In-depth Review: George Orwell's The Road to Wigan Pier Analysis

This report provides a detailed review of George Orwell's 'The Road to Wigan Pier,' examining its context, author's background, methodology, and legacy. The book, published in 1937, investigates the living conditions of the working-class in industrial England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lancashire. Orwell's experiences living among impoverished miners inform the first part of the book, while the second part critiques the British class system and socialist movements. The review covers the book's themes, arguments, and its lasting impact on literature and social commentary, highlighting Orwell's ethnographic approach and his complex views on socialism and class.

Modern Society
(Modification)

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
THE CONTEXT OF THE BOOK:....................................................................................................3
THE AUTHOR:...................................................................................................................................4
THE BACKGROUND AND PERSPECTIVE..................................................................................4
METHODOLOGY AND METHODS...............................................................................................5
BOOK ITSELF....................................................................................................................................6
THE LEGACY OF THE BOOK:.......................................................................................................7
CONCLUSION....................................................................................................................................8
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................9

INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of writer to compose this book is to investigating living situations of
working-class people associated with industrial sector of Yorkshire and Lancashire in
England. The author of the book is George Orwell who published this book named “The
Road to Wigan Pier” in the year 1937. When this book was researched by him, he was
previously considered as renowned essayist and had published a book related to British
underclass. This book started by defining his experiences when he went to live with
impoverished and unemployed miners of northern England through sharing as well as
observing their lives. This book ends with strong criticism of present socialist
movements(Orwell, 2021). The first part of the book is an explanation about living conditions
in several parts of north that Orwell has experienced and second part consist of essays related
to British class system, nauseousness of middle class when working with along with what is
not appropriate with Socialism in Britain. This report contains review of the book written by
Orwell, his background and current opinions about the book. Furthermore, the report
represents book impression, theme, problems and arguments and legacy of the book (George
Orwell’s Ethnographies of Experience. 2016).
THE CONTEXT OF THE BOOK:
The book “The Road to Wigan Pier” was written by George Orwell and got published in the
year 1937 which is defined as fictions autobiography. This book is powerful and insightful
account about lives of people who are living in poverty and deprivation in the period of
insufficient government authorities and low salaries. He in his book defines miserable
housing, severe working circumstances along with disturbing impacts of unemployment. In
the second part of the book, he evaluates his own social and political connections with an
inspiring capability to aggravate and to query (Høgsbjerg, 2019). He protects values of
middle-class whilst criticizing the disappointments caused by his own class, he activist
socialism though panning the social movement in the country.
Social terms: This book composed by George Orwell represent sensitive picture about lives
of people living in harsh living circumstances with low paid wages and without government
support.
Political Terms: The political context of Orwell is that Communism is considered as normal,
like vegetarianism is normal but was not then but he discovers vegetarian offensive. He

represents his views about Communism with ease as if it is considered as general party
propensities, but so far, he simply on additional ideological shades of opinions (George
Orwell’s Ethnographies of Experience. 2016).
Cultural terms: George Orwell's qualified life has such determined cultural influence since
they carry to light a melodramatic modification in the attitude and worldview that
anthropomorphizes contemporary economy as a communal structure: the move from utopian
imaginations to dystopian terror (A World-System Biography of George Orwell. 2022).
THE AUTHOR:
George Orwell was born on June 25 in the year 1903 in Motihari, Bengal, India and was a
popular English novelist. His work is mainly characterised by biting social criticism, lucid
prose, overall disagreement to totalitarianism, and a great supporter of democratic socialism.
He has composed poetry, literary criticism along with polemical and fiction journalism. He is
popular for one of his allegorical novel animal Farm and dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-
Four. The book The Road to Wigan Pier is about his experience that he gained while living
with working-class in northern part of England (Hartley, 2020). His family includes father
Richard and mother Ida Blair along with two sisters. During his stay in Paris, he lost his two
novels written by him as well as he had also published some journals in English and French.
In the year 1929 he returned his house located in Suffolk, England after employing as kitchen
porter. He also has two scholarships of leading schools of England which are Wellington and
Eton (George Orwell’s Ethnographies of Experience. 2016). .
THE BACKGROUND AND PERSPECTIVE
The book was specially made in the month of January in year 1936 by VICTOR
GOLLANCZ to make a education of unemployment in the miserable parts of the north
England and to compose about his experiences. According to Orwell author BERNARD
CRICK first tried to encourage Orwell to permit to LEFT BOOK CLUB version to contain
exclusively of the evocative primary half of the book. When this was declined Gollancz
wrote an overview to the book.
Victor was not able to face failure even his recommendations that objectionable second half
must be erased from edition that was not accepted. This book contends to historical and social
authenticity of people grieving in the Northern part of England. In the year 1936 during the
time period of January 31st to March 30 Orwell was living in Wigan, Barnsley and thoroughly

