Summary of “Politics and the English Language” by George Orwell
Orwell immediately addresses his concern for the decline in the English language. He calls it “ugly” and “stale.” This decline in language induces “foolish” thinking, which, in turn, leads to more ugly language. It is a vicious cycle. However, Orwell suggests that this is a reversible process, considering there is enough people willing to get the job done. He then goes on to explain exactly what the “ugly” modern language is. It is boring, stale, and deficient in both imagery and accuracy. The modern English language is composed of these crippling elements: “dying metaphors,” “operators or verbal false limbs,” pretentious diction,” and “meaningless words.” In short, this means …show more content…
More specifically, how race impacts writing and writing as a language. It is about a minority man who refuses to write about minority problems and is trying to find his place in the writing world. Bolina details his life growing up as a “brown” but privileged boy in America. He was raised “like a white guy,” although his skin contradicts that. The “Other” races in America are expected to be assimilated into the white culture. Most people become accustomed to this and other white people say that race does not phase them, however, Bolina does not agree. Race is too much of a consideration when it comes to class that it cannot possibly be nonexistent. As a result, this affect the way people read the language from the minorities in America. Bolina’s own father recognized this and told him to write under a white man’s name in replace of his own because he will better have a better chance at succeeding. Either that, or he could write about minority problems, which he was comprehensively against. Despite all of this, Bolina realizes that the English language is what you make it. It is not an identity but rather a tool that creates stories and passes on personal …show more content…
There are so many rules to follow, and yet, we still find ourselves choosing the more unique and rebellious pieces over the practical and reasonable ones. We crave the occasional stray away from precedent guidelines. It reminds us that there is more out there than just boring texts that lack meaning and imagination and that words are more than just symbols used to fill up empty space on a piece of paper. Good writing is more than just mixing around a bundle of large and irrelevant words to create a nearly incomprehensible set of ideas. It is more than the color of the writer’s skin, or his gender, political views, or sexual identity. A good writer uses language as a tool to express his originality and ideas. That is all good writing is about. It’s not about who can sound the most intelligent by using the most scientific words possible, or writing about a specific experience or issue because of a racial background because that’s what everyone expects you to do. As Jaswinder Bolina said it, good writing is about “whether I choose to pound on the crooked nail of race or gender, self or Other, whether I decide on some obscure subject while forgoing the other obvious one, when I write, the hammer belongs to me” (193). A good writer chooses his own path to create those unique and original texts we all cannot
Orwell immediately addresses his concern for the decline in the English language. He calls it “ugly” and “stale.” This decline in language induces “foolish” thinking, which, in turn, leads to more ugly language. It is a vicious cycle. However, Orwell suggests that this is a reversible process, considering there is enough people willing to get the job done. He then goes on to explain exactly what the “ugly” modern language is. It is boring, stale, and deficient in both imagery and accuracy. The modern English language is composed of these crippling elements: “dying metaphors,” “operators or verbal false limbs,” pretentious diction,” and “meaningless words.” In short, this means …show more content…
More specifically, how race impacts writing and writing as a language. It is about a minority man who refuses to write about minority problems and is trying to find his place in the writing world. Bolina details his life growing up as a “brown” but privileged boy in America. He was raised “like a white guy,” although his skin contradicts that. The “Other” races in America are expected to be assimilated into the white culture. Most people become accustomed to this and other white people say that race does not phase them, however, Bolina does not agree. Race is too much of a consideration when it comes to class that it cannot possibly be nonexistent. As a result, this affect the way people read the language from the minorities in America. Bolina’s own father recognized this and told him to write under a white man’s name in replace of his own because he will better have a better chance at succeeding. Either that, or he could write about minority problems, which he was comprehensively against. Despite all of this, Bolina realizes that the English language is what you make it. It is not an identity but rather a tool that creates stories and passes on personal …show more content…
There are so many rules to follow, and yet, we still find ourselves choosing the more unique and rebellious pieces over the practical and reasonable ones. We crave the occasional stray away from precedent guidelines. It reminds us that there is more out there than just boring texts that lack meaning and imagination and that words are more than just symbols used to fill up empty space on a piece of paper. Good writing is more than just mixing around a bundle of large and irrelevant words to create a nearly incomprehensible set of ideas. It is more than the color of the writer’s skin, or his gender, political views, or sexual identity. A good writer uses language as a tool to express his originality and ideas. That is all good writing is about. It’s not about who can sound the most intelligent by using the most scientific words possible, or writing about a specific experience or issue because of a racial background because that’s what everyone expects you to do. As Jaswinder Bolina said it, good writing is about “whether I choose to pound on the crooked nail of race or gender, self or Other, whether I decide on some obscure subject while forgoing the other obvious one, when I write, the hammer belongs to me” (193). A good writer chooses his own path to create those unique and original texts we all cannot