Some Thoughts on the Common Toad
Encyclopedia
"Some Thoughts on the Common Toad" is an essay
published in 1946 by the English author
George Orwell
. It is a eulogy in favour of spring.
and on the South Downs
at Eastbourne
. His letters and diaries reveal field expeditions throughout his life, even when in Catalonia or at the sanatorium in Kent in 1938.
Orwell was disappointed by letters of complaint to Tribune
, when he ventured into nature instead of hard politics. An As I Please
article referring to rambler roses on his cottage brought correspondence on bourgeois nostalgia.
The essay was first published in Tribune on the 12th April 1946.
and its procreative cycle - offering it as an alternative to the skylark
and primrose
as a less conventional example of the coming of spring. Orwell points out that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody and cost nothing and can be appreciated in the town as much as the country.
However Orwell is concerned with feelings in some groups that there is something reprehensible in enjoying nature. For the political discontent groaning under the capitalist system, the love of nature seems sentimental, while others seem to see the appreciation of nature as reactionary in a machine age. Orwell dismisses these ideas and argues that retaining a childhood love of nature makes a peaceful and decent future more likely.
stating "I have always thought you were one of the best living writers of prose".
Essay
An essay is a piece of writing which is often written from an author's personal point of view. Essays can consist of a number of elements, including: literary criticism, political manifestos, learned arguments, observations of daily life, recollections, and reflections of the author. The definition...
published in 1946 by the English author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
. It is a eulogy in favour of spring.
Background
Orwell loved the natural world from his childhood when he rambled in the fields around Henley-on-ThamesHenley-on-Thames
Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...
and on the South Downs
South Downs
The South Downs is a range of chalk hills that extends for about across the south-eastern coastal counties of England from the Itchen Valley of Hampshire in the west to Beachy Head, near Eastbourne, East Sussex, in the east. It is bounded on its northern side by a steep escarpment, from whose...
at Eastbourne
Eastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
. His letters and diaries reveal field expeditions throughout his life, even when in Catalonia or at the sanatorium in Kent in 1938.
Orwell was disappointed by letters of complaint to Tribune
Tribune (magazine)
Tribune is a democratic socialist weekly, founded in 1937 published in London. It is independent but supports the Labour Party from the left...
, when he ventured into nature instead of hard politics. An As I Please
As I Please
"As I Please" was a series of articles written for the British left-wing newspaper Tribune by author and journalist George Orwell.On resigning from his job at the BBC in November 1943, Orwell joined Tribune as literary editor...
article referring to rambler roses on his cottage brought correspondence on bourgeois nostalgia.
The essay was first published in Tribune on the 12th April 1946.
Summary
Orwell describes the emergence from hibernation of the common toadCommon Toad
The common toad or European toad is an amphibian widespread throughout Europe, with the exception of Iceland, Ireland and some Mediterranean islands...
and its procreative cycle - offering it as an alternative to the skylark
Skylark
The Skylark is a small passerine bird species. This lark breeds across most of Europe and Asia and in the mountains of north Africa. It is mainly resident in the west of its range, but eastern populations are more migratory, moving further south in winter. Even in the milder west of its range,...
and primrose
Primula vulgaris
Primula vulgaris is a species of Primula native to western and southern Europe , northwest Africa , and southwest Asia...
as a less conventional example of the coming of spring. Orwell points out that the pleasures of spring are available to everybody and cost nothing and can be appreciated in the town as much as the country.
However Orwell is concerned with feelings in some groups that there is something reprehensible in enjoying nature. For the political discontent groaning under the capitalist system, the love of nature seems sentimental, while others seem to see the appreciation of nature as reactionary in a machine age. Orwell dismisses these ideas and argues that retaining a childhood love of nature makes a peaceful and decent future more likely.
Extracts
How many times have I stood watching the toads mating, or a pair of hares having a boxing match in the young corn, and thought of all the important persons who would stop me enjoying this if they could. But luckily they can't.... The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but the earth is still going round the sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.Reactions
The article prompted an appreciative letter from John BetjemanJohn Betjeman
Sir John Betjeman, CBE was an English poet, writer and broadcaster who described himself in Who's Who as a "poet and hack".He was a founding member of the Victorian Society and a passionate defender of Victorian architecture...
stating "I have always thought you were one of the best living writers of prose".