George Orwell's "Why I Write": Motives and Meaning

Introduction: Orwell's Four Motives for Writing

In "Why I Write," George Orwell explores the main motives behind the act of writing. He summarizes those motives as sheer egoism, aesthetic enthusiasm, historical impulse, and political purpose. The author also discusses the importance of childhood upbringing and worldview on the impulse to write. Ultimately, Orwell concludes that without a sense of political purpose, even the most beautifully crafted prose can become flaccid and meaningless. The essay is delightfully straightforward, wholly lacking in pretension, and encourages the reader to contemplate creative endeavors of all types.

Best known for politically charged novels such as Animal Farm and 1984, it seems surprising that George Orwell would ever have written anything other than politically driven prose. Yet in "Why I Write," the reader learns that Orwell began by penning poetry as a child. His writing evolved from derivative verse to what he calls "purple" prose — writing that is flowery and literary but not necessarily charged with deep meaning.

The most powerful argument Orwell makes in "Why I Write" is that purple prose combined with political meaning produces the best possible type of writing. Political beliefs charge a writer's mind and encourage the putting of pen to paper. Even writers who care little for flourishes of language can appreciate those who simply communicate ideas and raise awareness.

Egoism and the Desire for Recognition

One of the primary motives for writing is not political at all, but highly practical and personal — if not outright selfish. That motive is the desire for fame and fortune. Orwell freely admits that no writer is exempt from the desire for recognition. As he puts it: "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." With an appropriately self-deprecating tone, Orwell mocks his own egoism while showing the reader that he or she is not alone. "All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery." This use of sarcasm and self-deprecating humor endears the reader to the author.

Orwell's argument is effective because of his writing style and tone, but also because of his personal credibility. If it were not written by a famous author, "Why I Write" might come across as self-indulgent or meaningless. Moreover, Orwell relates stories of his experiences abroad and in direct confrontation with totalitarianism and political oppression. These encounters in Burma and beyond initially gave him the impetus to write not just purple prose, but powerful purple prose. The author also draws on childhood stories to deepen the central arguments of the essay.

The essay begins: "From a very early age, perhaps the age of five or six, I knew that when I grew up I should be a writer." Orwell thus suggests that the desire to write is innate — even spiritual in nature. He substantiates this mystical dimension when he writes, "All writers are vain, selfish, and lazy, and at the very bottom of their motives there lies a mystery." That mystery is the soul's longing for self-expression.

Orwell writes: "I will only say that of late years I have tried to write less picturesquely and more exactly." His credibility is enhanced by the fact that "Why I Write" itself is composed without unnecessary phrases or picturesque imagery that would detract from the central argument. When he paints a picture of his childhood as a lonely middle child, the reader gains essential context for understanding how Orwell developed his literary skills.

Aesthetic Enthusiasm and the Joy of Language

One of the essay's strengths is the way Orwell describes his ongoing evolution as a writer, from writing childhood poems that might have been unconscious plagiarisms of other writers, to discovering at sixteen "the joy of mere words, i.e. the sounds and associations of words." Every writer knows the feeling of delight that comes from word-crafting and spinning together phrases that are pleasing to the ear. A core premise of "Why I Write" is that "I do not think one can assess a writer's motives without knowing something of his early development." Orwell therefore encourages his readers to contemplate their own early creative development. Whether a writer or not, all readers can delve into their childhood to discover what has made them who they are today. One must always remember the past and never run from it, while at the same time remaining willing "to discipline his temperament and avoid getting stuck at some immature stage, in some perverse mood." The balance between honoring the past and eliminating bad habits is a delicate and important one for anyone who wishes to take their creative energies to a higher level.

All readers will relate to Orwell's foremost motive for writing: "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." The use of "etc., etc." at the end of this sentence is not laziness but humor. Orwell is emphasizing the endless litany of egotistical motives that drive anyone to commit creative acts. Particularly striking is Orwell's mention of getting back at those who once thwarted one's dreams or mocked one's ambitions. All children at some point receive unwarranted discouragement or criticism that, when used as fuel for motivation, can bring about great success. Orwell transforms what appears to be overt selfishness into a natural human motive for self-assertion. Writing for selfish reasons, he suggests, is psychologically healthy.

The second important motive for writing is aesthetic enthusiasm: the appreciation for the sounds of words and phrases that Orwell refers to earlier and that characterizes purple prose. Aesthetic enthusiasm is "Pleasure in the impact of one sound on another, in the firmness of good prose or the rhythm of a good story." It is aesthetic enthusiasm that causes a mediocre writer to become a great one — it is the motivation to re-read and rewrite until each sentence, paragraph, and piece of writing is as close to perfect as it can possibly be in that moment.

Conclusion: The Writer's Compulsion and Orwell's Enduring Appeal

Orwell presents a rather romantic picture of the life of a writer — someone driven internally, psychically, and spiritually. The desire to write might initially stem from admiration of a famous author, a personal affection for a beloved book, or simply a want of recognition, fame, or fortune. Writing can also be used as a weapon, as with bitter letters to politicians or personal adversaries.