Britain in the Thirties
The book, The Road to Wigan Pier, by George Orwell depicts the life of miners in 1930s Britain. The 1930s in Britain were rough unless you were part of the upper class. The miners and others of that stature were suppressed, by taxes, by other classes, by just about anyone and anything you can possibly think of. It has a very socialistic point of view. Along with Orwell, there were a good number of men in Britain with the same view. The man that published the book, Victor Gollancz, was a socialist as well.Victor Gollancz, born into a Jewish household with a Polish ancestry. Was educated in Britain at Oxford. He left Oxford without a degree and began to develop views of the world with a very Christian moral stance. His first job was at Benn Brothers publishing firm. After learning the ways of the trade, he set off and started Victor Gollancz Ltd. He began to publish socialist books. Gollancz started to climb the ladder of socialist leaders in Britain.The culmination of his socialist status came in 1936 when he, Laski, and Strachey started the Left Book Club. The purpose of the Left Book Club was to spread the word of socialism and anti-fascism. A number of books were publis
There is simply just not enough room for a family to live in a place like that, but nothing larger can be afforded. From the perspective of miners and others of that social scale, socialism is a great answer. Traveling back to the shaft is nearly impossible at the end of the shift. Orwell describes a home with, “…a tiny living room which contains, apart from the kitchen range and a quantity of furniture, a wife, some children, and probably a dog…”(Orwell, 37-38). There is a lot of wear on the body. Purinton 5With the expansion of the club to include the paper, membership soared from ten thousand in 1936 to fifty-thousand in 1939. Orwell’s description of the miner’s life is one of a poor hardworking soul that never got a lot Purinton 3of credit of benefits. Many authors wrote books and articles for them and helped to spread the news. It is a good way to get the message across. Gollancz, Laski, and Strachey felt that the situation in 1930s Britain needed to be attended to and that is what they did. Socialism was growing popularity in the 1930s with the effects of the Depression hitting hard, especially the poor, the socialist reforms were quite appealing. Webster defines socialism as, “a social system in which the means of producing and distributing goods are owned collectively and political power is exercised by the whole community. Within three years, membership more than quadrupled. There is a bedroom and a room for everything else.
Common topics in this essay:
Wigan Pier,
Book Club,
Laski Strachey,
George Orwell,
Gollancz Ltd,
Victor Gollancz,
Britain Oxford,
Benn Brothers,
Left Book,
book club,
left book,
left book club,
Orwell Britain,
1930s britain,
victor gollancz,
road wigan,
road wigan pier,
laski strachey,
wigan pier,
gollancz laski strachey,
conditions poor,
gollancz laski,
day miner,
|
Acceptance Essays
