Abstract

George Orwell’s Keep The Aspidistra Flying narrates the story of Gordon Comstock, an English former copywriter turned struggling poet, the shift in career being a byproduct of his “war on money”. Throughout the novel, Gordon refers consistently to the “money-god”, which is used as a catch-all for the negative effects of capitalism: materialism, an obsession with status, and a lack of individualism, among others. Orwell uses Gordon’s journey to criticise capitalism for forcing the individual to choose between the conformity that comes from living within a capitalistic society, which leads to one giving up their ability to have meaningful relationships and creative pursuits, or choosing to possess their individuality and follow their own moral code, and then uses the futility of this dichotomy to advocate for democratic socialism.