George Orwell is STILL Upset About Some Things...

We all know and love Wikipedia. It remains one of the most extensive, user-friendly databases on the internet, and is the go-to place for anyone looking for basic summaries for almost any subject. It's so ubiquitous that I remember the shift that occurred in high school on Wikipedia policy. After years of my teachers saying that Wikipedia absolutely could not be used under any circumstances, the administration finally acquiesced, and almost overnight it went from being entirely off-limits to just not being an acceptable source for citation. However, it would still be used "to get the gist" of any given subject, or to find other sources. 

Still, it doesn't mean Wikipedia is without its flaws, even beyond issues of citation and accuracy (though to be fair they've improved tremendously in recent years, citing more often and saying upfront when there's not enough sources). My problem with it is that it often leaves the most interesting things out. I know of course Wikipedia is meant to be only summaries of subjects, however I believe they omit facts that are essential to understanding the topic.

George Orwell in Spain, above the man with the machine gun

Take Wikipedia's entry on Homage to Catalonia, by George Orwell. Orwell is one of my absolute favorite authors and 1984 is both my favorite book and probably has had a bigger impact on me than any other before or since. But another one of his best works is his own account of his participation in the Spanish Civil War, fighting on the government's side against German and Italian-backed fascist rebels. It's a remarkable piece about period geopolitics, Spanish culture, and the absurdities of the conduct of this particular war. It provides wonderful insight into Orwell himself, with his dry wit, his sharp commentary, and his willingness fight for and stick with the loyalists even in the face of death or arrest. There's one particular bit in chapter six that provides clues to his character that Wikipedia chose to omit. Here is the original:

Chapter six[edit]One of these operations, which in chapter five had been postponed, was a "holding attack" on Huesca, designed to draw the Fascist troops away from an Anarchist attack on "the Jaca road." It is described herein. Orwell notes the offensive of that night where his group of fifteen captured a Fascist position, but then retreated to their lines with captured rifles and ammunition. The diversion was successful in drawing troops from the Anarchist attack.

Here are my additions:

Chapter six[edit]One of these operations, which in chapter five had been postponed, was a "holding attack" on Huesca, designed to draw the Fascist troops away from an Anarchist attack on "the Jaca road." It is described herein. It is one of the most significant military actions that Orwell participates in in his entire time in Spain. Orwell notes the offensive of that night where his group of fifteen captured a Fascist position, but then retreated to their lines with captured rifles and ammunition. However, despite these finds, Orwell and his group were forced to pull back before they could secure a large telescope they had discovered in a machine gun case, something more badly needed to their side than any single weapon. However, the diversion was successful in drawing troops from the Anarchist attack. The chapter ends with Orwell lamenting that even now he still is upset about losing the telescope.^[16]

First, my additions show that Orwell actually saw fairly little fighting against the Fascists by this time, which informs the efforts he makes to join an International Column later in the book. Second, the detail about the telescope helps the reader comprehend the nature of the war and how lo-tech it was for a time. Would you have ever thought that a telescope would be more highly valued than machine guns or rifles in 1937? You would have to go back to before the 20th century for that to be the case. So this war's conduct was quite an anachronism! Finally, the fact that Orwell still goes to pieces about losing the telescope illustrates some of the man himself. He risked life and limb for that telescope and got nothing for it. The telescope mattered so much to him in his entire time in Spain, and he probably felt that its capture would have made a difference in his sector. If you were in his place, would you feel any different? George Orwell, for all his experience and wisdom in a lot of ways is no different from us. The lesson here is that while Wikipedia is a good place to start, you should never stop there. It's just the tip of the iceberg.