What Is Orwells Purpose in Writing This Essay?

What Is Orwell's Purpose in Writing This Essay?Orwell's essay on the self is a challenge to accept ourselves and our problems as we are, are we women, gay, or black, and realize that we are capable of great things. His point is that each of us is uniquely capable of great things and any problem, whether mental or physical, is merely an obstacle to such greatness.Orwell, in his essay, observes that even though we hate to admit it, many of us act in ways which are actually self-defeating. He goes on to say that we tend to have a tendency to give more importance to what others think of us, and not to what we think of ourselves. In this respect, he laments the tendency to take other people's attention away from ourselves.Orwell observed that most of us tend to give little value to our own opinions, and yet often act on the basis of what we feel we should do, when in fact our decisions should be influenced by the decisions made by others. Of course, we may at times be tempted to tell othe rs what they should do, but we must remember that this would not necessarily reflect well on ourselves. Similarly, we may be tempted to accept things that others say, but we must also remember that what others say about us could be untrue. Ultimately, we must judge ourselves by our actions.Orwell claims that the normal pattern of society in the West has been a system where people tend to compare themselves with others, and to pick up ideas from other people rather than from themselves. This trend is rooted in our sense of human nature, whereby humans, in general, try to do whatever they can to improve their lives.But Orwell felt that the tendency to become selfish can run deep. The result of this can be seen in the willingness of people to accept food as spoilt, even in the face of a lack of cooking skills. He continued by saying that this tendency is also evident in the willingness of certain people to commit crimes against their fellow citizens. He remarked that this tendency is c aused by the root source of human beings, which is our basic urge to survive.Because of this, a society which has at its core a value system based on the notion that 'each person is essentially unique,' and 'each person should be treated as an individual,' will be apt to flourish, and will thrive more than societies which have other values. It is in this regard that Orwell suggests we should be aware of the existence of different values - we might call them social goals - rather than the all-pervasive quest for individuality. To him, the pursuit of happiness is not enough; we must also ensure that we have an ethical code to guide our lives.In his essay, Orwell also makes an observation that seems obvious today, that the greatest enemy of humanity today is our consumerist society. We are too quick to believe that the things we buy, rather than what we give, are what make a society complete. We are, he contends, 'entirely captive' to consumerist society and so are easily drawn into gi ving in to temptations in order to remain in that society.Orwell's essay on the self, in one way or another, mirrors the current thinking of our society. We can also observe that certain values which have been established throughout our society tend to have a negative effect on our individual development, leading to a need to revert back to the values that our society has already established. For this reason, we must strive to achieve and develop new values in our society.