Why I Write

Orwell wrote during the bombing of London at the end of World War II, known as the Blitzkrieg. He discussed England’s position in the war, what brought the country to that point, and what England must do in order to end the war. He began by absolving the German bombers of individual guilt, noting that each was doing their perceived duty for their country and upholding their nationally specific form of patriotism.

Orwell moved into a discussion of national character; he argued that the seemingly mundane aspects of a society contribute to not only the nation’s character, but your own. Orwell proposed that it is impossible to separate yourself from the “civilization” you live in: “Moreover, it is continuous, it stretches into the future and the past, there is something in it that persists” (13). Before one could hypothesize about what part England could play in the war, one must first understand the national character of England and what its character implied.

In this chapter, Orwell described England’s general, national character. He defined the limits of generalizing, as well as its uses, through examples of generalizations about England. His main points about the English character were its stubbornness toward change, its hypocrisy (particularly in regard to imperialism), and the respect for private, domestic liberties.