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George Orwell

And the Problem of Authentic Existence

Michael Carter

$189

Hardback

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English
Routledge
01 November 2024
First Published in 1985, the aim of this book is to define an aspect of Orwell’s literary identity which underlies and informs the sociopolitical content of his novels, and which may account for his being ‘more widely read’ than perhaps any other serious writer in the twentieth century.

It is the author’s contention that the thematic source of the Orwell novel is the problem of authentic existence, and that Orwell’s particular sociopolitical concerns were expressions of this problem. In chapter one selections of Orwell’s 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 ‘doublethink’. 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 Orwell’s five novels are analyzed. In every case, J. P. Sartre’s ‘bad faith’, Martin Heidegger’s ‘mine’ and ‘they’ and Martin Buber’s ‘I’, ‘Thou’ and ‘It’, 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
By:  
Imprint:   Routledge
Country of Publication:   United Kingdom
Dimensions:   Height: 234mm,  Width: 156mm, 
Weight:   598g
ISBN:   9781032900407
ISBN 10:   1032900407
Series:   Routledge Revivals
Pages:   234
Publication Date:  
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Primary
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active

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