The document provides an analysis of George Orwell's 1936 novel "Keep the Aspidistra Flying". It summarizes the book's themes of social criticism and the life of the protagonist Gordon Comstock. Gordon comes from wealth but rejects it to pursue poetry, struggling with low-paying jobs. Though he wants to abandon money, experiences living in poverty force him to return to his wealthy life. The summary examines Gordon's fulfillment, conformity out of necessity, and commitment to family, society, and nation in the novel.

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Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Name
Institution

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Keep the Aspidistra Flying
Introduction
The above stated book is the third by George Orwell published in 1936. The basic theme
of the novel is social criticism of the society as was observed by the author. The author takes an
instinctive analysis of the life of a fictional character Gordon Comstock in assessing the
dependency of mankind in achieving a healthy and well-lived life. The character is from a
generally wealthy family and could have been the factor that made him desert his background to
work as an attendant in a low-paying bookshop that allowed him to pursue poetry. Critics
identify the novel as a reflection of the life of Orwell and his association with Sir Richard Rees.
The latter earns almost five times his yearly salary of £200 after taxes. Before the war, an
individual who earned as much was considered to be wealthy especially if he was unmarried.
Despite actively resorting to abandon the life of a wealthy individual in the society, his
experiences living as a poor member of the society force him to acknowledge that he indeed is a
wealthy and should return to this life.
Work Opportunities
In the community where Gordon Comstock lives in, it is seen as having rough and could
cripple the common man. The work opportunities are seen to lack a significant system of
rewarding members of the community. Herein, members of the community who through the
observation of the members of the community work less but earn more. The life of Comstock is
seen as evidence of this as he has barely worked a day in his life but inherited a lot of wealth
from his family. As a result, he is well-educated and lacks anything that he would wish for in his
life. This is presented at the beginning of the novel where in the New Albion advertising

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company, he is presented with a wealth of aspirations and promising future if he were to
continue working there in the long run.
His personal reservations about money and its control over man’s life seek to push him
from his admirable life status. The character believes that life should not be solely based on the
luxuries that are brought by affluence. His sister though will always support him when in need
does not approve of the life that he is living. The girlfriend with whom they had worked with at
the company does not like his poor and lowly life either. It is seen that getting work when
connections to influential people are non-existent will usually cause an individual to suffer in
poverty. After being arrested while drunk, he loses all of the little money that he had recently
made from the poetry he had been writing. However, he loses his job and only manages to get
another one that pays even lower.
Fulfillment
In the life of Gordon Comstock, life as he knew it was not quite fulfilling. He was a
copywriter at an advertising agency. As the author presents it, this seems to deter him from
actively engaging in activities that would result in achieving the full potential of his dreams and
desires. Gordon clearly does not like his job and would like to work elsewhere to rid of his guilt
emotions (Orwell, 1936). He probably felt guilty that he worked averagely but was rewarded a
lot with a future that would be identified as quite promising for his age. He had squandered away
the wealth he inherited thus he would have to work hard to meet his daily living.
While still in war against “the Money god”, Gordon seeks to spend time with his
girlfriend to the countryside away from his home (Orwell, 1936). However, it is seen that the two
can barely spend some quality romantic time together as they engage in squabbles resulting in
Gordon getting drunk and being arrested in the process. Furthermore, he loses the money he had

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kept away to payback his sister. In this way, the author in a peculiar format seeks to
acknowledge the fact that money indeed has a major part to play in the life of an individual. It is
a basic necessity that will enable an individual to achieve fulfillment in the work place.
Throughout the text, he seemed to acknowledge the fact that the simple life that the character
lived was indeed ideal and should be imitated by members of the society.
Conformity Based on Necessity
As he leaves the resort, going back to his job seems impossible as the newspapers have
highlighted the story as an example of the improper behaviors members of the community may
portray. As a result, the owner of the small bookshop no longer wants him to report to work as he
identifies him as a shame to his business. He is also kicked out of his bedsit as he is unable to
earn enough to pay the rent (Orwell, 1936). He is only able to get another job but with
significantly lower wages than the previous one. Hereby, the character is seen as reaching the pit
of a hole that he dug himself into. He is unable to live life as he had previously known it to be
and his romantic relationship is on the rocks of absolute failure.
The author presents the life of Gordon as hectic and with every calamity that takes place
he has to adhere or there will be consequences. Though Gordon does not like the job at the small
bookshop, he has to take it as it is his only means of meeting his daily needs. The young man is
clearly dissatisfied with this life as it is far different from the one that he previously lived
growing up. It is significantly stressful trying to work and seeking to achieve the goals. He
believes his girlfriend resents him as he is now a poor man and can barely afford to feed himself
let alone her and a baby. Evidently, he is determined to fight against seeking pleasure from
wealth and money as he was even prepared to lose his girlfriend in the war that he was fighting.

