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George Orwell - Quiz
Contributed by: Guy
  • 1. In which year was George Orwell born?
A) 1910
B) 1903
C) 1945
D) 1920
  • 2. What is George Orwell's real name?
A) George Herman Ruth Jr.
B) Winston Churchill
C) Alexander Pushkin
D) Eric Arthur Blair
  • 3. Where was George Orwell born?
A) India
B) USA
C) England
D) France
  • 4. Which war did George Orwell fight in?
A) Vietnam War
B) World War I
C) Spanish Civil War
D) Gulf War
  • 5. Which other famous author was a close friend of George Orwell?
A) Jane Austen
B) Stephen King
C) Aldous Huxley
D) J.K. Rowling
  • 6. What is the subtitle of George Orwell's novel 'Animal Farm'?
A) A Thriller
B) A Science Fiction Novel
C) A Historical Biography
D) A Fairy Story
  • 7. What is the first name of the protagonist in '1984'?
A) Sam
B) Rick
C) Winston
D) Tom
  • 8. What was George Orwell's job in Burma?
A) Pilot
B) Chef
C) Police Officer
D) Architect
  • 9. What is the name of the farm in the novel 'Animal Farm'?
A) Happy Farm
B) Manor Farm
C) Green Pastures Farm
D) Paradise Meadows Farm
  • 10. What is the fictional language created by George Orwell in '1984'?
A) Dreamwords
B) Newspeak
C) Wordplay
D) Cooltalk
  • 11. What is the name of the leader of Animal Farm?
A) Alexander
B) Julius
C) Napoleon
D) Abraham
  • 12. In which year did George Orwell pass away?
A) 1960
B) 1970
C) 1950
D) 1980
  • 13. What pen name did Eric Arthur Blair use for his writing?
A) Arthur Orwell
B) George Orwell
C) Eric Blair
D) E.A. Blair
  • 14. In which year was George Orwell's dystopian novel 'Nineteen Eighty-Four' published?
A) 1950
B) 1938
C) 1945
D) 1949
  • 15. What is the title of George Orwell's work that documents his experience in industrial Northern England?
A) The Road to Wigan Pier
B) Nineteen Eighty-Four
C) Animal Farm
D) Homage to Catalonia
  • 16. Which term, coined by George Orwell, describes totalitarian and authoritarian social practices?
A) Newspeak
B) Big Brother
C) Doublethink
D) Orwellian
  • 17. Who was George Orwell's principal tutor at Eton?
A) Steven Runciman
B) A. S. F. Gow
C) Cyril Connolly
D) Aldous Huxley
  • 18. What was George Orwell's father's occupation in the Indian Civil Service?
A) Lawyer
B) Teacher
C) Sub-Deputy Opium Agent
D) Doctor
  • 19. Where did Eric Blair first meet Cyril Connolly?
A) Wellington College
B) St Cyprian's School
C) Eton College
D) Henley-on-Thames school
  • 20. Which school did George Orwell attend as a day student at age five?
A) St Cyprian's School
B) Wellington College
C) Eton College
D) A Catholic convent in Henley-on-Thames
  • 21. What was the relationship between George Orwell and Jacintha Buddicom?
A) Cousins
B) Adolescent sweethearts
C) Teacher-student
D) Classmates only
  • 22. Which school did Eric Blair attend after St Cyprian's and before Eton?
A) Shiplake College
B) Wellington College
C) Harrow School
D) Henley Grammar School
  • 23. What was the name of George Orwell's essay based on his time at St Cyprian's?
A) Animal Farm
B) Such, Such Were the Joys
C) The Road to Wigan Pier
D) Homage to Catalonia
  • 24. Which of George Orwell's works is an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War?
A) Animal Farm
B) Nineteen Eighty-Four
C) The Road to Wigan Pier
D) Homage to Catalonia
  • 25. What was George Orwell's family background described as?
A) Upper-class
B) Working-class
C) Lower-upper-middle class
D) Middle-class
  • 26. What was the name of George Orwell's first published magazine at Eton?
A) College Days
B) The Election Times
C) Bubble and Squeak
D) Eton Wall Game
  • 27. Which university did George Orwell not attend due to financial constraints?
A) Oxford University
B) University of London
C) None, he did not go to university
D) Cambridge University
  • 28. What was the profession of George Orwell's grandfather, Thomas Richard Arthur Blair?
