From 1922 to 1927, Orwell was a member of the Indian Imperial Police Force in the Indian province of Bengal (Nineteen Eighty-Four i). This experience was the inspiration for his first novel, Burmese Days (Nineteen Eighty-Four i). Orwell left the Indian Imperial Police Force in 1927, returning to Europe and claiming  to begin his career as a writer (Shelden 11). He lived a poor, solitary existence in Paris for two years where he was employed as a teacher and later, as a dishwasher (Meyers 82).  At the end of 1929, he returned to England (Meyers 85).

    Six years after declaring his ambition to become a writer, Orwell published his first book, Down and Out in Paris and London (Meyers 103). Down and Out met political criticism (Meyers 245). Nevertheless, the book gained popularity throughout the Great Depression, when unemployment and poverty were prominent issue for many people (Meyers 106). The book was of particular relevance to the people of that time.

    Orwell continued to write after the success of his first novel. To name a few of his works, he published Burmese Days in 1934, A Clergyman's Daughter in 1935, Keep the Aspidistra Flying in 1936, The Road to Wigan Pier in 1937, Homage to Catalonia  in 1938, and Coming Up for Air in 1939 (Meyers).

    Orwell also contributed articles and reviews to several periodicals of his time. He became an editor of the British periodical Tribune, writing a regular column of political and literary commentary, "As I Please" (Nineteen Eighty-Four i).

    Orwell was a man of intense political criticism. As a socialist, he was very critical of communism. He was staunchly opposed to the views of totalitarianism and communism, dishonesty and cruelty in life and literature (Animal Farm i). His political values lead to the production of several pieces of  literature of international acclaim, in particular his political allegory, Animal Farm and the cautionary tale Nineteen Eighty-Four.

    Orwell began writingAnimal Farm in November 1943.  He began Animal Farm at this time because he believed that it was "the best time to expose the corrupt nature of the Soviet State where Russia was at the height of its popularity." It rose to great literary and financial success after an extensive struggle to get it in to print. It was also met with political criticism like Down and Out, rejected by five publishers before its initial publication. (Meyers 245).

    Orwell's final work, Nineteen Eighty-Four was also an extraordinary accomplishment. This "anti-utopian" novel captured an extremely totalitarian atmosphere and was designed to reveal the imminent dangers of totalitarian ideas (Meyers 279).

    After considerable time suffering from tuberculosis, George Orwell died on January 21, 1950 at the age of 46 (Shelden 421-442). In the words of his colleague Desmond MacCarthy, Orwell had "made an indelible mark on English literature" and was "among the few memorable writers of his generation" (in Nineteen Eighty-Four ii). He had truly left behind a legacy and reputation of literary greatness.

Works Cited
Davison, Peter. Introduction. Nineteen Eighty-Four. By George Orwell. Toronto: Penguin Books Canada Ltd, 1990. i-ii.

Meyers, Jeffrey. Orwell: Wintry Conscience of a Generation. New York: W.W. Norton and Company, Inc., 2000.

Shelden, Michael.  Orwell: The Authorized Autobiography.  New York: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991.

Woodhouse, C.M. Introduction. Animal Farm. By George Orwell.  New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1946. i.

More Orwell biographies:

http://students.ou.edu/C/Kara.C.Chiodo-1/orwellbib1.html

http://www.k-1.com/Orwell/bio.htm

http://www.codoh.com/thoughtcrimes/tcportorw.html

http://www.novelguide.com/animalfarm/biography.html

http://www.seas.upenn.edu/~allport/chestnut/intro.htm