession, also quotes that “If ever we needed Orwell, we do now” (The Road to Wigan Pier, 2014).
George Orwell’s book has become an essential source to tackle England’s poverty and unemployment rates. As Britain’s poverty and unemployment rates is exceedingly similar to Orwell’s findings in 1930s. Furthermore, George Orwell and other sociologist such as Seebohnm Rowntree were able to make slight in improvements to society such as convincing the liberal government to introduce the welfare state which improved living condition for the working class community also it decreased mobility and mortality rates.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “the Road to Wigan Pier” has helped tackle unemployment and poverty rates in Northern England. This report has shown George Orwell political arguments and his rich detailed description of working class lives in 1930s which has helped readers today to understand, and also imagine how Northern England was in the 1930s. In addition, the book allows George Orwell to express his thoughts on the left book club and socialism. Overall, George Orwell created an honest picture of how life was for working class individuals living in Northern England in 1930s.