George Orwell – Burmese Days

A thoroughly riveting and powerful work, Burmese Days is in fact the first novel published by Orwell in 1934.

Yet, despite its immense quality and style of writing, it is often overlooked and lesser known than other key works in the Orwell canon such as 1984 and Animal Farm but nevertheless possesses a gripping storyline, great authenticity in its autobiographical context and a complex, compelling central character.

The novel is based upon Orwell’s experience serving the Indian imperial police in Burma in the times of the British empire within the mid- 1920’s. Manifested within the novel is a large presence of racial abuse on the part of the white British imperialists which forms a basis of a critique of the evils of imperialism. At the centre of the plot however, is the relationship between the white male timber merchant Flory and Dr Veraswami who is an enthusiast for the empire. However, a corrupt sub- divisional magistrate of Kyauktada, U Po Kyin is plotting punishment against the doctor. The only solution for Veraswami is European patronage- to be a member of the all- white club of which Flory is a member. This fundamentally sets up many of the tensions and conflicts in an already fraught atmosphere that intensely develop over the course of the book.

Despite the amount of intriguing characters on offer – from humorous yet ultimately hollow District superintendent of the police, Mr Westfield to the quietly submissive servant Ko’sla, the central character of the novel – Flory easily generates the most interest. A complex character that rejects the explicit racism and ignorance of the white imperialists while simultaneously operating under possibly relatable yet cynical interests “I’m here to make money like everyone else”. Flory easily forms a valuable mental space for the reader to invest emotion whilst providing scathing and insightful secret ripostes on the madness of the British Empire in Burma. Furthermore, he easily forms the emotional centre of the novel. A character suffering from loneliness and inner turmoil, he is by far the most memorable, perhaps due to his persona being explored with the most depth by Orwell. A later plot development involving a love interest for Flory visiting Burma from France avoids the feeling of it being obligatory. It is indeed validated by Orwell’s powerful portrayal of the central character’s inner suffering. Furthermore, what could seemingly become a romantic subplot, instead serves to highlight and develop the themes of otherness and intolerance shown through the perspective of the aforementioned love interest, named Elizabeth Lackersteen (a daughter of rich parents who serves to further the personify the hegemony directed unfairly against the Burmese through elitism as well as racism) . One of the great elements of the novel is that nothing is ever peripheral to the overall thematic concerns.

Far from being restricted solely to concerns of racism, Orwell’s novel also is enlightening as to the often seemingly inescapable forces directed against those possessing any form of otherness. On many occasions, Orwell serves to highlight the often restricted position of women in society from a repressed Burmese mistress to disturbing implications of incest upon relations conducted within the white imperialist families. Far from being solely confined to depiction of racial abuse, the novel does indeed grow to encompass through its scope, the abuse of otherness as a whole.

Yet despite the novel consistently possessing a dark and tragic tone its storytelling, within Orwell’s language is a great liking for Burma with occasions of brilliantly effective imagery. One occasion of a “blazing ultramarine sky” is very powerful and this sublime visual quality of description is sustained throughout, preventing the story from ever becoming pessimistic or overly bleak in its tone. Within the novel is a satisfying and honest admission of the beauty of Burma which last in the memory.

Overall, Burmese Days is a thoroughly impressive piece of work which is a suspenseful, tragic and at times beautiful depiction of upper Burma. It marks a great contribution towards an artistic reflection of the issue of race (and more subtly in the text, gender) as well as providing insight into the corruption and immorality behind Anglo- Indian imperialism.

An undeniable masterpiece.