Orwell admits that his initial works were no major successes. He wrote patriotic poems during the First World War and on the death of Herbert Kitchener, both of which were printed in the local newspaper. The poem he wrote at the age of five was still a good one and the tiger he described in the poem had ‘chair-like’ teeth. Orwell did not write much as a kid except trying to find inspiration in works of writers like William Blake. This made him the king of his private world where he could think in peace and meditate over his private failures. Despite these things, Orwell did not miss to appreciate his spectacular knack to face reality even if unpleasant. Orwell had no one to lean upon but himself when he felt undervalued and overcome by a sense of failure. His isolation and loss of self-esteem may have hindered his literary ambitions at first. There were ghosts and goblins in his life too as a kid and he too talked to imaginary friends to overcome his loneliness.
Serving the Indian Imperial Police did not bring him any satisfaction but churned the writer inside him. He remained an odd creature and even in youth struggled to find a stable life and career. A lonely childhood and lack of father’s care had made Orwell cultivate ill manners. As he grew older, the dream became difficult to abandon. He tried to find a career in other fields and to lose the idea of being an author in adolescence. The writer inside him had started taking shape when he was just five or six years old. Orwell had two siblings one was five years older than him and another five years younger. Orwell starts from his childhood to explain the motivations that directed him towards writing. There are several motivations for any author to write. While very modest on the one hand, it is bold and penetrating on the other. Orwell’s writing keeps you spellbound by its lucidity and depth. Before he became a full-fledged author, he had tried various forms of compositions including poems. As a child, he was influenced by characters like Robinhood that fascinate almost every young kid. Orwell’s life had taken several turns till finally, he started voicing his concern against totalitarianism. As a child, it was his favorite escapade from loneliness and boredom. Orwell’s connection with literature and word-craft was old. Apart from a brief glimpse of his troubled childhood, the piece sums up his career and youth and how he returned to an old and forgotten art after a long stint as a police officer in his life.
It records the influences and motivations behind his career as an author. George Orwell’s ‘Why I Write’ is an autobiographical journey from his childhood to the time he became a mature writer. Why I Write by George Orwell: A Summary and Analysis
(Real Name: Eric Arthur Blair) 1903-1950.
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