Law and Race in George Orwell. Issue 2 (4th May 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Kerr, Douglas
• Is Part Of: Law and literature. Volume 29:Issue 2(2017)
• Page Start: 311
• Page End: 328
• Publication Date: 2017-05-04
• Subjects: Orwell -- Burma -- rule of law -- police -- Burmese Days -- The Road to Wigan Pier, Nineteen Eighty-Four -- British Empire -- race; Law and literature -- Periodicals; Droit et littérature -- Périodiques; Law and literature; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 340.05
• DOI: 10.1080/1535685X.2016.1246914
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1535-685X

Abstract

Abstract: As Eric Blair, the young George Orwell served in the Indian Imperial Police in Burma from 1922 to 1929, a time of growing Burmese discontent with British rule. He wrote about Burma in a novel, Burmese Days, and a number of non-fictional writings. This article considers the nature of the law-and-order regime Orwell served in Burma, especially in the light of racial self-interest and Britain's commitment to the principle of the rule of law, and traces the issues of race and the law to his last novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four .