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The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
QUICK FACTSNAMEE.B. WhiteOCCUPATIONWriterBIRTH DATEJuly 11, 1899DEATH DATEOctober 1, 1985EDUCATIONCornell UniversityPLACE OF BIRTHMount Vernon, NYPLACE OF DEATHNorth Brooklin, MainAKA
E.B. WhiteElwyn Brooks
WhiteElwyn WhiteAndy
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
Style is the particular way in which a
piece of literature is written. It is not
what is said, but how it is said. An
essential element of style is the diction,
an author’s choice of words.
E.B White’s style is both, casual and
elegant.
“I was sorry to hear the other day
that a certain writer, appalled by
the cruel events of the world, had
pledge himself never to write
anything that wasn’t constructive
and significant and liberty loving.
I have an idea that this, in its own
way, is bad news.”
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
Was that casual? Or
elegant?
Was it both?
Why?
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
- The use of first person
- The use of colloquial
phrases (“the other day”…
and “bad news”…)
casualness
- The use of phrases such
as: “has pledged
himself”…, and
“significant and liberty
loving”
elegant
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
An author’s message is the main idea of a
particular work, or the point it makes. White’s
essay presents his personal opinion on a topic,
the duty of writers. These opinions are
signaled by words and phrases as:
- “I have an idea that” - “Should” or
“Shouldn’t”
- “I don’t think” - “This
seems to me”
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
What do writers OWE us ?
People often debate what writers should
write. Should writers uplift the community or
constantly denounce wrongs?
Should they report every detail about a war
or protect national security? Can they be
blasphemous? frivolous? Do they have a
special responsability in troubled times?
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
FACT
E.B White published Stuart Little despite a librarian’s comment that it was “unfit for children”
One of White’s point in the essay you will read is that a writer has a duty to write about “what naturally absorbs his fancy”
QUESTION
In what ways, White’s actions reflect his views?
ANSWER
He wrote and published what interested him, even though others did not always like it.
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
How would you interpret E.B. White’s quote:
“The true writer always plays to an audience of one” E.B. White
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
BACKGROUND This essay appeared in White’s column for
Harper’s magazine in January 1939. It was a disturbing time, when
it was clear that world war loomed.
England and France had just appeased Hitler by allowing him to
take over part of Czechoslovakia. The Nazis had looted and
burned jewish homes and businesses on a night that became
known as Kristallnacht. Facist forces were winning in the Spanish
Civil War, and Japan had invaded China. In his state of the Union
address, President Franklin D. Roosevelt warned that the freedoms
Americans enjoyed were in danger.
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
Appalled: filled with horror and
consternation.
What other words and phrases in
these lines contribute to White’s ironic
tone? Explain.
Ones that inflate the status of writers and their craft including:
- “artists and writers are the ones who first take up the sword” (7-8).
- “progressed from being toothbrush-conscious” (15-16).
- “accomplished largely by the good work of writers…to whom liberty is a blessed condition that must be preserved on earth at all costs” (18-19).
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
What does White state that a writer
should do?White states that a writer should write about
his or her interests in a manner that comes
easily.
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
Lines 29 to 34
What phrasings add humor to this
paragraph?Humor is added by placing side by side
phrases like “gifted crackpot” and
“employed gainfully” (29-30) and “distinctly
deleterious” and “a little silly” (32-33), as
the idea of “literature composed of nothing
but liberty-loving thoughts” (33-34)
crackpot: eccentric, unrealistic,
fanatical.
deleterious: injurious to health, harmful.
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
Lines 37 to 43
What value does White see in humor ?
White thinks that jokes and gaiety can
actually weaken dictators.
gaiety: the state of being cheerful, refined, merry, as
in a lively mood.
What do writers OWE us ?
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
E.B. White expresses the view that “the duty
of writers” is in fact to write about whatever
interests them, regardless of the prevailing
social, cultural, or political climate.
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
HOMEWORK:
Do you think writers should be free to write whatever they want whenever they want?
Write a one hundred word answer.
The Duty of Writers Essay by E.B. White
Review:Comprehension and Text Analysis (Questions 1 to 5 on page 1116)
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