It is hardly reasonable to expect that a man who will give up a job which allows such advantages as the need to feed himself can meet the needs of war. Yet some criticized Henry Miller for failing to act; he hardly talked about the war in Tropic of Cancer; and, in their view, it is his moral obligation as a citizen writer to respond. However, Miller is only defensible because his “mind is constantly on the peace treaty” (Miller, 143). The silence on the war in the novel suggests a stance of "extreme pacifism", which is defensible due to its autobiographical honesty about its radical individualism and its artistic intention to depict the beauty of remaining in touch with humanity despite possible annihilation (Orwell Miller's passive attitude toward war was described by Orwell as "a declaration of irresponsibility" because Miller acted in a manner of "extreme pacifism, an individual refusal to fight, with no apparent desire to convert others to the same opinion” (Orwell, 1). meddling in such things out of a sense of obligation” if there were no “purely selfish motives” in a conversation he had with him (Orwell, 1). Miller's individualism" because he does not expect anyone to be anything other than a rational egoist, or someone who acts to "maximize self-interest" [1]. Furthermore, his refusal to “get involved” shows the passivity of his position; this shows how he “barely wishes to control” the “world process” (Orwell, 1). War is also a force beyond the control of any one man. Orwell also receives impression...... middle of paper......contributions to society such as work, engages in carnal acts with little remorse; it constantly moves from place to place in search of food and shelter; and focuses on the physical. In Tropic of Cancer, it was even suggested that he lived on a “higher plane of existence” (Miller, 191). Maybe he doesn't really belong. Therefore, it makes little sense for him to fight in something he has no control over in a society he does not belong to or to fight for or against an abstract idea like a nation in which he does not believe. The concept of nation is particularly foreign because “ideas must be linked to action”; they are “linked to life” (242). It describes a physical world in which abstract ideas are not truly abstract. Perhaps there is value in telling a primal, non-abstract world that exists on the fringes of society..