World-famous essayist, novelist and critic, George Orwell is a name that most people have heard at some point in their lives. His work continues to be used for educational purposes and regarded by many at a very high standard. Best remembered for his twin satires on totalitarianism, Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell was a major participant in the British socialist movement. Although he supported a radical policy of collective ownership, he extolled tradition and love of country by drawing a clear distinction between patriotism and nationalism ("ORWELL, GEORGE."). He was born into a poor but proud middle class family in Moti-hari, Bengal, India as Eric Arthur Blair. His surname, George Orwell, stuck with him after he wrote his first book Down and Out in Paris and London. This title was about his experiences of how his upbringing left him with feelings of great guilt and how he then chose to live in squalor for a period of his life. With extremely high unemployment in the 1930s he chose to join the workers and beggars and lived in low-income housing in London and Paris. He roamed the streets with professional vagrants and lived and learned their way of life. For Orwell this brought him closer to his roots and was an experience worth living ("George Orwell."). Orwell was raised in England by his mother Ida, but was often separated from his father Richard Orwell; who spent his time working in India. His reputation among the people led him to be known as young and eccentric but reserved by most people who knew him. Orwell has gained an interesting reputation as a brilliant but poor writer. His determination has led him to many good things; Orwell won two scholarships for what were… half of the paper… ell. Printer Publishers, 1991. 85-92. Rpt. In short Stories for students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson and Marie Lazzari. vol. 4 Detroit: Gale, 1998. Literature Resource Center. Network. 9 February 2012Orwell, George and George Packer. Confronting Unpleasant Facts: Narrative Essays. Orlando: Harcourt, 2008. 23-28. Print."ORWELL, GEORGE." Encyclopedia of Nationalism: Leaders, Movements, and Concepts. Oxford: Elsevier Science & Technology, 2000. Creed Reference. Network. 08 April 2012."Orwell, George (pseudonym of George Orwell) (1903 - 1950)." The Bloomsbury Dictionary of English Literature. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Ltd, 1997. Creed Reference. Network. March 12, 2012. Rodden, John. “Seen until killed.” AmGeorgean Conservative 10.9 (2011): 33. MasterFILEPremier. Network. March 08, 2012 Sheldon, Michael. Orwell: the authorized biography. New York: Harper Collins, 1991. 53-340. Print.