Question

Summary of the prose "making writing simple" by J.B Priestly

Answer 1

J.B. Priestly recounts meeting a young critic. Priestly recalls how he was drawn to the young man's personality, but not the values he stood for. There was a wide gap between the two, primarily because of the generations they both belonged to. The young man grew up in an age, where he believed literature had to be complex. He believed that writings should not be simple, but should be full of hidden meanings and should make the reader sweat, to understand it. However J.B. Priestly belonged to the 19th century and believed that writings needed to be simple. He believed in working hard to keep it simple, so that it would be easier for the reader to understand. He said that, "if any man who thinks the kind of simplicity I attempt is easy he should try it for himself". J.B. Priestly believes that keeping things simple, also has its advantages. Once when he was asked to pay a birthday tribute, on air, to C. G. Jung, in thirteen and a half minutes, his friends said it could not be done, but Priestly accepted to do it and succeeded in achieving this task. 

Answer 2

J.B. Pristley, in his prose emphasizes that he has toiled and sweated throughout to make his writing simple. when questioned by a youngish critic about his writing being much simpler than his verbal communication, Pristley expresses his belief that literature needn't be twisted, tormented and esoteric, rather it should be for the commoners and he aimed to take it so simple that it could be read in bar-parlors; he really did it. He doesn't take literature as a cerebral activity for which the reader has to struggle. He had to pay a tribute to Jung on air and everyone imagined that it was impossible to accomplish it in a fine manner in thirteen and a half minute, to everyone's surprise he did it and at the end he felt as if he found honey in the rock.