MY COMMENTS :
The subject is the autobiographical work of George Orwell, one of the writers who left his mark on the 20th century of world literature, in which he describes his childhood.
The sociological structure of the British Empire in the late 1800s and 1900s is touched upon, and a portrait of what it was like to be a child in that period is drawn, based on the author's own observations of other classmates.
First of all, it is clearly understood that in the education system of England at that time, other than 15 state schools, other schools were not very effective and that the aim was for a child from a low-income family who wanted to save his life to study in those schools and become a civil servant as a method of salvation. Unfortunately, like the education systems of many countries with the same understanding, this system is still applied to children in our country without them realizing it.
Again, although it is a state school, its structure is seen to be distributed in 3 categories, just like today's private schools, as students from very rich segment, upper-middle segment and students from low-income families who are educated with scholarships. The psychological pressure and traumas experienced by the author as a student from a low-income family are also mentioned in detail.
Although these are considered general statements about the mental structure of children, it is clear that the author has made quite acceptable observations based on his own childhood. In addition, many general problems experienced by the child of an average low-income family are clearly explained.
As a result, the work shows that it is one of the books that should definitely be examined by both a period study and autobiography readers who are interested in the life story of the famous author.
MY QUOTATIONS(*) :
George Orwell, or Eric Arthur Blair, was a novelist, journalist and critic who was one of the pioneer writers of English literature. He completed his education at Eton and returned to England after serving 15 years in the Indian Imperial Police. ( My Preface Quotes )
Another reason I cried was a deeper sadness, specific to childhood and not easy to describe: a sense of desolate loneliness and helplessness… a sense of being trapped not only in a hostile world but also in a world of good and evil, where the rules were this way and there was no way I could follow them.
Sin was not just what you did, but also what was done against you.
In general, a person's memories of any given period become weaker the further away he or she is from those memories. As new facts are learned, old ones are swept aside to make way for new ones.
In my era, an increasing number of boys were going to Eton. (It is one of the oldest and most elite private schools in England. Founded by King Henry VI in 1441, the school only accepted boys between the ages of 13 and 19 as boarders.) Most were the children of wealthy families, but these families were generally wealthy and not aristocratic.
Massacre of St. Bartholomew ( The beginning of the massacre was the assassination of the King of France XI. Charles' mother Catherine de Medicis, who was known for her closeness to Spain, against the king's Protestant assistant Admiral Gaspard de Coligny on August 20, 1572. The Catholic nobles, who survived the incident with injuries and organized a second attack to kill Coligny, who was lying in his house with serious injuries, succeeded, but this time they caused an unstoppable massacre. At dawn on August 24, 1572, Catholics dressed in white crosses attacked the Protestants sleeping in their houses. It is estimated that more than 30,000 Protestants were killed in the massacre, which first started in Paris .)
Treaty of Utrecht ( Peace treaty signed in 1713 between France, Spain, Great Britain, the Duchy of Savoy and the Netherlands, ending the War of the Spanish Succession .)
I doubt whether classical education was or could have been successfully conducted without physical punishment. Even the children themselves believed in its effectiveness.
There were three socioeconomic classes in the school. A minority of aristocrats or millionaires… The children of the average suburban rich, who made up the bulk of the school… And the children of clergymen, Indian officials, and widows, which was the group I was in…
The fact that if I didn't get a scholarship to a state school, I had no chance of a decent future was impressed on me at an early age. If I didn't get a scholarship, I would have to leave school at fourteen and become, as Sambo (the schoolmaster) famously put it, " a little office boy with forty pounds a year ." In my case, it was normal to believe this. Indeed, it is generally accepted at St. Creprians that if you don't get into a good state school (of which there are about fifteen in all), your life is ruined. It is not easy to describe to an adult the feeling of tension, of being irritated by others, or the desire to fight.
A child accepts the codes of conduct presented to him, even if he violates them. From the age of eight, and even earlier, the consciousness of sin has never been a distant concept to me. If I have appeared to you insensitive and defiant, it is only because of a thin veil of shame and terror.
No one can look back on their school days and admit that they were completely unhappy.
I learned early that a person can do wrong against another's will, and I soon realized that a person can do wrong without ever realizing what he is doing or why it is wrong.
What was extraordinary was the way in which everyone accepted that the bloated wealth of the British upper and upper-middle classes would last forever. It was never the same after 1918. Gone were the snobbery and expensive habits.
Life was hierarchical and whatever happened was right. There were the strong who deserved to win and always did, and the weak who deserved to lose forever and always did.
A child who seems reasonably happy may actually be experiencing a terror that he or she cannot express or describe.
Not revealing your true feelings to an adult is an instinctive action from the age of seven or eight onwards.
Only a child's life is real life. The school principal who thinks he is loved by his students and trusted by them is imitated and laughed at behind his back. An adult who does not seem dangerous always looks ridiculous.
The weakness of a child is that he starts life with a blank slate. The child neither understands nor questions the society he lives in. But because of his naivety, other people can infect the child with a sense of inferiority and a fear of committing crimes against the law.
MY EVALUATIONS:
Subject : The subject is the autobiographical work of George Orwell, one of the writers who left his mark on the 20th century of world literature, in which he describes his childhood.
Style: It is seen that the simple and clear narrative seen in the author's works continues in this book. Thanks to this, both the psychological analyses and periodic observations in his narrative can be conveyed to the reader much more clearly.
Originality : The work will not be evaluated in this category due to its nature.
Character : The work will not be evaluated in this category due to its nature.
Fluency : Considering the issues expressed in the style section, it is obvious that it is not possible for the work to have a gripping structure due to its subject and genre. However, it should be noted that thanks to the author's style, a work that is fluent and can be easily digested and read in one go has been created.
General : In the evaluation made out of 10 according to the criteria stated above:
Subject: 8
Style: 8
Fluency: 8
The overall average of the work that received its scores is 8 points . Considering that it has reached the 8 threshold in terms of its genre, it should be stated that it is one of the books that should definitely be examined by readers of all ages.
(*) : All parts in the title Quotations:
SUCH SUCH WERE THE JOYS
Author : George Orwell
Publisher : Fihrist Book
Edition : 2nd Edition - 2021
The photo used on the cover was used as a quote from the book.
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