Why Did George Orwell Disapproved?

1. One of Orwell’s reasons of disapprovement was how Twain wrote several books that all centralized around the around living in Mississippi and the Great Plains, since he had grown up there, with the message of what humans do when not afraid of what will happen. Orwell claims they were a “ragbag of anecdotes” and he unconsciously wrote a “hymn to a liberty”(1). Another reason is that Twain was a social critic and his deteriorating career became questionable and unclear. A third reason was that he had tended to show weakness in his character. His autobiography was tweaked and changed because he was a believer with siding with the stronger side whenever possible. Another reason Orwell disapproved was because his writing was somewhat controlled
3.Orwell goes further into criticizing America itself, not just Twain. He states that there is similarities in Twain’s writing and America. He claims in America the patriotism is “mixed up with literary judgement”(1), which keeps books such a Twain’s alive and remembered. Twain’s writing reflects the decline in America after the Civil War, and for not having much literature during this time period, he was made greater. America has the sense that “success and virtue are the same thing” and is sometime afraid to establish beliefs and stand behind them in order to achieve these things.

4.It makes sense that to me that Twain sometimes had a skeptical view and didn’t always take the unpopular side in order to gain more success and keep it safe. I get that his character was sometimes too diverse for his audiences. Without the influence of outside pressure, the strange and sinister individual came out. I think that it was good for Twain to be thinking of what ifs and and provoke the normalcy. It isn’t realistic or like the modern man but it was something new to think