orwell at the crossroads (a novel of the type: found book)

horsemouth has been reading raymond william's book on george orwell - he situates orwell at the crossroads between fiction and documentary. the crossroads is in spain (in catalunya to be exact and at the time of the spanish civil war, at the front line and in a rebel barcelona).

none of orwell's central protagonists is satisfactory, they are all cold and unfeeling, unable to engage, merely able to observe and document - as williams notes they are typical protagonists in fiction at the time. (except for himself,  orwell his greatest creation - he repeatedly puts himself in harms way, he repeatedly commits - and this is why he can write).

winston smith is a typical orwell protagonist (of the novels) and 1984 itself is a novel of the type: found book - they give winston the book, he reads it, he joins what he takes to be the revolutionary movement, it turns out to be both a practical and a moral trap, it is this that destroys him. they've done him over good and proper.

horsemouth used to opine that the french had sartre and the british had orwell (and this was our loss) but neither is entirely satisfactory - there is a tension in orwell between the writing and the politics at least - they pull against each other.

horsemouth's brain has been much concerned with politics of late - intractable, probably unwinnable, conflict politics - conflicts over resources with fellow poor people. he is tired and heartily sick of it but that doesn't mean he will stop until he thinks it's right to stop (or someone presents him with a better offer).

later he meets with howard (sunday also). last night he stayed in a continued with the wire - he's back down the docks. the wire has great tragic arc - it simply will not go right and stay right, the good people are defeated and punished, the evil and the venal victorious and rewarded (in this it is like life).

it is never a new dawn in baltimore - the protagonist (mcnulty- the fool) suffers remorse when people are hurt as a result of his shenanigans and then immediately starts up again with the same routine (like a bull in a china shop) - in the end (series 5- exhaustion) he has learned to sit out the dance and to be satisfied with his domestic life (the cop in him dies and we get to witness his symbolic death).

we are glad for him (at last he can rest).