A) Anglican clergyman
B) Teacher
C) Lawyer
D) Opium agent
  • 29. In which year did George Orwell join the Indian Imperial Police in Burma?
A) 1925
B) 1930
C) 1922
D) 1919
  • 30. What was the name of the ship on which George Orwell sailed to Burma?
A) SS Herefordshire
B) SS India
C) SS Empire
D) SS Britannia
  • 31. Where did George Orwell receive his police training in Burma?
A) Katha
B) Mandalay
C) Maymyo
D) Rangoon
  • 32. What was the monthly salary of George Orwell when he completed his training?
A) Rs. 740
B) Rs. 800
C) Rs. 600
D) Rs. 525
  • 33. Which town in Burma was known for having the refinery of the Burmah Oil Company?
A) Moulmein
B) Katha
C) Syriam
D) Maymyo
  • 34. What did George Orwell adopt in Burma that he kept for the rest of his life?
A) A pencil moustache
B) Sideburns
C) A beard
D) No facial hair
  • 35. What did George Orwell's tattoos look like?
A) Small untidy blue circles on each knuckle
B) Crosses on his wrists
C) Dragon designs on his arms
D) Stars on his shoulders
  • 36. In which month and year did George Orwell resign from the Indian Imperial Police?
A) December 1929
B) July 1927
C) September 1926
D) March 1928
  • 37. Which novel by George Orwell was based on his experiences in the Burma police?
A) Animal Farm
B) Homage to Catalonia
C) Burmese Days
D) 1984
  • 38. What did George Orwell write about his experience of executing a prisoner?
A) "A Hanging"
B) "Shooting an Elephant"
C) Burmese Days
D) Keep the Aspidistra Flying
  • 39. Which ethnic group's churches did George Orwell attend in Burma?
A) Karen
B) Chinese
C) Burmese
D) Indian
  • 40. What was the name of the town where George Orwell's maternal grandmother lived?
A) Rangoon
B) Moulmein
C) Katha
D) Maymyo
  • 41. Which author did Orwell consider to be about as good a novelist as one can be today, despite holding 'untenable opinions'?
A) Graham Greene
B) Herman Melville
C) Mark Twain
D) Evelyn Waugh
  • 42. Which city did Orwell visit quickly after his stay in Wigan?
A) Manchester
B) Liverpool
C) Barnsley
D) Sheffield
  • 43. Who described George Orwell and Richard Rees as 'moth-eaten and prematurely aged'?
A) Rosalind Obermeyer
B) Mabel Fierz
C) Cyril Connolly
D) Elizaveta Fen
  • 44. Which political leader's military uprising concerned Orwell in 1936?
A) Harry Pollitt
B) John Strachey
C) Francisco Franco
D) Oswald Mosley
  • 45. Who visited Orwell in March 1949 at the sanatorium?
A) Sonia Brownell
B) Celia Kirwan
C) Ann Popham
D) Eileen Blair
  • 46. Where did George Orwell return to England from in December 1929?
A) Southwold
B) London
C) Paris
D) Bramley
  • 47. Which journal published George Orwell's first article as a professional writer?
A) G. K.'s Weekly
B) New Adelphi
C) Monde
D) Le Progrès Civique
  • 48. Which government department did Celia Kirwan work for when she visited Orwell?
A) Foreign Office
B) Ministry of Defence
C) Information Research Department (IRD)
D) Home Office
  • 49. What was the title of George Orwell's first published essay in English?
A) "La Censure en Angleterre"
B) "The Spike"
C) "A Farthing Newspaper"
D) "How the Poor Die"
  • 50. Who helped Orwell secure accommodation on the island of Jura?
A) Isaac Deutscher
B) David Astor
C) E. H. Carr
D) Barbara Ward
  • 51. Who ran the second-hand bookshop where Orwell worked?
A) Richard Rees
B) Jon Kimche
C) Nellie Limouzin
D) Francis and Myfanwy Westrope
  • 52. In which year was Orwell listed at number 8 on the BBC's The Big Read poll?
A) 2011
B) 2003
C) 2021
D) 1984
  • 53. Who complimented George Orwell's 'clarity and good sense' in a review of 'Down and Out in Paris and London'?
