How
does the use of genre and writing style support the main ideas in George
Orwell’s ‘Why I Write’?
The
main idea of ‘Why I Write’ is inner conflict of George Orwell. Throughout the
essay, George Orwell continuously and carefully considers what to choose
between his literary instinct and a call of the age wanting him to write
serious political writings goes on. He wanted to write books with huge artful
descriptions, but the chaotic age he was living in forced him to produce
serious political ones. George Orwell admitted that he was not able to abandon
the world view that he acquired in childhood and tried to compromise between
two motives by making political writing into an art. But still he couldn’t be
satisfied so he had no choice but to choose between his literary instinct and
the needs of the times. His inner conflict is well depicted with the use of
various methods in the essay and I am going to show how various methods
supported the main idea in George Orwell’s ‘Why I Write’
Mostly,
‘Why I Write’ is written in plain style because as a political writer, George
Orwell wanted his prose to be like a windowpane; meaning he used precise words
and verses. Therefore, the essay was effective in conveying his inner
complications because there was no double entendre, which makes readers to confuse
with the main idea of an essay. Especially, the use of passionate words such as
‘Outraging my true nature’, ‘Ghastly failure’, ‘Astonishing speed’, and ‘Tumultuous,
revolutionary way’ between the sea of precise words made the words stand out
and showing his natural aesthetic instinct.
George
Orwell claimed that an understanding a life of the author is crucial before
understanding the writing as writings are mirrors of writers. Thus, he used genre
autobiography in order to make readers to understand his life so that they can
comprehend the inner conflict. He gave descriptions of his life before he
became a professional writer. The descriptions were mainly about how he
suddenly discovered the joy of mere words and made the same meticulous
descriptive efforts. For example, he recalled that after reading ‘Paradise Lost’,
he felt shivers down his backbone because some words were used partly for the
sake of their own sound which is related to his literary instinct. Therefore,
it was clear that the kind of book George Orwell wants to write have been and
will be an aesthetic writing with full of detailed descriptions and purple
passages.
George
Orwell used expository writing style to show why he betrayed his lifelong dream
to follow his aesthetic taste of writing. He explained the four most motives of
writing are sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political
purpose. Then, he explained that the age, he was living in, was littered with
international problems such as the Spanish civil war, the totalitarianism, the
poverty in Burma, the imperialism, and the democratic socialism so he had no choice
but to produce serious works meaning he chose a political purpose as the motive
deserved to be followed and left aside all alternative motives, even aesthetic
enthusiasm. Therefore, he explained why he follows the political motives even
though it was a dream of his life to write aesthetic novels.
Then,
the poem he wrote in 1939, when he still failed to reach a firm decision
between aesthetic enthusiasm and political purpose, expressed the dilemma George
Orwell faced. There are lines in the poem such as ‘But girl’s bellies and
apricots, Roach in a shaded stream, Horses, ducks in flight at dawn’ clearly
indicating what he wants to produce is books with full descriptions of bucolic
villages in countryside of England. However, there were lines such as ‘A happy
vicar I might have been Two hundred years ago’, ‘All these are a dream’, and ‘It
is forbidden to dream again’ meaning that he felt an obligation to produce
serious works in the age of turbulence he lived in. Therefore, the poem
indicates that he had been constantly contemplating about what motive to
follow.
George Orwell used various writing
styles and genres to support the main idea above. George Orwell’s desire to
write aesthetic novels was well descripted by the use of genre of autobiography
and plain writing style. Additionally, the use of expository writing style explained
why he produced serious writings against his desire to write aesthetic novels.
Then, the poetry reflected inner conflict of George Orwell. George Orwell,
therefore, successfully delivered his inner complication by using various
methods.