Reading Orwells Essays, I gained much more knowledge, and it made me think deeply about the issues that occurred in his time and all the injustices he saw. While reading his essays, we were shown experiences and images through his lenses and how he truly felt in those situations. Specifically, I enjoyed reading “The Spike” and “How the Poor Die.” Reading these two essays made me reflect and think about the injustices happening to people at this time. Working in the spike meant being abused and denied even the most basic human needs. I was astonished to see the differences in medical practices and how it felt to be a patient in a public hospital in 1929 France, where the hospital staff simply treated you without conversing with you. He highlighted many essential points, like how the poor suffered more medically and were not treated the same and that the hospital was not a place where the sick could get treatments and rest but rather a place of torment and harsh treatment. Reading this essay made me reflect on the health care we have now and how many years that took compared to the cruelty of the hospitals in France in 1929.
After receiving feedback on my DRJs and going over each aspect of the DRJs in a class discussion, I learned more in-depth and better understood what each one means. After going back and looking at my own, I realize where I could have analyzed what I read much better. For example, I was a bit confused about sound effects and imagery, but I recognize the difference now after clarification. Asking about these sections, such as diction and register, will definitely help make my DRJs and analysis more precise.
Reading”Why Orwell Endures” by Geoffrey Wheatcroft was an interesting but confusing analysis that I did not fully comprehend. It was confusing because the words used were very complex and hard to follow. However, reading it was interesting, and It showed how Orwell was really not known for one specific thing but rather for a variety of things. We can see from this essay many social issues he was interested in. As a result, as readers, we can gain much information from Orwell’s insights and personal experiences wherever he went.
Amira I agree! It is crazy to think about how the hospital patients and workers were treated compared to today. I too was confused by sound effects as well as structure.
I also enjoyed reading the most “The Spike” and “How the Poor People Die”. His points on these essays are very interesting.
Reading “Why Orwell Endures” is hard to understand but looking at how he describes Orwell tells us a lot about him and his writing.
Good job Amira!
Hi Amira, I also think “The Spike” and “How The Poor Died” are prime examples of how we can gain better view into inequality in our society, especially back then. It seemed that from reading these extracts, I think you had gain a better ability to empathize with people and understand their circumstances.