researched his writings for this book. Orwell had only the unclear idea of what he would
inscribe about and where to drive, but trapsing the north was afresh fashionable among the
intellectuals.
This book establishes a diabolic version of miserable Britain, beforehand providing a wide
consideration on developing a reasonable community. Its author special treatment socialist-
solution, but then devotes additional time ridiculing socialism mainly middle- class
supporters in a voice and style that would assurance him everyday mail pillar today and make
booklovers of the spectators for which he inscribed until his early in 1950.
METHODOLOGY AND METHODS
During his research he implemented old-style qualitative approaches like observational, field
notes and moderately communication. While researching about this book, Orwell was known
as ethologist and both Downs and Out in Paris and London and The Road to Wigan Pier are
anthropological books that provide significant insight on marginalized communities in
Europe in the back to the mid-century (Rose, 2019). The capability of writer reflects clear
and compassionate depiction of 'separateness.' Orwell's auto descriptive anthropology is
illustrious by his demonstrative connection in his specific subject, thoughtful preparation, and
consciousness to ancient and radical actions in his writings.
Autoethnography is defined as a procedure that is particularly suitable to writers,
notably fiction authors, because the pre-eminence of the author's perception and sentiments
expressed via a captivating story as main. Autoethnography invented as a response to
postmodernism's 'nervous breakdown' in the communal researchers (Fike and Waters, 2019).
Academics were anxious by academic and logical limitations in their education and removing
'evidence' from their inquiries, empathetic the trouble of unchanging sections.
The principal of ethnographer's role is to collect information and evidence. For
sociocultural psychologists, this elaborate directing research in 'primitive' societies in order to
'understand the native's viewpoint, his association to presence, and objectify his image of his
world.' For Orwell, predominantly in light of his views, the "native's viewpoint" was that of
the labouring subjugated masses.
The advantages of qualitative information is it turn into conceivable to comprehend
attitudes, it saves currency and disadvantages include not a statically condemnatory for
information assortment and it depend on the knowledge of the investigator.

BOOK ITSELF
The famous non-fiction book "The road to Wigan pier" was published in 1937 by famous
author George Orwell. This non- fiction story describes first hand experiences of Orwell's
entire life in the Great Britain's simple and poor working class societies in the beginning of
the 20th century and patron for the consideration of the socialism (A World-System
Biography of George Orwell. 2022).
The story of the book begins from the tiny lodging pent house situated in the northern of the
England. The poverty stricken rundown rent of house where there are crowded rooms of
people who work in the mines nearby. Mr. Brooker the landlord of the house what's only a
minor and now has its own meat store that run out of the lodging house.
Mrs Brooker the wife of the house landlord set down on a couch most of the day and creams
or dessert everyone around her. Well it is natural that she is staying in most cramped
bedrooms of house sharing the space with the nearby miners, trademen, salesmen or the old
age people who are homeless and has no other place to live in. In this book the dirty and germ
infected house is the symbol of many other low class homes in poverty driven local
communities.
Orwell went to look for the nearby mines that are highly dangerous and harmful place to
work. The place offers no room to mobilize and brings huge amount of negative effects on
the health as well. Inside of the mines there is outburst of gas dust and low ceilings broke the
miner's bodies. Orwell can barely manage to stay in the mine for few hours before he returns
above the ground. This will take a week to Orwell for recovering from the life shocking
experience while the other miners was spending 12 hours of a day in such a terrible and
disastrous conditions for the little wage to survive their daily livings (A World-System
Biography of George Orwell. 2022).
Like other people during the same time, the Orwell was only certain that the miners were
compensated fairly. But the Orwell abruptly exposed this lie or myth by measuring the
miners daily expenses which demonstrated that they are been underpaid which is exploitation
of their right is minimum wage (Blanchard, 2019). Also, miners are injured awfully during
work and due to the low wages, they have awful living conditions. While travelling through
North England it was experienced by the Orwell that houses badly damp infected with box
and in use danger of collapsing. In England there is undergoing shortage of housing the

