Orwell and Language

If Orwell's rules for good writing in "Politics and the English Language" are compared and contrasted with those of another essayist--one who respects Orwell, in fact--it will become apparent that, instead of being iron-clad, such rules are general guidelines to clarity and good diction. Orwell's own writing, albeit a narrative essay produced before "Politics and the English Language," together with Sander's "The Singular First Person," will provide valuable insights into the circumstances under which one might get away with certain prose flourishes.

Orwell's argument that language has become a political tool is based on his assumption that political powers have a stake in preserving the status quo, in all of its orthodoxy, and, "Orthodoxy, of whatever colour [political persuasion], seems to demand a lifeless, imitative style

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ved his writing in ten years, and examples from "Politics and the English Language" are scarce. When he attributes decadence to bad language, Orwell comes close to using an abstraction (decadence) to defend his stance that language is deteriorating. In "Politics and the English Language," he states, "The whole tendency of modern prose is away from concreteness" (270). His own use of "prose" for "writing," and the use of an abstract concept (decadence) undermine his attempt to be concrete; even so, it is the attempt to free oneself from bad writing which is Orwell's intent, and being human, he can only go so far. In an essay, the human voice, the singular "I," will, and should, be apparent. In "The Singular First Person," Scott Russell Sanders notes that the essay, as adapted by Montaigne, is a trial or attempt; thus, we can excuse Orwell, and any writer, if he or she sometimes strays from the cause of good writing. Sanders observes that "often new statements [contradict] the original ones" (701). He goes on to state that Montaigne let them stand, "since he believed that the only consistent fact about human beings is their inconsistency" (701). Orwell would probably not have as much tolerance for human foibles (or writing t
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Russell Sanders, Shooting Elephant, Roland Barthes, FLQ October, Singular Person, Thomas Harrison's, English Language, Field Stream, Language Orwell, Elephant Latin, english language, politics english, politics english language, shooting elephant, bad writing, singular person, british imperialism, essay politics, war measures act, ww norton, rpt norton, rpt norton reader, norton company, speech nation flq, reader shorter 8th,
Approximate Word count = 2303
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)