George Orwell: The Man and the Mind Behind 1984

By: Michael Shelden, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Michael Shelden

While many literary works have transcended their own time to become beloved classics, few novels have remained quite as politically relevant as George Orwell’s dystopian masterpiece 1984. How has a book written in the 1940s—and set in a future that is now our past—become a cultural touchstone for every new generation of readers that encounters it? Why does Orwell’s vision of a totalitarian future seem to constantly reflect the conditions of the present?

In George Orwell: The Man and the Mind Behind 1984, Professor Michael Shelden will show you how the novel presents a plausible reality of thought control and totalitarian power that feels contemporary even as it reflects its own time. In five illuminating lectures, you will see how Orwell drew on his own experiences and observations of the post-war world to craft a universal story of human oppression. Along the way, you will see how Orwell:

• Created the terrifying figure of Big Brother not only by observing the tactics of Joseph Stalin, but also by remembering his days at an English boarding school;
• Translated his personal experience with censorship and propaganda into the oppressive forces of Newspeak and the Thought Police;
• Used his own relationships to explore how ordinary people respond to mass intimidation;
• Found inspiration for his nightmare world in his long battle with poor health; and more.

As you will see, 1984 was a financial and critical success from the very beginning and has been a favorite of readers ever since. From the Red Scare of the 1950s to the rise of the surveillance state in the 21st century, Orwell’s surprisingly personal masterpiece continues to resonate with our own lived experience, offering a timeless warning of the dangers of authoritarian power, misused technology, and unquestioned conformity.

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Peeling Back The Orwellian Curtain To See The Truth Behind The Man & His Mind, A Pleasure From Start To Finish.

After finishing 1984 recently I was intrigued by George Orwell as a writer and as a person. I wanted to understand his reasoning for what he wrote. When I found this course I was intrigued to learn more about George. However, instead I found it most interesting that there was no George at all, there was only Eric Arthur Blair who used George as a pseudonym to describe double think and evade the thought police before his brilliant mind, that was years ahead of his time, could be snuffed out by Big Brother. His fascinating interactions with Hemingway and his own dealings with espionage made this nearly more enjoyable than the novel that changed the world, 1984. I particularly enjoyed the connections between Animal Farm and his own educational struggles as a child, fighting tyranny to the end, from start to finish. It’s not long until we reach 2050 and we are no longer able to have the freedom of speech to peel back the curtains of history to see oppression’s sinister smile, ominously watching us from all around. This has been one of my favourite reads of the past few years. Many thanks to the author and researcher of this course. It has made me enjoy Orwellian literature so much more. This ‘explicit’ treasure that has been smuggled to us, the curious and obscene.

Creating Big Brother

The author of this Great Courses text makes the argument that this book is the single most influential one of the twentieth century. He may be right. Big Brother is a broadly socialized concept that people have been talking about my entire life. The idea of the state spying on every part of their citizenry’s lives is not too hard to fathom. After all, we know that our telephone calls are recorded, we all have devices in our homes that listen all the time, our internet searches are kept forever, there are cameras over most stop lights, and more cameras yet on peoples’ houses and property. The idea of privacy is not anything like what it was fifty years ago and it’s getting weaker every year. And none of that even mentions the popular reality show, Big Brother.

The book gives background on Orwell that helps put the book in the context of his life and his regrettably shortened writing career. I haven’t actually read Big Brother in at least thirty years, but I frankly don’t think you have to have read the novel to enjoy this audiobook on its creation and impact.

To think what other inspiration & knowledge he could have given us …

I thoroughly enjoyed this short biography of a man who did all that he could do during his short life to warn humanity of our grim future if we didn’t start paying more attention. His masterful use of his own history, personal experiences, and world view have contributed beautifully to his published works that we should all be rereading and teaching to our children. I highly recommend this well-written little glimpse into the life of Eric Arthur Blair, aka George Orwell.

Politically Motivated and Therefore Shallow

Oh, i was really liking this, but I don't trust any analysis from people that say "cancel culture" and spread that myth. That's a political myth, when you're discussing Orwell, you don't trot out current NewSpeak and act like it's just natural science and identified taxonomy of our natural environment. This is absurdly ironic. Stop melting smart people's brains. "Cancel Culture" was a term introduced to the public from the right wing, who notoriously has tried to and has been successful at censoring Hollywood and media from day one. When the public started to have a collective voice with social media and started expressing dislike for entrenched rapists in public culture, that is when the conservative media coined "CANCEL CULTURE".

Really disgusting behavior from this Michael Sheldon guy to trot this out like it needs no explanation or context, as if he's a narrator for Big Brother. Conservatives never stop being ironic, they never stop assaulting us with their stupidity. They heap labor on the rest of us continually.