The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius

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We are a nation of flower-lovers, but also a nation of stamp-collectors, pigeon-fanciers, amateur carpenters, coupon-snippers, darts-players, crossword-puzzle fans. Till recently it was thought proper to pretend that all human beings are very much alike, but in fact anyone able to use his eyes knows that the average of human behaviour differs enormously from country to country. All the parties of the left are incapable of reform, the Labour Party most of all since it is the party of the trade unions and therefore has a vested interest in the maintenance and flourishing of capitalism. In 1993, British Prime Minister John Major famously alluded to the essay in a speech on Europe by stating, "Fifty years from now Britain will still be the country of long shadows on county grounds, warm beer, invincible green suburbs, dog lovers and pools fillers and – as George Orwell said – 'old maids bicycling to Holy Communion through the morning mist'. But here it is worth noting a minor English trait which is extremely well marked though not often commented on, and that is a love of flowers.

The Lion and the Unicorn - Penguin Books UK

To an increasing extent the rich and the poor read the same books, and they also see the same films and listen to the same radio programmes. Even at this moment hundreds of thousands of men in England are being trained with the bayonet, a weapon entirely useless except for opening tins. Sir John Tenniel's illustrations for the section caricature Benjamin Disraeli as the Unicorn, and William Ewart Gladstone as the Lion, alluding to the pair's frequent parliamentary battles, although there is no evidence that this was Carroll's intention.

Aleks spent just over a year telling the first 369 words of the novel, one word at a time, in photographs.

George Orwell: Part I: England Your England George Orwell: Part I: England Your England

It is a civilization in which children grow up with an intimate knowledge of magnetoes and in complete ignorance of the Bible. It is not always realized that within rather narrow limits the standard of life of a country can rise without a corresponding rise in real wages. The traditional legend of enmity between the two heraldic animals is recorded in a nursery rhyme which has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20170.The beer is bitterer, the coins are heavier, the grass is greener, the advertisements are more blatant. In its affection for all aspects of England it continued the nostalgia for an older, less commercialised, more decent England which marked his previous book. Orwell's moving reflections on the English character and his passionate belief in the need for political change. All the culture that is most truly native centres round things which even when they are communal are not official – the pub, the football match, the back garden, the fireside and the ‘nice cup of tea’. Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist.