The Road to Wigan Pier is a journalistic book written by English author George Orwell in 1937. Originally written for Victor Gollancz from the far-left publishing group the Left Book Club, Orwell’s book would later be regarded as one of the blueprints for modern investigative journalism. As a journalistic piece, The Road to Wigan Pier is a book intending to inform its readers. Historically, however, this book functions as a documentary of the British working-class conditions in the mid to late 1930s as the Depression hits northern England. Additionally, it means to serve as a commentary on the state of Socialism, and why those who should be supporting the ideology so vehemently denounce it. Orwell succeeds in presenting an account of the poverty, poor conditions, and delusion experienced by the working class following the Great War.
The story of The Road to Wigan Pier is that of the British coal-miners around Yorkshire and Lancashire. Initially he tells of a family called …show more content…
Whatever concerns the political leaders might have had “were quickly replaced with an optimism stimulated by regular employment, high wages and the involvement of civilian population in the labour market” (Crowley 425). When they did finally take action, as Lloyd George attempted to do, proposals “remained far from satisfactory for many workers” (Crowley 429). This led the people to turn to alternative political views promising salvation. Characteristically, Orwell was firmly against many of the other political views of his time, namely Communism. He would not objectively pick an ideology contrasting his own views, even if in his research he found it to better suit the needs of the people. Additionally, Orwell is writing for a far-left, Socialistic publication. While it might have no effect on how he words his arguments, Orwell would not elect for a differing solution than that which his publisher is pushing
The story of The Road to Wigan Pier is that of the British coal-miners around Yorkshire and Lancashire. Initially he tells of a family called …show more content…
Whatever concerns the political leaders might have had “were quickly replaced with an optimism stimulated by regular employment, high wages and the involvement of civilian population in the labour market” (Crowley 425). When they did finally take action, as Lloyd George attempted to do, proposals “remained far from satisfactory for many workers” (Crowley 429). This led the people to turn to alternative political views promising salvation. Characteristically, Orwell was firmly against many of the other political views of his time, namely Communism. He would not objectively pick an ideology contrasting his own views, even if in his research he found it to better suit the needs of the people. Additionally, Orwell is writing for a far-left, Socialistic publication. While it might have no effect on how he words his arguments, Orwell would not elect for a differing solution than that which his publisher is pushing