A) Max Plowman
B) T. S. Eliot
C) Richard Rees
D) Cecil Day-Lewis
  • 54. Which magazine accepted George Orwell's work "The Spike" for publication?
A) G. K.'s Weekly
B) New Adelphi
C) Le Progrès Civique
D) Monde
  • 55. Which hospital did George Orwell go to when he fell seriously ill in February 1929?
A) Rue du Pot de Fer Clinic
B) Portobello Road Hospital
C) Hôpital Cochin
D) Southwold General Hospital
  • 56. Who found George Orwell a flat in Parliament Hill?
A) Rosalind Obermeyer
B) Francis Westrope
C) Mabel Fierz
D) Nellie Limouzin
  • 57. Which novel did George Orwell's experiences at the bookshop contribute to?
A) Burmese Days
B) 1984
C) Animal Farm
D) Keep the Aspidistra Flying
  • 58. Where did Orwell move to live on 22 May 1946?
A) Manchester
B) Shanghai
C) London
D) Barnhill, Jura
  • 59. What was the title of George Orwell's first article to appear in England?
A) "A Farthing Newspaper"
B) "How the Poor Die"
C) "The Spike"
D) "La Censure en Angleterre"
  • 60. What illness did George Orwell contract after a motorcycle trip that developed into pneumonia?
A) Influenza
B) A chill
C) Tuberculosis
D) Bronchitis
  • 61. Where did George Orwell settle back into after returning to England?
A) A cottage near Cambridge
B) The family home at Southwold
C) A flat in London
D) An apartment in Paris
  • 62. Who was the clergyman's daughter that George Orwell became acquainted with in Southwold?
A) Brenda Salkeld
B) Ruth Pitter
C) Mabel Fierz
D) Eleanor Jacques
  • 63. What new medicine was used to treat Orwell's tuberculosis?
A) Morphine
B) Penicillin
C) Aspirin
D) Streptomycin
  • 64. What was the side effect Orwell experienced from streptomycin treatment?
A) Diabetes
B) Toxic epidermal necrolysis
C) Anemia
D) Hypertension
  • 65. Who did Orwell marry on 9 June 1936?
A) Sylvia Townsend Warner
B) Aunt Nellie
C) Joan Rees
D) Eileen O'Shaughnessy
  • 66. What type of man did Orwell associate the face he saw in Dickens's writing with?
A) A conservative traditionalist
B) A religious zealot
C) An indifferent observer
D) A nineteenth-century liberal, a free intelligence
  • 67. Where did George Orwell stay when he first arrived in Manchester?
A) Over a tripe shop
B) At Aunt Nellie's cottage
C) A common lodging-house
D) In Wigan
  • 68. What was the reason Victor Gollancz turned down 'Burmese Days'?
A) Poor writing quality
B) Financial constraints
C) Potential suits for libel
D) Lack of interest in the subject matter
  • 69. What activity did Orwell enjoy outside of writing, as revealed four years later?
A) Hunting
B) Fishing
C) Cooking
D) Gardening
  • 70. Which publishing house published 'Down and Out in Paris and London' on 9 January 1933?
A) Adelphi
B) Faber & Faber
C) Harper & Brothers
D) Victor Gollancz Ltd
  • 71. In which arrondissement of Paris did George Orwell live during early 1928?
A) 3rd arrondissement
B) 9th arrondissement
C) 5th arrondissement
D) 7th arrondissement
  • 72. Who were George Orwell's flatmates at 50 Lawford Road?
A) Jon Kimche and Richard Rees
B) Michael Sayers and Rayner Heppenstall
C) Rosalind Obermeyer and Elizaveta Fen
D) Francis Westrope and Myfanwy Westrope
  • 73. Which author did Orwell describe as a 'good bad poet'?
A) Evelyn Waugh
B) G. K. Chesterton
C) Rudyard Kipling
D) Henry Miller
  • 74. What did Gollancz add to 'The Road to Wigan Pier' while Orwell was in Spain?
A) A disculpatory preface
B) An introduction by John McNair
C) A chapter on the Spanish Civil War
D) A foreword by Richard Rees
  • 75. What was the subject that became George Orwell's obsessive focus in his writings?
A) Politics
B) Poverty
C) Literature
D) War
  • 76. What was Sonia Brownell's health condition when she settled out of court in 1980?
