In his article, George Orwell details his childhood and early dreams of becoming a writer. He talks about his first poems and plays and how hardy and quick he was as a writer in his youth (Orwell, Great Ideas Why I Write (Penguin Great Ideas)). For George Orwell from childhood, the problem of language was of particular importance. He notes that he liked the linguistic sound and the combination of words in poetry. The period of his acquaintance with the writer’s craft smoothly translates into a period of growing up, when he has pulled away from writing by other things, in particular, service in Burma.
Between his formative periods, George Orwell lays out his position on the motivation of writers. He identifies four motives for writers, from low to high. These motives include pure selfishness, aesthetic ecstasy, historical impulse, and political purpose. George Orwell notes that he usually managed to balance the first three motives until political and social issues stirred his heart. The Spanish Civil War, the rise to power of Adolf Hitler, and the already mentioned service in Burma forced him to turn his attention to society and politics.
Having survived the events that turned his mind upside down, he tries to express his position in the texts. The key to expression is the right style and language. Critics and editors disapprove of his stylistic experiments in the ‘Tribute of Catalonia’ because the work is the purest political statement wrapped in an artistic shell. Subsequently, George Orwell tries to find the right balance in these styles. ‘Animal Farm’ is a book where the author fuses political and artistic languages. However, George Orwell does not want to consider himself, perhaps, exclusively a political author. He considers himself a writer and artist, not a propagandist. However, in the last lines of the article, he explains that when reading his works, he sees only empty passages and beautiful, meaningless epithets on pages where the political is absent.
Work Cited
Orwell, George. Great Ideas Why I Write (Penguin Great Ideas). Rev Ed, Penguin UK, 2005.