The Total Institution

Sad Little Men is set in the 1930s to early 90s. Orwell was appalled by his own kind of inbred attitudes. When I read that book, as part of the research for writing Sad Little Men, I realized, well, that was what was bred into me. Nothing has really changed. There's no doubt a boarding school where you offer 24 hours a day in a very clear power hierarchy is a total institution.