Orwell and Kindness

Abstract By centralizing the role of kindness in Orwell’s work, this chapter underscores that while the concept of kindness does not achieve the notoriety of other more central concepts like decency or fair play, instances of it across Orwell’s work are paramount to his vision of a more just future. Where concepts like decency are subject to the flattening impacts of propaganda and polemic, instances of interpersonal kindnesses in works like Homage to Catalonia emerge as incorruptible moments of solidarity. These acts, often in the context of the deadening interpersonal impacts of war and struggle, provide alternatives to the history of spiritual faith that Orwell diagnosed as in decline. This chapter argues that, commanding the role once reserved for faith, kindness in Orwell’s work recenters acts of sacrifice and comradery at the center of anti-fascist resistance.