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jeremychiasson 's review for:
Why Orwell Matters
by Christopher Hitchens
"Saints should always be judged guilty until they are proved innocent"
--George Orwell
Christopher Hitchens acted out this lesson from Orwell's essay "Reflections on Gandhi" most explicitly when he testified against Mother Teresa's beatification. But even when he's writing a book that means to praise someone (in this case, "Why Orwell Matters"), Hitchens doesn't indulge in hagiography.
In the book's introduction, Hitchens spells out his mission as "extricating Orwell from a pile of saccharine tablets and moist hankies". And for next 200 pages, he cuts through the white noise that surrounds Orwell, and tunes into the essence of a complicated man.
The reason Orwell MATTERS, isn't because he was infallible and saintly. It was because he struggled against his prejudices and contradictions, faced unpleasant facts, and tried to act on his principles. He was only human, but he did his damndest.
A wonderful (if brutal) example of his inner conflict, is illustrated in the essay "Shooting an Elephant". Orwell says that on one hand, he despises British colonialism and feels deep sympathy for its victims. On the other, he would gladly "drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts". In the end, Orwell left his post in Burma, and vigorously advocated for the dismantling of British Colonial Rule.
Orwell always tried to check himself, be transparent and intellectually honest, and had no illusions about man's darkest impulses. He knew that politics don't really matter, but principles endure. That is why Orwell is still so important today, and Hitchens argues this case with characteristic tenacity and erudition.
--George Orwell
Christopher Hitchens acted out this lesson from Orwell's essay "Reflections on Gandhi" most explicitly when he testified against Mother Teresa's beatification. But even when he's writing a book that means to praise someone (in this case, "Why Orwell Matters"), Hitchens doesn't indulge in hagiography.
In the book's introduction, Hitchens spells out his mission as "extricating Orwell from a pile of saccharine tablets and moist hankies". And for next 200 pages, he cuts through the white noise that surrounds Orwell, and tunes into the essence of a complicated man.
The reason Orwell MATTERS, isn't because he was infallible and saintly. It was because he struggled against his prejudices and contradictions, faced unpleasant facts, and tried to act on his principles. He was only human, but he did his damndest.
A wonderful (if brutal) example of his inner conflict, is illustrated in the essay "Shooting an Elephant". Orwell says that on one hand, he despises British colonialism and feels deep sympathy for its victims. On the other, he would gladly "drive a bayonet into a Buddhist priest’s guts". In the end, Orwell left his post in Burma, and vigorously advocated for the dismantling of British Colonial Rule.
Orwell always tried to check himself, be transparent and intellectually honest, and had no illusions about man's darkest impulses. He knew that politics don't really matter, but principles endure. That is why Orwell is still so important today, and Hitchens argues this case with characteristic tenacity and erudition.