THE SPIKE by GEORGE ORWELL - HANDOUT
presentation by Cal Janik Jones, Alex Kozak, Kevin Shin, Peter Spenler, Arnold Xaykongsa
Tone
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Tone Within the Spike - the tone is gloomy and depressive
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“It was a gloomy, chilly, limewashed place, consisting only of a bathroom and dining-room and about a hundred
narrow stone cells.”
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Tone Outside of the Spike - the tone is surprisingly positive. Thereby, Orwell expresses his disdain for institution
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“It was a quiet road, there were no cars passing, the blossom covered the chestnut trees like great wax candles.
Everything was so quiet and smelt so clean.”
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Tone Towards the Tramps - Orwell denies that he tries to place himself above the tramps
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“I produced arguments to prove him wrong, but he would not listen”
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Yet, the very last line of the essay pities the tramps, and indicates that Orwell is almost spiteful towards them
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“And he put four sodden, debauched, loathly cigarette ends into my hand.”
Target Audience
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Historical Background
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UK was still recovering from World War I
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The Great Depression (The Great Slump) in the UK 1929-1932. By the end of 1930, unemployment had more than
doubled from 1 million to 2.5 million (20% of the insured workforce)
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The essay speaks to those with disdain of the government - mainly towards the middle class, slightly towards the lower class
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Orwell puts the spike, the “institutional” creation, in a negative light
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Orwell’s tone towards the tramps is such that the middle/upper class person could read it from Orwell’s perspective
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Orwell appeals to the lower class as well by writing about their struggles
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Ending on a positive note, this audience can take a feeling of hope from the essay, that despite the horrid spike life,
there will be freedom in the end
Structure
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Orwell uses paragraphs to change scenery, each paragraph a short story about a different aspect of living in the spike
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Transitional phrases or words are almost never used
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The only sorts of transitional phrases used are those which show the chronological relation of one paragraph to the next
before the new paragraph takes off in a different direction
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The essay is written like a bunch of anecdotes that are woven together to give a narrative of life in the spike
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Clearly splits off dialogue from his monologue even when it is directly related
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Doesn’t just perform line breaks for each line of dialogue as is often done but instead embeds the dialogue within a separate
paragraph. This is in stark contrast to how he usually uses paragraphs as complete scene changes
Thesis
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Orwell seeks to disassociate himself from class status entirely, acting as a passive observer (less thesis, moreso purpose)
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Orwell writes with the dual purpose of condemning institution, as well as pitying the tramps.
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He takes no sides, and seeks to demonstrate his freedom from either label
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Freedom Outside of The Spike
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See quote above, in “Tone”
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Orwell feels as if he has escaped the label of tramphood, merely by being outside of the spike
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Tramps in Denial - Orwell does not seem to regard himself as tramp. He calls himself one, but fails to fully fit the label.
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Orwell describes his encounter with a fellow tramp who fails to accept the reality of his life
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Orwell does argue against him, demonstrating how he acknowledges his tramp-hood
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Yet, Orwell still places himself above tramp-hood, in various ways
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Ultimately, Orwell merely seeks to take no sides and present a truthful view of class relations
Diction
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Positive diction is used to contrast the writing styles and to provide a mood for the moment in time, for the purpose of conveying
Orwell’s opinion
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“The blossom covered the chestnut trees like great wax candles. Everything was so quiet and smelt so clean”
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“How bright everything looked, and how sweet the winds did blow, after the gloomy, reeking spike!”
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Negative diction makes up the vast majority of the tone and the over-arching theme of the essay
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“The, boredom in that crowded, comfortless room was now unbearable”
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“It was a disgusting sight”
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Generally uses words that are belittling and/or generally disappointed with the situation.
Literary / Rhetorical Devices
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Metaphor/Simile - Describes the tramps as animalistic and paints an expressive picture of their suffering
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“The yawning tramps brisked up like lions at feeding-time.” (Para 28)
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...like a browsing beast, he starves if he is long away from the pavement-pasture.” (Para 20)
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“to confine an ignorant man all day with nothing to do; it is like chaining a dog in a barrel.” (Para 17)
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Religious Allusion - Allows Orwell to make associations and implications, via a well known source (Bible and Greek mythology)
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“sparse beard and sunken cheeks, looking like the copse of Lazarus in some primitive picture.” (Para 14)
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Bill the moocher, the best built man of us all, a Herculean study beggar…” (Para 16)
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Catharsis - Orwell captivates us in a pitiful image, drawing us into this sub-human conditions. Also appeals to pathos, thereby
reinforcing Orwell’s tone and purpose.
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“At last it was time to go, and we were let out into the yard. How bright everything looked, and how sweet the winds
did blow, after the gloomy, reeking spike!”