I need a paragraph on this, please 100 points Names are useful. Sometimes they’re even more useful when
they’re fake—especially if you’re a writer. Pen names, aliases, or
pseudonyms—as they’re variously called—allow authors freedom,
flexibility, and opportunity. Eric Blair, author of Animal Farm and
Nineteen Eighty-Four, adopted the name George Orwell because he
feared his early work would embarrass his family. C. S. Lewis,
concerned about his status as a professor at Oxford, used the name
Clive Hamilton to publish a collection of poems. Charles Dodgson, a
noted mathematician, used the name Lewis Carroll to write fantasy
works such as Alice in Wonderland.
For many writers, turning to a pen name is the only way to get
published. When a local newspaper refused him publication, sixteenyear-old Benjamin Franklin started writing letters to the editor under
the persona of the middle-aged widow Silence Dogood. Likewise, many
female authors have had to conceal their gender in order to overcome
discrimination and get publishers to take them seriously. The Brontë
sisters (Charlotte, Emily, and Anne) wrote poetry and novels under
male pseudonyms. Charlotte wrote under the name of Currer Bell,
while Emily and Anne used the names Ellis and Acton Bell.
Even today some authors adopt a pen name in order to stem
biases and preconceived notions. Perhaps the best-known example of
this is J. K. Rowling. Rowling’s publishers feared that young boys—the
presumed audience of the Harry Potter series—wouldn’t take the book
seriously if they knew it was written by a woman. So Joanne Rowling
became J. K. Rowling. In hindsight, though, the change was hardly
necessary. Rowling’s books enjoyed unprecedented success, gaining
millions of fans among boys and girls of all ages, and adults as well.
In fact, Rowling became so famous that she later turned to another
pen name, Robert Galbraith, in order to write detective novels. For
Rowling, a new pen name meant a fresh start and a chance to explore
a new genre without the pressure of her Harry Potter fame. When asked why she chose a new pen name, Rowling responded, “I was
yearning to go back to the beginning of a writing career in this new
genre, to work without hype or expectation and to receive totally
unvarnished feedback. It was a fantastic experience and I only wish it
could have gone on a little longer than it did.”
Susan Eloise Hinton, who is famous for young-adult novels, is
another author who adopted her name. S. E. Hinton’s first book,
The Outsiders includes a male narrator. As with J. K. Rowling, Hinton’s
publisher thought it would be a good idea to use a pen name; if
readers associated the narrator of the story with a male author, it
would make the story seem more believable. Hinton herself appreciates
having the alter ego of a teenage boy. She believes that it helps her
separate her writer self from her true self, and it creates a persona as
rich as a character in her novels.