Homage to Catalonia

In the 1952 novel, Homage to Catalonia, George Orwell relates his experiences in the Spanish Civil War. In 1937 Orwell traveled to Spain to cover The Spanish Civil War for a British newspaper, but soon after he arrived he joined the P.O.U.M Militia and fought against Francisco Franco. The Spanish Civil War started when Franco, a Spanish general, led a revolt against the republican government. Franco, although not a fascist himself, was backed by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Spanish Church, Fascists in Spain, and large Spanish landowners. A group of leftist parties, known as the Popular Front, which included republicans, communists, socialists, Anarchists, and communist Russia formed a coalition against the Franco's army. Orwell, was sent to the front, however Orwell had a much different experience. Unlike the well-trained killers, heavy casualties, and numerous artillery that Paul faced; Orwell describes the front as boring and full of poorly trained men with a lack of decent weapons. However, Orwell still endured the squalor and horrid conditions. During the course of the war Orwell discovers that the internal and international politics behind The Spanish Civil War are far more complicated that he first perceived. Based on the information and experiences that Orwell shared in his novel, If I was forced to be a part of the Spanish Civil War, and I had to choose one party I would be an Anarchist. I would choose to be part of the Anarchist party because they fought against communist and they believed in being separate from the government.

The first reason why I would want to be an Anarchist at the time of the Spanish Civil war is because they were against Communism. George Orwell himself says in the novel that he would prefer ...

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...th no social class. People don't have to answer to anybody or follow any orders. Orwell also states that everyone "...called everyone else 'thou' and 'comrade'"(Orwell 47) This quote shows that anarchist also viewed each other as equals and were friendly with each other. I personally would not have a problem being a part of anarchists because it would mean complete equality. Without a government, and classes, people would view me as an equal.

All in all, based on the experiences George Orwell illustrated in his novel, "Homage to Catalonia" if I was forced to join the Spanish Civil War I would choose to be an Anarchist because they fight against Communist, and they believe in being separate from the government. I would ultimately choose to be an Anarchist over a communist because of the beliefs that they have and the freedom I would personally have in my life.