Homage to Catalonia facts for kids

Homage to Catalonia is a famous book written by George Orwell. It came out in 1938. In this book, Orwell shares his personal story. He writes about his experiences fighting in the Spanish Civil War. He tells readers what he saw and what happened to him during that time.

Why Orwell Went to Spain

George Orwell traveled to Spain in 1936. This was right after he finished writing another book called The Road to Wigan Pier. He went because he wanted to fight against fascism. Fascism is a type of government where one powerful leader controls everything. Orwell also wanted to write about the war. He hoped people in Britain would understand what was happening.

Orwell's Experiences in the War

Orwell tells the story of his time in the war. He describes what the city of Barcelona was like. At that time, Barcelona was largely run by anarchists. Anarchists believe in a society without a government.

He also writes about how soldiers got ready to fight. Then, Orwell talks about fighting in trenches. This is a type of fighting where soldiers hide in long, narrow ditches.

The second part of the book explains how groups fighting against fascism started to argue. These groups were supposed to be on the same side. Because of these arguments, some groups turned against Orwell. He had to leave Spain to escape them.

Images for kids

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  "There were still women serving in the militias, though not very many. In the early battles they had fought side by side with the men as a matter of course." (Barcelona, 1936. Militiawomen on beach near Barcelona. Photo: Gerda Taro).

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  "I knew that I was serving in something called the P.O.U.M. (I had only joined the P.O.U.M. militia rather than any other because I happened to arrive in Barcelona with I.L.P. papers), but I did not realise that there were serious differences between the political parties." (Republican soldiers, June 1937. Photo: Gerda Taro).

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  "And I hope the account I have given is not too misleading ... consciously or unconsciously everyone writes as a partisan ... beware of my partisanship, ... and the distortion inevitably caused by my having seen only one corner of events. And beware of exactly the same things when you read any other book on this period of the Spanish war." (Ch. XII)

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  La Sagrada Família in 1980 "When Orwell speaks about the cathedral of Barcelona, he is talking in fact about La Sagrada Família temple, designed by Antoni Gaudí ..." "... I went to have a look at the cathedral—a modern cathedral, and one of the most hideous buildings in the world. It has four crenellated spires exactly the shape of hock bottles ... I think the Anarchists showed bad taste in not blowing it up ... though they did hang a red and black banner between its spires."(Ch. XII)

See also

In Spanish: Homenaje a Cataluña para niños