George Orwell's essay "How I Began to Write" describes his early experiences and influences that led him to become a writer. As a middle child, Orwell felt lonely and created an imaginary world to escape reality. In adolescence, he engaged in early literary activities but did not find satisfaction. Over time, Orwell's interests shifted from himself to the people and world around him. He began to develop a broader perspective that transformed his nature and inclined him toward writing as an outlet.

1. A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION BY: MRINAL GHOSH
PGT (ENGLISH)
UMAKANTA ACADEMY ENGLISH MEDIUM, AGARTALA.
HOW I BEGAN TO WRITE
By: Gorge Orwell
TBSE PROSE (Class IX)

2. HOW I BEGAN TO WRITE
About the Author:
George Orwell is the pen-name of Eric
Arthur Blair. Novelist, essayist and
journalist, Orwell was born in 1903 in
Bengal. He was educated in England. He
served in Burma as an officer of the
Imperial police, but resigned. He was
against all sorts of political tyranny and
satirized it, although he was a democratic
socialist in his political outlook.
Orwell died in 1950 of Tuberculosis.

3. HOW I BEGAN TO WRITE
Summary of the essay:
 ‘How I began to Write’ is an explanatory essay which focuses on the
writer himself and his motives for writing. The essay highlights some
important motives that exist in almost all the writers.
 Orwell began his essay by stating that since a very young age, he knew
that he wanted to be a writer but, then, in his late adolescence, he gave
up on this idea but nonetheless he could.

4. HOW I BEGAN TO WRITE
 Even when certain circumstances in his life forced him to give up the
idea of writing, he knew that there was an innate part of him which
resided deep within his soul and that part would never feel satisfied until
Orwell became a writer.
 In this regard, it can be said that he was born with the capacity to write
or he was a natural born writer.
 Orwell states that he was a middle child, as in the general case, he often
felt himself neglected. So he felt lonely.
 He developed an imaginary world in which he would create the perfect
situations and hold conversations with imaginary friends.
 In this way, he found an escape from the harsh reality of his life.

5. HOW I BEGAN TO WRITE
 Then, in adolescence, he engaged in literary activities to keep his talent
polished but then, again, he didn’t drive any satisfaction from his work
because he couldn’t connect with what he was doing.
 He shows in the essay how he was transforming into adult, how he was
becoming mature and how his nature was becoming inclined towards
the things around him, the people, the colours, the sounds, the smell,
the environment, how all of a sudden, his obsession with himself
vanished, only to be replaced with a more refined and broader
perceprion.

6. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ON HOW I BEGAN TO WRITE
 Q. 1. How many brothers and sisters were there in author’s family. and what do you know about them ?
(TBQ)
Ans. The author were three brothers and sister. The author was the middle child of the three. He was fve years
younger of the eldest one and fve years older of the youngest one because there was gap of fve years among all
of them.
Q. 2. What attempt literary items did the author attempt in his childhood days ? (TBQ)
Ans. It his childhood days, as he had the lonely child’s habit of making up stories, At the age of four or fve he
started his literary ambitions. He wrote his frst poem. Thereafter, he wrote a patriotic poem and a short story also.
Q. 3. What did the author think about himself in his adolescent days ? (TBQ)
Ans. In his adolescent days, he used to imagine himself as ‘Robin Hood’, the hero of thrilling adventures.
Q. 4. What type of novel did the author want to write ? (TBQ)
Ans. The author wanted to write enormous naturalistic novels with unhappy endings, full of detailed descriptions
and arresting similies. He also wanted to write novel with description full of exaggeration in style especially when
expressing strong emotion.
Q. 5. What type of essay is ‘How I Began To Write’ ?
Ans. ‘How I Began to Write’ is an explanatory essay. It is, infact, a part of George Orwell’s essay ‘Why I Write’.
This part focuses on the writer himself and his motives for writing. Infact, it highlights some important motives that
exist in almost all the writers.