Homage to Catalonia

The story opens with an anecdote that draws the reader into the action from the very beginning. In describing the mysterious nature of his conversation with this stranger Orwell touches on their shared status as foreigners his immediate fondness for the man and his curiosity about where the man might be from—all of which conveys the sense of awe that Orwell was feeling at being thrown in an entirely new world. Like Orwell the reader is meant to be intrigued and eager to discover what the greater context for this interaction might be. Orwell’s focus on a conversation that only lasted a few seconds also introduces the idea that in the war people come and go unpredictably but lasting impressions can be made in a matter of seconds. Orwell provides a brief contextualization of himself as a writer informing the reader that the story that he is about to tell is based on memory and personal experience. It is not an objective historical essay but rather an impressionistic account of his involvement in the Spanish Civil War. Orwell’s emphasis on sensations including the city’s sights and sounds highlights the fact that the story of this war for him is made up of vivid emotions and memories. The red flags evoke the political vibrancy that the Spanish revolution generated.