I have been writing rather madly these days, sticking to my commitment to do standard sort of academic essays and a few days back I suddenly had the urge to read Orwell’s “Why I Write?“. I was introduced to this essay by a little book in the bookstore that holds the collection of Orwell’s essays and short writings. That was the third time I read this essay of his and I guess it’s the first time I truly understood what he was talking about. My writings these days, beyond what is on my blog is largely the expression of knowledge rather than ideas so it’s impossible for me to draw any parallels between Orwell and myself.
Sadly, I didn’t really give thought to writing as a career and so I guess I don’t even consciously reject the idea of writing. And I realised that the vaguely termed ‘Historical Impulse’ of Orwell’s ‘motives of writing’ seem to stand out for me. I just want to keep records of thoughts that flew past me (that probably makes up part of ‘sheer egoism’). Political impulse is pretty weak given my understanding of my audience and the desire for status quo in politics. And like what Orwell has claimed, Aesthetic enthusiasm exist somehow but is feeble.
I decided that even after my examinations, I should continue with that sort of discipline and write at least a single essay a day. But I’ll no longer write those that are required by the A Levels, having already completed the examinations. I’ll be writing little essays of things I want to discuss on comment on, much like my blog entries but with more academic rigour (assuming it’s currently deficient in my blog entries although I would admit otherwise).