From: bridegam@pacbell.net   
      
   Rhino wrote:   
      
   > Is anyone aware of any writings by Orwell himself - or interviews with him -   
   > that describe his purpose in writing 1984?   
   >   
   > These days, writers often go on lengthy tours to promote their new books but   
   > I have the sense that such activities were virtually unknown in Orwell's   
   > day. However, I don't know very much about book promotion in the 1940s in   
   > Britain so I could be wrong. Perhaps he was interviewed on whatever TV talk   
   > show existed in those days - assuming Britain *had* TV in those days (it was   
   > only very new in North America at the time)! - or, more likely, on the   
   > radio.   
   >   
   > Since he died only a few months after publication of 1984, I'm not holding   
   > out a lot of hope that he published a memoir or anything else that described   
   > his motivations and inspirations in writing 1984. Nevertheless, it seems   
   > worthwhile to ask here.   
   >   
   > One of the things I'm most curious about is Orwell's level of optimism or   
   > pessimism that Ingsoc would truly survive. I've just re-read 1984 and   
   > noticed something about the Appendix that I hadn't seen before: the verb   
   > tenses in the first paragraph suggest that the Appendix may have been   
   > written from the point of view of an academic analyzing Ingsoc and Newspeak   
   > *after* their demise. I wonder if Orwell might have intended the Appendix as   
   > a ray of hope that the infinitely bleak and hopeless world of 1984 might not   
   > actually endure?   
   >   
   > Naturally, there is great scope for readers to debate this point with a   
   > variety of persuasive arguments on either side; however, I would be more   
   > interested in hearing what Orwell himself said on the subject. This seems   
   > like the kind of question that might very well come up if the Oprah Winfrey   
   > of his day had interviewed him.   
   >   
   > --   
   > Rhino   
   > ---   
   > rhino1 AT sympatico DOT ca   
   > "There are two ways of constructing a software design. One way is to make it   
   > so simple that there are obviously no deficiencies. And the other way is to   
   > make it so complicated that there are no obvious deficiencies." - C.A.R.   
   > Hoare   
      
   It's nowhere near a full answer, but this might help:   
      
      
   /M   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)