The year 2003 was the 100th anniversary of the birth of George Orwell, one of the most influential authors of the twentieth century. Orwell's books are assigned today in over 60,000 classrooms annually. In this book, essays by prominent writers and scholars explain why his impact continues in a world much changed from his own. The essays explore new aspects of Orwell's life and work and his continuing relevance for the interpretation of modern social, political, and cultural affairs. Thematic topics include: the use and abuse of 1984; ideas, ideologues, and intellectuals; biography and autobiography; literary and stylistic analyses; and the reception of Orwell's work abroad. The volume is an ideal secondary source for those who continue to be influenced by Orwell's insights and for teachers of Orwell's work.

Introduction George Orwell into the Twenty-first Century, Thomas Cushman; Part I The Use and Abuse of Nineteen Eighty-Four; Chapter 1 Abolishing the Orgasm: Orwell and the Politics of Sexual Persecution, Jonathan Rose; Chapter 2 In Defense of Comrade Psmith: The Orwellian Treatment of Orwell, Ian Williams; Chapter 3 Hope against Hope: Orwell's Posthumous Novel, Morris Dickstein; Part II Ideas, Ideologies, and Intellectuals; Chapter 4 George Orwell and the Liberal Experience of Totalitarianism, Christopher Hitchens; Chapter 5 On the Ethics of Admiration-and Detraction, John Rodden; Chapter 6 The Public Intellectual as Connected Critic: George Orwell and Religion, Ronald F. Thiemann; Chapter 7 Orwell, Pacifism, Pacifists, Lawrence Rosenwald; Chapter 8 Varieties of Patriotic Experience, Todd Gitlin; Chapter 9 Vulgar Nationalism and Insulting Nicknames: George Orwell's Progressive Reflections on Race, Anthony Stewart; Chapter 10 Orwell's "Smelly Little Orthodoxies"-and Ours, Jim Sleeper; Chapter 11 Orwell in an Age of Celebrity, Jonathan B. Imber; Part III Of Biography and Autobiography; Chapter 12 Writing about Orwell: A Personal Account, Peter Stansky; Chapter 13 Orwell: Unmasker of Underlying Realities, Dennis Wrong; Chapter 14 Third Thoughts about Orwell?, Daphne Patai; Part IV Literary and Stylistic Issues; Chapter 15 Orwell's Perversity: An Approach to the Collected Essays, William E. Cain; Chapter 16 Prescience and Resilience in George Orwell's Political Aesthetics, Lynette Hunter; Chapter 17 Outside/Inside: Searching for Wigan Pier, Margery Sabin; Chapter 18 Orwell's Satirical Vision on the Screen: The Film Versions of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Erika Gottlieb; Part V Orwell Abroad; Chapter 19 George Orwell: Russia's Tocqueville, Vladimir Shlapentokh; Chapter 20 May Days in Barcelona: Orwell, Langdon-Davies, and the Cultural Memory of War, Miquel Berga; Chapter 21 From Ingsoc to Capsoc: Perceptions of Orwell in France, Gilbert Bonifas;