1. A critique of George Orwells
Commenting on and criticizing literature is a common practice. Indeed there are entire books, classes and even careers dedicated to this very purpose. To criticize language, particularly the contemporary lexicon, however, is a more risky endeavor. George Orwell has dared to do exactly this in his essay "Politics and the English Language". More surprising than the fact that Orwell took on this challenge is the striking passion and clarity with which he speaks. Orwell is very deliberate and careful with the diction and syntax he uses to buck muddled meaninglessness. This may be the most clear and straight-forward writing we've studied in this class.
Before getting to meanings and functions of the essay, we should first observe the severity exhibited by Orwell. If a reader can't grasp Orwell's ideas themselves, he or she will still ascertain that Orwell is serious. He refers to the fight against the "abuse of language" as a struggle. A genuine concern for language and even society is evident. We've encountered such concerns already; studying the likes of Alexander Pope and Matthew Arnold. These authors also spoke out against ongoing trends in society that they found disagreeable much the way Orwell does. The parallels do not end there.
Matthew Arnold wrote in a similar fashion about his feelings regarding societal trends in the "Sweetness and Light" portion of "Culture and Anarchy". In it he scrutinizes the middle and working class" lack of taste. He felt that all the freedom the commoner had had led him to be a part of a mass culture whose taste was lesser than that of the elite and the educated (perhaps one and the same). Orwell also chastises the trends of his society. His complaint is that people now embrace and practice a language that sells the involved parties (speaker, writer, listener, reader) short. Like Arnold, Orwell felt these flaws were repairable. Arnold felt that the spread of education, an education which employed a fixed cannon, dedicated to literature that was established and recognized as great art, would lead to acceptably cultured masses.
... when users began to have complaints about poor trading by either buyers or sellers. The initial reaction by Pierre Omidyar, back in 1995, was that if eBayers really had to gripe, they should do it publicly on the site. Although, he also felt that if traders complain about people they don't like, they should also say something nice about the people ... rate each other based on however they felt instead of making eBay be the mediator for all complaints. This worked great, even though Pierre initially felt it would turn into a gripe forum, and traders would get the benefit of knowing how o...
... respected by all and because of this, he is an insider in society. Beowulf exhibits superhuman strength throughout his entire life. "He has thirty men's heft of grasp in the gripe of his hand." He uses his incredible strength to kill Grendel, a monster no man could kill, by using his bare hands. " His strength he trusted, hand ... -gripe of might. So man shall do whenever in war he weans to earn him lasting fame, nor fears for his life!" Even though his strength sets him apart from most ... ...
... combating government oppression and the means utilised to do so. I first created a picture of the communication system with our government by looking at a well-known example. This fictional example, George Orwells 1984, describes the relationship between citizens and their totalitarian government in a dystopian setting. My research shows how close this actually comes to our reality. Next I looked at the differences between ... ...
Brave New World Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwells's Nineteen Eighty-four are the most influential futuristic novels of the 20th century (Firchow 83). In Orwell's story the state controls its citizens with fear and punishment. Winston Smith (protagonist ... ...
Animal Farm by George Orwell Characters, items, and events found in George Orwells book, Animal Farm, can be compared to similar characters, items, and events found in Marxism and the 1917 Russian Revolution. This comparison will be shown by using the symbolism that ... ...
Characters, items, and events found in George Orwells book, Animal Farm, can be compared to similar characters, items, and events found in Marxism and the 1917 Russian Revolution. This comparison will be shown by using the symbolism that ... ...