KOREA FOUNDATION

Burmese Days was the first novel written by George Orwell, the famous author of 1984 and Animal Farm. Orwell’s writing was based on his actual experience serving as a police officer in Myanmar, which was then called Burma. The novel depicts the falsehoods and tragedy of British colonialism through the eyes of John Flory, a wood merchant living and working in Myanmar. Unlike the other European expatriates in his community, Flory feels disillusioned with colonialism and openly interacts with the locals in Myanmar. Orwell’s insights and unique sense of criticism are revealed as Flory’s principles waver and he faces his own destruction.