Homage To Catalonia By George Orwell: Literary Analysis

In Homage to Catalonia (1938), author George Orwell was able to capture a unique perspective of the Spanish Civil War that has allowed it to remain a classic today. Orwell’s narrative on the war is examined through the lens of two historical scholars, Tom Buchanan and James Fountain, in the essays “Three Lives of Homage to Catalonia” and “The notion of crusade in British and American literary responses to the Spanish Civil War”, respectively. Buchanan examines secondary sources, whereas Fountain utilizes takes a more literary approach by analyzing various primary sources regarding the Spanish Civil War, alongside Homage to Catalonia (Homage). Both texts explore Homage to Catalonia’s role in the reflection of the political climate in both the

To prove his claim of the “second coming” (308) of the Homage to Catalonia, Buchanan examines a primary source, Lionel Trilling’s introduction for the American version of the book which gave Homage status of “truth and objectivity” (308), cementing its place as an anti-communist book, reflecting the prominent beliefs at the time (308). Buchanan goes on to mention the lack of negative reviews, singling out the only one “dissenting” review (309), juxtaposing the British reaction to the book. The point is proven further proven when “new readers in an age of student radicalism and Third World guerrilla struggle” (311) identify with the book in the third wave of popularity (311). Fountain portrays a similar line of thought when he refers to a change in “the collective consciousness of the United States population” (138) as the popularity of the Homage reflected a shift in political climate. Fountain utilizes a literary primary source, Langston Hughes who “recognised the significance of the Spanish Civil War as a crusade for Communism against a fascism which could cause radical changes in society” (139) to situate the anti-communist climate of the United States in contrast to Britain. Furthermore, Fountain points out that POUM representing revolution is directly related to the American feelings of revolution (142), complementing the words of Buchanan as he believed that the American people saw their own politics represented in Orwell’s book. Ultimately, Buchanan displays Homage to Catalonia was part of two distinct political movements as it does not represent the Spanish Civil war as much as it represents the feelings that came along with