Question

Read the passage.

Answer 1

"In a peaceful age I might have written ornate or merely descriptive books, and might have remained almost unaware of my political loyalties."

This sentence shows that Orwell believes the type of writing an author is doing directly relates to the things going on around him in the world. He says that if things were peaceful in the world he might not have written about politics, but they were not peaceful so he did write politically. 

Answer 2

"In a peaceful age I might have written ornate or merely descriptive books, and might have remained almost unaware of my political loyalties."

"…but these experiences were not enough to give me an accurate political orientation. Then came Hitler, the Spanish civil war, etc."