Rhamses Lo
English-1
Orwell: Human Imperfection and Sainthood
There are many different ways to live life. This much is known with no uncertainty. How each individual chooses to live life; however, is the real question that one must ponder in one’s journey. One’s decision not only affects one’s own journey, but the courses of others as well. In the passage from George Orwell’s remark about Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Orwell criticizes Gandhi’s values and beliefs and as well as advocates his own position. Orwell does this through using several rhetorical strategies that question the meaning of being human and indicate that “human imperfection” should be chosen over sainthood. Orwell introduces his remark …show more content…
As he claims that Gandhi 's belief on the lengthening of life is “noble” but, in which “[he] thinks… most people” would agree, is “inhuman”. In this quote, Orwell tries to sway his audience into agreeing with his position of choosing “imperfection” over sainthood. By stating the phrase “most people”, Orwell establishes a sound numerical argument, depicting that the majority of the public would side with him in saying that Gandhi’s view of not wanting to use medicine, a word that Gandhi refers to as “animal food”, to save lives is inhumane. Orwell’s opposing view is logically explained in that if one has the power to save another’s life, one should put that power to use. And that essentially, not using that power is the same as killing the ones in need of it. In this quote, Orwell chooses to include the word “inhuman”, a word that brings up a controversial topic which gives rise to many different emotions such as hate and fear. The reference to these two words trigger strong negative connotations that give off a palpable aura of disparity and hopelessness. Orwell intentionally does this in an attempt to force individuals, once more, to question the ways of life and humanity …show more content…
The first, living life as an imperfect human, or the second, living life as a saint. However, Orwell is mindful in resolving the possibility of this undesirable emotion enclosed within his listener’s mind by giving one final reason to pick the life of an imperfect human, rather than that of the other. As he states, the “inevitable price” of “[loving] other human individuals” is that one must be “prepared… to be defeated and broken up by life,” for that is human imperfection. Through this quote, Orwell’s inclusion of the word “inevitable” explains that being hurt is a feeling no one can avoid, and that being hurt is part of being human. Here, Orwell exploits every human’s weakness--love, an emotion that all humans feel. The idea of love and human intimacy with one’s significant other and close relatives completely contradicts the life of sainthood, which proclaims that “one cannot give one’s preference to any individual person.” With this statement, Orwell has swayed his readers again in the direction of choosing the life of imperfection over sainthood. And although his views of the choices are obvious, Orwell is careful in his statement that he does not make the decisions for his audience, but that he wants individuals to really decide and choose for themselves the path they want to live. Orwell does this by including the words “defeated” and “broken”, creating a change in tone that
English-1
Orwell: Human Imperfection and Sainthood
There are many different ways to live life. This much is known with no uncertainty. How each individual chooses to live life; however, is the real question that one must ponder in one’s journey. One’s decision not only affects one’s own journey, but the courses of others as well. In the passage from George Orwell’s remark about Gandhi’s autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, Orwell criticizes Gandhi’s values and beliefs and as well as advocates his own position. Orwell does this through using several rhetorical strategies that question the meaning of being human and indicate that “human imperfection” should be chosen over sainthood. Orwell introduces his remark …show more content…
As he claims that Gandhi 's belief on the lengthening of life is “noble” but, in which “[he] thinks… most people” would agree, is “inhuman”. In this quote, Orwell tries to sway his audience into agreeing with his position of choosing “imperfection” over sainthood. By stating the phrase “most people”, Orwell establishes a sound numerical argument, depicting that the majority of the public would side with him in saying that Gandhi’s view of not wanting to use medicine, a word that Gandhi refers to as “animal food”, to save lives is inhumane. Orwell’s opposing view is logically explained in that if one has the power to save another’s life, one should put that power to use. And that essentially, not using that power is the same as killing the ones in need of it. In this quote, Orwell chooses to include the word “inhuman”, a word that brings up a controversial topic which gives rise to many different emotions such as hate and fear. The reference to these two words trigger strong negative connotations that give off a palpable aura of disparity and hopelessness. Orwell intentionally does this in an attempt to force individuals, once more, to question the ways of life and humanity …show more content…
The first, living life as an imperfect human, or the second, living life as a saint. However, Orwell is mindful in resolving the possibility of this undesirable emotion enclosed within his listener’s mind by giving one final reason to pick the life of an imperfect human, rather than that of the other. As he states, the “inevitable price” of “[loving] other human individuals” is that one must be “prepared… to be defeated and broken up by life,” for that is human imperfection. Through this quote, Orwell’s inclusion of the word “inevitable” explains that being hurt is a feeling no one can avoid, and that being hurt is part of being human. Here, Orwell exploits every human’s weakness--love, an emotion that all humans feel. The idea of love and human intimacy with one’s significant other and close relatives completely contradicts the life of sainthood, which proclaims that “one cannot give one’s preference to any individual person.” With this statement, Orwell has swayed his readers again in the direction of choosing the life of imperfection over sainthood. And although his views of the choices are obvious, Orwell is careful in his statement that he does not make the decisions for his audience, but that he wants individuals to really decide and choose for themselves the path they want to live. Orwell does this by including the words “defeated” and “broken”, creating a change in tone that