Reflections on Gandhi

Reflections on Gandhi Imagery

Homespun cloth

One of the images that we see of Gandhi is his outfit of homespun cloth. This signature attire illustrates his asceticism, which in turn illustrates his politics.

Gandhi in a top hat

Orwell makes a reference to the time in Gandhi's life when he "wore a top hat, took dancing lessons, studied French and Latin, went up the Eiffel Tower and even tried to learn the violin" (210). The image is remarkable for how it contrasts with the later image of Gandhi. It reveals the more recognizably "human" qualities—vanity, the desire for distinction and worldly pleasure—that Orwell refers to when he states that Gandhi wasn't born saintly.

A few mouthfuls of meat

Orwell sites this as one of the sins that Gandhi writes about in his autobiography--a few mouthfuls of meat over the course of his life. Clearly, his sins were not dire. The minimalism of this image reveals as much.

"The ill printed pages of some Indian newspaper"

This is Orwell's description of the source where he first read Gandhi's autobiography. The image gives an impression of the very humbleness and minimalism by which Gandhi lived his life. His autobiography first appeared in serial form in an Indian newspaper. One implication of this is that the autobiography was intended for a common readership, rather than a learned, elite audience.