George Orwell - Reflections of/on Ghandi

George Orwell's Reflections of/on Gandhi is an analytical piece of a semi-autobiography Orwell had read. In Orwell's essay, he makes it clear that peace and realistic beliefs are not just a part of mentality but a part of Gandhi's life. Although, the bigger picture that the reader may get is Orwell's thoughts on parts of life. Through characterization of Gandhi, and several connotations in the essay, Orwell is trying to show points that occur or are believed in life through Gandhi, even though Orwell isn’t in dire awe of Gandhi.


Orwell begins characterizing Gandhi as a "humble, naked old man" who would shake "empires by sheer spiritual power". Orwell then gives background information possibly found in the semi-autobiography: "And though he came of a poor middle-class family, started life rather unfavorably, and was probably of unimpressive physical appearance, he was not afflicted by envy or by the feeling of inferiority." Gandhi was just a man who did not judge peoples due to race or status. He was a pacifist, as well as a realistic man in terms of how he grew up and where he grew up(his cultural influences). Orwell uses this characterization in such a way, that if the reader did not know about Gandhi, this would let them know who Gandhi is; in the eyes of Orwell, that is. Although Orwell's characterization was based off of Gandhi, Orwell could also possibly be telling the reader one of many characteristics life may have.




Orwell also gives the reader sentences in which have phrases that connotate or further extend/go beyond the basic definition. In "...fashion to talk...", Orwell connotates the possible words: hype, buildup. The act of connotation also gives the reader more room for imagination. Orwell continues with talking about Gandhi's Pacifism "... 'firmness in the truth' ...". Orwell may have translated the Gujarati word, satyagraha, to be not only the truth, but the firmness in the truth. This gives the reader a bigger grip on a word than just a one word definition which is in some ways not fully comprehensible in the sense that it can fully adhere to the rest of the essays meaning. Here the reader may get a sense of Gandhi's beliefs, then in which can also follow a bigger trail and possibly connotate itself and represent one of life's many beliefs. 


Orwell's characterization and connotations help a reader develop the sense of who Gandhi is, and possibly points that occur in life as well. Orwell characterizes Gandhi to be a spiritual, realistic man, which can be put on a bigger scale and seen as how that could be a characteristic of life. Through connotation, we notice that the reader either has more room for imagination, or more grip as to what Orwell's perception of Gandhi is.
Orwell may just be analyzing Gandhi, but a reader may see this as a bigger whole and notice that Orwell may be just using Gandhi to analyze characteristics of life as well.