39 pages 1 hour read

George Orwell

Why I Write

Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 1946

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Essay Topics

1.

In “Why I Write,” Orwell listed four motives behind a writer’s creative impulse: egoism, aesthetics, historical purpose, and political purpose. In what way did Orwell demonstrate each of these four motives within the essay itself?

2.

In “Why I Write,” Orwell described a generalized image of a writer and their main motivations to write. How did Orwell himself compare to this generalized image?

3.

How did Orwell use his metaphor of the English as “a family with the wrong members in control” (30) to support his belief in the need for a socialist revolution? How does this metaphor work to explain his definition of the English character?