Preview

George Orwell's Politics And The English Language

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
226 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
George Orwell's Politics And The English Language
George Orwell wrote “Politics and the English language”, in his essay he talks a lot about how nowadays in his time the writers and politicians use really long and complicated ways and words of saying things he even called the language of his time “ ugly and inaccurate”, when really they should just be short and straight to the point. His argument made so much sense that’s just so understandable.

Orwell translated a well-known verse from Ecclesiastes that contained an archaic style piece of writing to the modern English language and it was dreadful and emotionless, the modern version had long and complicated words and it didn’t go straight to the point. The essay wasn’t necessarily about politics, there were a few sections about how politicians

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    After a ninety-hour workweek, Winston is exhausted. In the middle of Hate Week, Oceania has switched enemies and allies in the ongoing war, heaping upon Winston a tremendous amount of work to compensate for the change. At one rally, the speaker is forced to change his speech halfway through to point out that Oceania is not, and has never been, at war with Eurasia. Rather, the speaker says, Oceania is, and always has been, at war with Eastasia. The people become embarrassed about carrying the anti-Eurasia signs and blame Emmanuel Goldstein’s agents for sabotaging them. Nevertheless, they exhibit full-fledged hatred for Eastasia.…

    • 382 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language” written in 1946 discusses how language can be used to obscure what one is saying. Orwell states that language can be snow obscuring details (2). He talks of how politicians use this to their advantage when trying to win the public's opinion. Some twenty years this is exemplified by the US’s involvement in Veitnam. The famous statement “We had to destroy the village in order to save” is what Orwell was describing in his essay. Although the origin and authenticity of this statement is often challenged it does does summarize the U.S.’s stance on the Veitnam war; meaning the use of deception through media, and the disregard of Vietnamese civilians wellbeing.…

    • 612 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A major theme for both of Orwell’s works is the idea that people, ignorantly, don’t care about what they say or think, and then because they don’t have minds of their own they are easier to manipulate. In his Politics and the English Language, Orwell says how people don’t think about what they are writing and how they have no control over their own mind as ready-made phrases fill their paper and their mind. Then in 1984, Orwell takes this idea a step further showing how easy a civilization of thoughtless ignorance can become one of mindless devotion towards the government. In the book the characters lose their sense family ties, lose sense of time, they lose emotions, they lose their individuality, they lose their ability to remember the past,…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Orwell's use of satirical diction is another way that he is able to send his message to his audience. One way his satire is shown is through the ministries within the party. Each ministry is named in a way that it contrasts their actions. The ministry of love is responsible for the treatment of party members who have "lost their ways". Their methods include torture which utilizes the deepest fears of captives.…

    • 418 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Oceania when you step out of line, you will be punished accordingly. That is the message George Orwell tries to get across to his reader in 1984. Since that is the notion he is trying to get his reader to understand as the author in this book, he obeys that rule as well. Orwell uses many literary devices and techniques such as symbolism, metaphors, tone, allusions, and many more… to make the reader understand what kind of society Winston is living in.…

    • 907 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    As it is mentioned in the beginning of "Politics and the English language " that "George Orwell (1903-1950), one of the most brilliant social critics of the twentieth century...", Orwell states that English Language is losing its identity. He illustrates six solutions to improve language and the language usage for explanation is manipulative. In "Politics and The English Language", George Orwell is trying to tackle the issue of English Language decline due to bad language usage, but the six solution that Orwell stated are being broken by him that weakens his argument on English Language destruction that leads an individual to have sense of manipulation.…

    • 422 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Language plays an important role for political debates and government decisions. Information is often misrepresented to gain the favor of the populous. This is evident in Orwell’s writing and in the “Hackvists” documentary, often during the course of Knappenberger’s documentary it is shown that euphemisms can greatly mislead and disrupt events in society. Orwell expresses similar views on the topic of euphemisms. In his writings Orwell conveys that a government's ability to abuse power for gain is completely unjust, this coincides with the hacktivist point of view on freedom of speech and oppression. The theme of censorship is commonly seen in the film, in relation to Orwell, he describes that the withholding of information can only lead to…

