Orwell’s Politics and the English Language: Unmasking Language Manipulation

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Vagueness
Insincerity
Unnecessary Complexity
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

George Orwell’s Politics and the English Language is an essay in which the author has criticized certain techniques that make the language redundant, the message unclear, and people confused or manipulated into believing in insincere information. Orwell has highlighted that the ways in which language is being manipulated are through vagueness, complex phrasing with no significant meaning, changing an idea through less offensive wording, and a lack of a specific essence that the writer wants to express. This is not only damaging for the reader but also for the language itself as it becomes less meaningful and more easily altered to fit a particular agenda. It is especially critical nowadays since people have been drawn to shorter, simpler, and more direct texts, as exemplified through the language used in the most popular social media posts. Politics and the English Language are still relevant today, and my personal teaching style, as well as the teaching style of my former teacher, would become more efficient if certain concepts addressed in the essay were to be integrated and practically applied.

Vagueness

One of the arguments highlighted in the essay is that authors often resort to vagueness due to the techniques that they apply when writing texts. Thus, the content not only becomes unnecessarily complicated for readers to follow but also loses its overall meaning. Orwell partially links vagueness with the addition of pieces that can easily be avoidable without losing the primary idea of the passage (Orwell 6). Some works have entire sentences that do not have a role other than creating the illusion of complexity while being virtually pointless. On the other hand, such techniques may be deemed attractive for readers seeking more elevated texts, which can be simulated through the use of complicated words that, in reality, do not have a major role.

In terms of teaching the English course while applying Orwell’s strategy of increasing meaning by being direct, this may be implemented through paying attention to content more than the word count. Thus, students who are to describe Orwell’s 1984 are to give direct examples of how the totalitarian regime inhibits freedom instead of having to write a 3000-words essay in which 2500 words could have been erased. Asking direct questions, having straight conversations on certain literature pieces, and applying a less vague approach to examining texts are the techniques that can be integrated based on Orwell’s principle. Needless to say, this does not imply that creative writing during assignments, the use of figurative speech, and the illustration of emotions felt while reading a poem or a book is to be avoided. The aim is to reduce vagueness, which is why students can be more direct and less unclear while still being fully honest and open during such tasks and interactions.

Insincerity

It is vital to mention that manipulating a text by either adding complexity through unnecessary words or formulating the idea based on an agenda may change how a reader understands the content. The technique is widely used in politics when an activity, event, or entity is being described for what it is, yet the wording has the tendency of altering one’s emotional response. Orwell’s example is the difference between someone’s intended and expressed aims, which, in case they differ, are manifested differently through rhetoric (Orwell 6). Thus, the word “neutralization” is less emotionally potent than “murder”, and a text that has one version or the other changes intrinsically. This is a manifestation of insincerity and dishonesty and can often become the reason why people are either less or more emotionally involved in a particular piece of literature.

Avoiding insincerity can also be applied in teaching techniques. This may be implemented by providing examples or certain texts, similar to the ones Orwell used in the essay, and having a conversation with the students regarding the manipulations that writers used to create a new or altered connotation. Thus, students can learn to make the distinction between an honest text and one that is altered to seem more appropriate yet have the same overall meaning. Moreover, such teaching implementations have a positive impact in terms of explaining how language can impact one’s thoughts, opinions, and overview as it can express the same topic in different ways and give it contrasting meanings.

Unnecessary Complexity

As mentioned prior, one of the techniques examined by Orwell and still widely used in literature is the use of unnecessary words. This may be caused by the desire to create the illusion of intricacy, the aim to attract readers with more elevated expectations of one’s writing style, or an unnecessary desire to create a pretentious text that stands out compared to more simplistic ones. According to Orwell, writers often use such measures to add a sense of elegance, objectivity, and a false impression of scientific reasoning behind the content itself (Orwell 4). By doing so, multiple readers may not necessarily understand the main idea and the arguments provided to support it. However, the general overview of the piece as sophisticated and intended for individuals with elevated knowledge and intelligence on the subject creates a sense of refinement. This is another illusion that is far from reality and negatively impacts the language.

Instead of seeking direct texts with clear ideas and comprehensive arguments, a piece of literature is only considered valuable if it contains unnecessary complexity measures added to the content. The general public, however, is mainly drawn to simple, short, and understandable writing works. This may be accentuated by the use of social media, where posts are limited in terms of characters, and the attention span that has decreased. Either way, the attractiveness of short slogans and blog posts are reliable marketing strategies since the audience does not have to deconstruct a phrase with multiple metaphors, passive speech, and scientific phrasing. In teaching, avoiding unnecessary complexity can be promoted by the teacher when explaining a piece of literature or having a conversation with the students. Instead of describing Alice in Wonderland as a metaphorical representation of the subjective apprehension of an inexperienced individual to enter the mysterious land of those who created it, it is more effective to state that Alice struggles to understand the world of grown-ups.

Conclusion

George Orwell’s essay Politics and the English Language illustrates the trends and changes in the English language that are still relevant today. The author has illustrated how insincerity, vagueness, and unnecessary complexity have become primary tools used in written rhetoric to manipulate ideas either for ideological, semantic, or pragmatic reasons. In order for the negative implications to be mitigated, teaching styles may be altered based on Orwell’s principles. Thus, having more direct and less unclear conversations about the subject with students, encouraging the aim to improve quality over quantity, and using less pretentious language when explaining a topic may be positive changes to the current teaching style. The measures minimize the effect of manipulation of the reader and create an environment in which elegant wording is less valuable compared to the overall meaning of the shared idea. Since Orwell’s essay and the arguments highlighted by the author apply to the trends in rhetoric that are popular nowadays, contributing to a less harmful literature environment in an educational setting is critical.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language.”The Orwell Foundation, 1946, Web.

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Orwell’s Politics and the English Language: Unmasking Language Manipulation

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