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Freedom and Social Awareness
Freedom is a critical issue that is prevalently discussed particularly in regards to the
workplace. Numerous organizations will usually require its members to adhere to certain
standards of behavior as a means of portraying their good image. This is noted where despite the
bookshop being small and not a big corporation as his previous workplace, it is evident that his
drunkenness costs Gordon his job (Orwell, 1936). The owner seems to require his workers to
maintain behavior that is similar to that portrayed at the workplace. As a result, an individual
does not seem to have much freedom to do as they would please.
Freedom may further be assessed from the viewpoint of daily living costs. An adult is
required to cater to his daily living like shelter, food and clothing. This will enable the individual
to pursue his aspirations and desires. This is through areas like engaging in poetry which is one
of the passions of Gordon. The life of a copywriter does not seem to allow him to actively write
his poems but when he leaves this job he has more free time on his hands and even makes a
living off his literature works. As it has been presented, the life of pursuing the sensual pleasures
rather than money may be the one that provides an individual with more freedom. Therefore, it is
a point to note that seeking the pleasures of the money god as the author describes will not give
individuals the freedom they desire.
Social awareness is seen as the ability to understand the thoughts of others and how best
to associate with them. In the workplace this is a basic requirement not only among leaders but
also the employees. The components that associated with social awareness include service,
empathy and organizational awareness (Crompton, 2010). These are competencies that Gordon
was not able to practice during his time at New Albion as he would only think about how he felt
and no one else. However, the author probably wanted the reader to understand that rather than

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seeking self pleasure, one should consider the people around them and become more socially
aware.
Commitment to Family, Society and Nation
The family, society and nation are some of the factors where social awareness is seen as a
necessity. An individual who has learnt what the feelings and emotions of other people are will
most likely engage with them and seek a better approach to the way they lead life (Orwell,
1936). Despite Gordon’s wastefulness of the inheritance that he received from his parents, her
sister was able to support him in his quest to defeat “the Money god”. She would send him a few
pounds whenever he was short and required to make some purchases.
Gordon was content that his girlfriend loved him only because he was from a respected
family and was wealthy at the time they met. He was convinced of his belief and would actively
require test her true love for him. She would prove that it is not his richness or poverty that really
mattered to her as she was in love with him and she even had got pregnant before they were set
to get married. Knowing that she could not allow her to have an abortion, he married her and got
a far job back at New Albion. He was aware that as a member of the society it was necessary to
work hard to ensure that your family can survive.
In regards to the nation, the life of Ravelston may be used as a lesson to others like
Gordon. His relationship with Ravelston, the man who actually believed in his philosophy, was
probably an assurance that the nation supports individuals who seek pursuing their personal
goals and will do everything to help them. Despite Gordon lacking any connections to get his
poems published, it was his dear friend who supported him and linked him to achieve his dreams.

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Conclusion
In a nutshell, the author has utilized the protagonist in the narrative as a description to
various social issues that may be associated with the workplace. Individuals from time to time in
the past and even the present will always complain that the workplace does not fulfill all their
needs. However, through the events that Gordon Comstock encounters it is clear that life should
be less about complaining and focus more on enjoying the precious moments.

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References
Crompton, M. (2010) Increase Your Emotional Intelligence by Improving Your Social
Awareness. Peoria Magazines, Online. Retrieved from
http://www.peoriamagazines.com/ibi/2010/aug/increase-your-emotional-intelligence-
improving-your-social-awareness
Katwala, S. (2003) How not to succeed. The Guardian, Retrieved from
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2003/jul/06/georgeorwell.classics
Orwell, G. (1936) Keep the Aspidistra Flying. London: Victor Gonllancz Ltd.