    • 912 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In the next phase of the article, Firchow attempts to switch perspectives and put more focus on what separates Orwell from other proclaimed literary geniuses, starting off with the seriousness he portrays in all of his writing. According to the article, Orwell didn’t much include references to modern culture. In fact, he seems to have very rarely even acknowledged the existence of popular artists of his time (in painting and music). He makes no mention of the ever-growing television or movies, and only talks of radio on in regard to his work at BBC. He was, apparently at one point, interested in…

    • 1232 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    In conclusion of the article, Orwell refers to six rules that writers can follow aside from their common sense; such as personalizing their work, using correct word choice, preventing from being too wordy and overcomplicating word usage, and being grammatically correct when writing. These rules are to cover most…

    • 333 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    My first point is the fact that Orwell admits to using the same bad language that he writes about! In the essay Politics and the English Language George Orwell says, and I quote, “Look back through this essay, and for certain you will find that I have again and again committed the very faults I am protesting against.” Now this sounds just like a high school girl if you ask me. They argue a point, argue it again, and then apologize and admit to being hypocritical. Some people out there will say that even though Orwell was a hypocrite, he was very qualified to write this paper. I agree with you on that. He was very, and I mean VERY, qualified to write this essay but that alone does not make hypocrisy okay. That’s just like saying that its right for the KKK to lynch black people and then write a book about how people should be…

    • 657 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    George Orwell demonstrated how writers and politicians use euphemisms, doublespeak, and other misconceptions to mislead their audience and hide their real agenda; he exposed politicians in his times and predicted future trends and practices in the English language usage. He expected the English language to deteriorate and individual thoughts and expression to be limited. His goal was to make people understand this practice and see through public speeches and political writings in an effort to reach the underlying truth and make individuals aware of the danger. Orwell wanted public readers and listeners to realize how politicians can change an ugly thing such as killing into a harmless action. Politicians use language that is vague and lacks precision and detail in order to mislead the public. They rely heavily on euphemisms to make negative things seem positive, the unpleasant look attractive, and the bad turn into good. They use long meaningless sentences to conceal the truth and manipulate the reaction of the people to certain events or actions. Politicians shape ideas and limit thinking; they tell lies and use imprecise wording. Orwell's message connects with politics in the English language beyond his days. There are several examples of these deceptive techniques used today; things that would make George Orwell turn in his grave.…

    • 979 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    There are many ways people can be ruled. For example, people are governed by a monarchy, dictatorship, and a democracy. In Aldous Huxley’s essay, “Words and Behavior,” the government uses words as propaganda and decides to lie. In George Orwell’s novel, “1984,” Winston lives in a dystopia where big brother, who is the government, is always watching everyone. In Sir Thomas More’s, Utopia, the king should listen to and make better decisions so people can have better lives. The government should say the truth, allow people to have privacy, and put the people first.…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    In George Orwell's novel 1984 the main character, 39 year old Winston Smith, lives in the superstate Oceania, a place controlled by Ingsoc which is Newspeak for English Socialism (the English Socialist Party). Winston's story takes place in what he believes is the year 1984, a time when Newspeak is still being changed and integrated into the Party.…

    • 1387 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    ‘Marrakech’ explores the notion of ethnocentricity through a Eurocentric perspective, in which one is isolated at the consequence of differing morels. Orwell succeeds in doing so through various anecdotes “What does Morocco mean to a Frenchman? An orange-grove or a job in government service.” In essence this displays the failure of a migrant to withhold a deeper connection to the land. Orwell emotively describes the crippled elderly women who “answered with a shrill wail, almost a scream, which was partly gratitude but mainly surprise”, as a response to the charity he provided her with. The dramatic reaction displays her sense of alienation from her own homeland, at fault of those who are foreign, yet…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many authors bring in the theme of politics into their work in order to make their creations more appealing and as a form of expressing their personal views. George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-four" is a novel that contains many political messages to the world. Orwell felt that part of his role as a writer is to serve as a voice of conscience to our society by trying to express the truth as he saw it. The novel was written in a crucial time period in modern history after the Second World War and at the beginning of the Cold War. One can see that the book was influenced by current events of its time mixed with Orwell's standpoint. He focuses on three major political issues that effect society, which are the dangers of war, class differences and dictatorship. Orwell was trying to show how certain political systems could affect our society by working for only…

    • 1757 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays