In his famous essay "Why I Write," George Orwell explains how he first got interested in writing, and he argues that there are four possible motivations that authors have for writing. After you have taken time to read the essay and to consider his life experiences, his philosophy on writing, and his reasons for writing, I want you to use this space to respond however you wish. You may decide to highlight interesting arguments, puzzling portions of the essay, identify relatable experiences you have had, or ask questions to which your peers and I can respond in a class discussion. You may even want to use the essay and what you know of 1984 so far to make some predictions about themes or issues in the text. My only requirement for this response is that you clearly show you have read and intellectually pondered the essay (Hint: Quoting the essay demonstrates that you have taken time to consider it in your response).
For those of you up for a challenge, consider posting an analysis of his poem that is within the essay: "A Happy Vicar I Might Have Been." This task will take some time because it requires you to do some connotative and historical research to understand the layers of meaning, but it's well worth the effort it takes!
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8 comments:
I feel that this essay "Why I Write" is very absolute in the fact that he hits dead on to the reasons i have written in the past. He mentions that one of the reasons why people write in general is because of "sheer egoism" in which he says is when you desire to be talked about or mentioned or to be clever or to be remembered after death.
I can remember when i was little and how I used to write little books. I used to write books for some of the same kind of reasons as Orwell but mine were a little different. I used to write to get attention from my parents and to get mentioned in their conversations when they talked about how excellent and bright their children were i always wanted to be that child and i felt that making books would help me get recongnized and mentioned in that way.
I also agree with Orwell when he says that people write for
"political purpose" because people are always trying to push you into beleiveing in something that you dont and you can find that alot in books. Orwell did really good as to saying why people write but i fel like there are other reasons people write such as for entertainment purpose, to clear your thought,etc.
oh sorry i didnt add my name up above..janderson 3B
I found the essay "Why I Write" pretty interesting. In the beginning of this essay is says that he wrote his first poem when he was four or five. In my opinion it takes a really smart child to write a poem, and he was obviously really smart. Like the above comment, I read that he said that people write in general for "sheer egoism". That's when you desire to be talked about or be remembered as someone great. When I was younger I used to write poems for my mom and take them to her and let her read them so she would give me a little bit of attention. I liked getting that attention when I was younger because, like all youngins, I liked all eyes on me. Orwell did good on explaining why people particularly write. I know of some people that have written things down in the past to get it of their mind or they dont have anyone else to tell so they feel better when they write it down on a sheet of paper or in a journal.
K.Hand 4-Blue
After reading the section of George Orwell's essay where he said "I think there are four great motives for writing, at any rate for writing prose. They exist in different degrees in every writer, and in any one writer the proportions will vary from time to time, according to the atmosphere in which he is living." I found that I agree that at least one of those aspects are part of a writer's motives. Even though I agree with his belief of writer's motives I don't believe that sheer egoism, esthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose are the only motives for writing. Writing, to me, is something that people do to exercise their imagination, share the thoughts of many, or for sheer emotional release.
While I mostly agree with the section on motives, I highly disagree with the final paragraph. He makes the generalization that "All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery." In reality, that is true for some writers, but some writers don't try for fame or change. They just write because they can't help but write. There are writers out in the world that will have stories evolve in their minds. Whether or not these stories are written, or even published, this does not make the writer vain or selfish. A writer isn't some unknown person who expects to be raised from obscurity. A writer is a person who puts his story to paper and doesn’t truly care if it is published or not as long as the writer can bring understanding or joy to an individual, including themselves. Although I disagree with his thoughts on writers I will admit that he may see deeper into our overall motives than we do. No one likes to admit their flaws. Perhaps people are in denial. I will let other readers come to their own conclusion.
L. Huber 3B
“So hee with difficulty and labour hard Moved on: with difficulty and labour hee. These lines from Paradise Lost inspired Orwell to not only write but write stories with unhappy endings. “It is bound to be a failure, every book is a failure, but I do know with some clarity what kind of book I want to write.” Orwell has different motives for writing, but don’t we all? We all have a reason for what we do whether it’s writing, getting a good grade, or to start in a game because all your family is there. What drives Orwell is what drives most people, they are just too afraid to admit it. “Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood.” It’s a stubborn motive in all of us to be remembered after we have died, to say “Ha, look how well I turned out” in people’s faces that have been immature and cruel. “If I had not been angry about that I should never have written the book.’’ Surprising that these words came from a literature figure but searching deeper into his childhood it’s only natural for him to want to be wanted. “I write because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention…” Orwell political motive is a showed in almost all of his novels. Making a pretty safe prediction that 1984 isn’t going to have a happy ending and about a web of lies about politics.
If Orwell says, “Writing a book is a horrible exhausting struggle, like long bout of some painful illness.” Then why does he or any other author for that matter continue to write. Orwell has motives, to get a point across, but what about other authors? Orwell makes a point, “All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.” Is he right are all authors in it for the fame and money? What are other authors’ motives? I truly believe in when Orwell says, “…at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.”
S. Battye 3B
I found it very interesting that towards the end of the essay “Why I Write” Orwell made a very broad generalization about writers. “All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy.” It seems odd to me that Orwell would publicly criticize himself and all other writers, and it sounds as though he either does not enjoy his work, or he is ashamed of his profession. The essay reads like a confession. He describes writing as “a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness.” At the beginning of the essay he admits that he attempted to ignore his desire to write. He also describes the main motive that people have for writing as “sheer egoism,” a term which does not encourage others to take up writing!
Most of the essay is negative, except for the paragraph where Orwell discusses the causes or truths that he fights for in his writing and his quest to make political writing into an art. That paragraph seems almost out of place from the rest of the essay, just because the tone is so different. That paragraph can be described as optimistic and hopeful, while the rest of the essay is anything but.
M. O’Shea 4B
"When I was about sixteen I suddenly discovered the joy of mere words..." I really love part because he is describing what it was like when he realized he wanted, and in fact, enjoyed writing. "..it is clear what kind of books I wanted to write..I wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions and arresting similes, and also full of purple passages in which words were used partly for the sake of their own sound." I really, really like how he worded this. He seems like the kind of person I could easily be friends with. He is blunt and doesn't beat around the bush. He isn't afraid of offending anyone to get his point across and doesn't care if the truth hurts.
I also find his four motives for writing very interesting. I enjoyed reading about the "aesthetic enthusiasm" because I have never thought about people using writing as a way to be beautiful in the "external world".
a.aulner 2B
"What I have most wanted to do throughout the past ten years is to make political writing into an art. My starting point is always a feeling of partisanship, a sense of injustice. When I sit down to write a book, I do not say to myself, 'I am going to produce a work of art'. I write it because there is some lie that I want to expose, some fact to which I want to draw attention, and my initial concern is to get a hearing." Orwell is a beautiful writer and I agree on some of his points that he makes. I disagree when he says that “All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery.” I think that for some people writing is just second nature to them, it's their passion.
"Sheer egoism. Desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, to get your own back on the grown-ups who snubbed you in childhood, etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive, and a strong one. Writers share this characteristic with scientists, artists, politicians, lawyers, soldiers, successful businessmen — in short, with the whole top crust of humanity." Orwell is basically comparing writing to other subjects and charachteristics of the world. Owell was obviousley a very bright young man being able to write a poem at the age of four, and getting one published at around the age of 15. I also agree with all the comments above.
M. Shields 3B
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