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George OrwellA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
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?
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?
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?
What is the English hypocrisy, according to Orwell? Which social and economic class perpetuated this hypocrisy the most? How did this hypocrisy contradict the anti-militarism that Orwell presented as part of the English national character?
How did Orwell define socialism? In what way is it different from his definition of fascism? In what way the same?
At the conclusion of “The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius,” Orwell compared the concepts of patriotism and conservatism. In what ways are these two concepts different? Why did Orwell claim that patriotism was necessary to defeat Hitler and to establish a socialist state in England?
In “A Hanging,” Orwell stated that the death of the prisoner would result in “one mind less, one world less” (98). Though Orwell expressed extreme empathy for the prisoner, he did nothing to interfere in the prisoner’s death. Why? In what way does this revelation speak to the essay’s theme of colonialism?
In “Politics and the English Language,” Orwell claimed that one “trick” of modern English writers was to employ overused metaphors. Why was using new and simple language important to Orwell? Are there instances in this essay in which Orwell employed a novel metaphor to support his argument?
How are politics and language connected? What did Orwell imply by this idea? Discuss the anecdotes that Orwell used in “Politics and the English Language” to explore this theme of language and politics.
Orwell proposed that language is a tool that affects its user. Considering the collection of essays, provide examples of the ways that Orwell used language as a tool to achieve a desired result. Did Orwell use any of the “tricks” that threaten to degrade the English language?
By George Orwell