miners and the other daily wage workers are left with no choice but to accept the reality of
crowded houses with disgusting beds.
Another half of the road to Wigan Pier evaluates the possible solutions for the poverty. The
famous ardent socialist Orwell believes that the British class system should be dismantled.
Socialism has reduced in popularity in the coming years but he cannot recognise how anyone
who visualise the lower class community cannot be socialist. While so many people denied
non socialist are selfish so frightened of losing a few privileges that is experienced by own to
show what might they feel and how they can change.
Thus, the road to Wigan pier is highly powerful and insightful writing related to the lives
living in the poverty and deprivation during the time of low wages and meagre government.
Also Orwell demonstrates the damped houses with negative impact on health with harsh
working and living conditions. And he also vividly demonstrates the courage and dignity that
miners have. In another half part of the book (Jones and Periyan, 2020) The author
determines the political and social relations and issues which have impress ability to provoke
and question middle class values where the critic the failure of his own class.
THE LEGACY OF THE BOOK:
After the death of George Orwell 50 years ago, he was identified as the leading solid
exponent of the modern 20th era English prose and was also recognised as the most
influential satiric author and writer whose work have detailed scholarly attention. A diverse
range of edition of his novels, essays, autobiography and other journal works are easily in the
reach of general readers. The art of Orwell is read and discussed by large number of critics
and literature specialists from different perspectives.
There is no single doubt that a single reason for lasting a peer of the work of Orwell lies in
the quality of its English prose. As John fowler suggested in "The language of George
Orwell" 1995 Marvelous study of writer's style. But it seemed to me that the writing of
Orwell was symbol of more political issues the master of style (Zoega and Arnorsson, 2018).
Yet it cannot be denied that he owns excellent quality of writing. Regarding the political
issues or will seemingly managed to serve cold war political ideology which is different from
Alex Zwerdlings who suggests in his analysis of the left-wing ideas.
In year 1984, the critics appreciated and celebrated the Orwell and also read its dystopian
predictions.

CONCLUSION
Around 84 years ago, England person described him was pacing along Leeds and Liverpool
canal was the old Etonian Eric Blair " a tall feller with the flannel bags pair, a Mac and a
fawn jacket".
Some weeks earlier the tall father came out from London armed with small advance from
publishers Victor Gollancz.
The book the road to Wigan Pier concluded ASP classic literature story that critics
summarised or stated at the beautiful and disturbing story. Today the book tond as curiously
relevant to one own distressed time. The old Estonian prime minister cabinet stuffed with
local school boys, and embarked by the most radical decline of public spending in
generations making loopholes that have prompted robbers’ criticism of its own pace and
scale.
Both North and South are pulling apart again not still to the extent where Orwell could have
described his own journey as a venturing among savages but going there speedy. As a reader
we are witnessing the big squeeze in the living standards from 1920 and its effect for heavier
on the north side of England.

REFERENCES
Books and Journal
Blanchard, J., 2019. The ninth station. Quadrant, 63(5), p.79.
Fike, R. and Waters, P., 2019. that South. Flannery O'Connor Review, 17, pp.1-217.
Hartley, R., 2020. George Orwell: politics and the avoidance of reality. A Deeper Cut:
Further Explorations of the Unconscious in Social and Political Life, p.161.
Høgsbjerg, C., 2019. Gemma Romain. Race, Sexuality and Identity in Britain and Jamaica:
The Biography of Patrick Nelson, 1916–1963. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017.
Pp. 264. $114.00 (cloth). Journal of British Studies, 58(3), pp.668-670.
Jones, C. and Periyan, N., 2020. Introduction: The Interwar Woman Writer: Politics and
Aesthetics. Women: A Cultural Review, 31(4), pp.357-365.
Orwell, G., 2021. The road to Wigan pier. Oxford University Press.
Rose, J., 2019. Modernity and print I: Britain 1890–1970. A Companion to the History of the
Book, pp.529-542.
Zoega, G. and Arnorsson, A., 2018. On the causes of Brexit. European Journal of Political
Economy, 55, pp.301-323.
[Online]
George Orwell’s Ethnographies of Experience. 2016 Online Available Through: <(PDF)
George Orwell’s Ethnographies of Experience: The Road to Wigan Pier and Down and Out in
Paris and London (researchgate.net)>
A World-System Biography of George Orwell. 2022. Online Available Through: < "The road
from Mandalay to Wigan is a long one - ProQuest>