The Orwell Conundrum: A Cry of Despair or Faith in the Spirit of Man?

Tony Barclay is a retired juvenile corrections probation officer and a
former public-health research associate at the University of Toronto.

George Orwell is something of an intellectual icon, known and venerated
more for what he stood for than for the intrinsic merit of his work. The
year 1984 came to symbolize an important milestone for millions of
people who had never heard of Orwell. This book of closely argued ideas
draws on many different psychological and philosophical theories, as
well as on a study of Orwell’s life. For the student of Orwell, the
book is fascinating; for the general reader, it may be tough going.

Much of the study concerns 1984, the best-known of Orwell’s books.
The author goes to considerable lengths to show that it is an attack on
Communism. The fact is, 1984 is an attack on both superpowers. Orwell
was a very English writer who distrusted America and had no love of
American capitalism. He also detested Communism, and saw through the
sophistry of its left-wing apologists. Deeply committed to what one
might call the “centre left,” he lived in a world where the values
he deeply believed in seemed to be swamped by overwhelming and brutal
forces of oppression and cynicism.

In this scholarly work, Gottlieb argues that the “Spirit of Man”
Orwell believed in had to do with his definition of truth and freedom.
She makes a convincing case.