A) She was hospitalized
B) She had fully recovered
C) She was in perfect health
D) She was becoming increasingly ill
  • 77. Which writer did Orwell criticize for devoting himself to 'Roman Catholic propaganda'?
A) Ralph Waldo Emerson
B) George Gissing
C) G. K. Chesterton
D) Arthur Koestler
  • 78. Which writer did George Orwell mention as the modern writer who influenced him most?
A) W. Somerset Maugham
B) T. S. Eliot
C) D. H. Lawrence
D) James Joyce
  • 79. Which organization was Orwell mistakenly thought to need papers from for crossing into Spain?
A) The Special Branch
B) Some left-wing organisation
C) The Independent Labour Party
D) The Communist Party of Great Britain
  • 80. In what year was Orwell's essay 'British Cookery' discovered in the British Council's archives?
A) 2019
B) 1984
C) 2000
D) 1946
  • 81. Which author did George Orwell admire and imitate when exploring poorer parts of London?
A) Henri Barbusse
B) Ruth Pitter
C) Jack London
D) Max Plowman
  • 82. What was the name of the tea-house run by George Orwell's sister Avril in Southwold?
A) A bookstore
B) A tea-house
C) A bakery
D) A café
  • 83. What did Orwell's list, given to Celia Kirwan, consist mainly of?
A) Writers with pro-communist leanings
B) Anti-war activists
C) British politicians
D) Communist leaders
  • 84. Where did George Orwell live while working at the bookshop?
A) Warwick Mansions, Pond Street
B) Parliament Hill
C) Lawford Road, Kentish Town
D) University College London
  • 85. What was the name of the group Orwell was a leading figure in?
A) British Authors Society
B) Shanghai Club
C) Leftist Journalists Union
D) London Writers' Guild
  • 86. When did George Orwell stop working at Booklovers' Corner?
A) August 1935
B) Beginning of February 1935
C) June 1935
D) End of January 1936
  • 87. Who shared the job with George Orwell at Booklovers' Corner?
A) Jon Kimche
B) Mabel Fierz
C) Richard Rees
D) Cyril Connolly
  • 88. What type of writing did George Orwell continually support himself through?
A) Playwriting
B) Book-reviewing
C) Novel-writing
D) Poetry
  • 89. Which illness did Orwell suffer from in February 1946?
A) Bronchitis
B) Tubercular haemorrhage
C) Pneumonia
D) Influenza
  • 90. What was the name of the cartoonist who drew strips for Animal Farm?
A) Norman Pett
B) Charles Schulz
C) Gary Larson
D) Jim Davis
  • 91. Where was the Adelphi Summer School held in 1936?
A) Langham
B) Wigan
C) Manchester
D) Sheffield
  • 92. Who gave George Orwell social and financial support while he lived in Paris?
A) Henri Barbusse
B) Ruth Pitter
C) Max Plowman
D) His aunt Ellen (Nellie) Kate Limouzin
  • 93. Where did Orwell go for a sanatorium treatment in January 1949?
A) Shanghai
B) Manchester
C) London
D) Cranham, Gloucestershire
  • 94. Who helped George Orwell find lodgings when he moved to London?
A) John Middleton Murry
B) Ellen Limouzin
C) Ruth Pitter
D) Henri Barbusse
  • 95. Who diagnosed Orwell with tuberculosis in December 1947?
A) An unnamed local doctor
B) David Astor
C) Dr. John Smith
D) A chest specialist from Glasgow
  • 96. Who did Orwell apply to unsuccessfully for papers to go to Spain?
A) Victor Gollancz
B) Harry Pollitt
C) John McNair
D) Frank Meade
  • 97. Which author did Orwell NOT mention in his essay on Charles Dickens?
A) Swift
B) Fielding
C) Hemingway
D) Defoe
  • 98. What was the name of Orwell's cottage in Wallington, Hertfordshire?
A) The Stores
B) Headingley House
C) Bryn Hall
D) Langham Cottage
  • 99. Which coal mine did Orwell visit in Wigan?
A) Headingley
B) Grimethorpe
C) Bryn Hall
D) Langham
  • 100. What was the title of George Orwell's essay based on his experiences at Hôpital Cochin?
A) "A Farthing Newspaper"
B) "La Censure en Angleterre"
C) "How the Poor Die"
D) "The Spike"
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