Though it may come as a surprise, many of your opinions on matters originated by propaganda. Propaganda is a means to manipulate an audience in believing information they want their audience to believe. In an effort to bring about the awareness of propaganda, George Orwell in Politics and the English Language, Newman and Genevieve Birk in Selection, Slanting, and Charged Language, as well as D.W. Cross in Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled, explain the various ways in which a targeted audience may succumb to language and logic manipulation.
George Orwell was one of the most famous British writers of the twentieth century who wrote the best-selling books, 1984 and Animal Farm. Orwell believed that, “the way people use language..., is a result of the way they think as well as an important influence on their thought” (Orwell 234). He discovered that there was a decline in the English language that was triggered by political causes that became reinforced (Orwell 244). In an effort to reverse the effects of the decline, he created guidelines on dying metaphors, operators or verbal false limbs, pretentious diction, and meaningless words, to prevent English language users from being incorrect and improper. His guideline on dying metaphors requires that we no longer use metaphors that do not give a vivid image to the receivers (Orwell 237). People have become lazy and unoriginal in coming up with new metaphors and use old metaphors instead of making their own. Another guideline is operators or verbal false limbs. This means that we use larger words in a sentence to make it look better (Orwell 237). When available, it is better to use a smaller word than a larger word or phrase with the same meaning. In addition, it is...
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...l the information that we are told. We must not let propaganda lead our lives, and as said by D.W. Cross, “If we are to be led, let us not be led blindly, but critically, intelligently, with our eyes open” (Cross 193).
Works Cited
Birk, Newman P. and Genevieve B. Birk. "Selection, Slanting, and Charged Language." Escholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa and Virginia Clark. Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's, 2013. 223-231. Print.
Cross, D.W. "Propaganda; How Not to Be Bamboozled." Mackillop, James and Donna Woolfolk Cross. Speaking of Words; A Language Reader. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982. 184-193. Print.
Orwell, George. "Politics and the English Language." Escholz, Paul, Alfred Rosa and Virginia Clark. Language Awareness: Readings for College Writers. 11th. Boston: Bedford St. Martin's, 2013. 234-244. Print.
In the essay “From Ancient Greece to Iraq, the Power of Words in Wartime” by Robin Tolmach Lakoff, Lakoff discusses the fact that words are a tool as well when it comes to wars. She talks about the differences between our natural want and ability to kill things, and the mental training soldiers receive to make it easier for them. Lakoff talks about the practice of dehumanizing the “enemy” through nicknames that make us feel superior then our foes, and the repercussions of using this type of language. In the essay by George Orwell, “Politics and the English Language”, Orwell talks about the decay of the English language, especially in political writings. He discusses the fact that when it comes to writing, political being the main focus, it’s
A dying metaphor is something that has lost its meaning from its overuse. Instead of creating a metaphor which fits with the point that they author is trying to convey, they instead insert a metaphor which is commonly used to the point where it has almost no meaning. According to Orwell, these are bad English because, “a writer who stopped to think what he was saying would avoid perverting the original phrase” (3). Examples of dying metaphor usage can be found in media articles today. Some of the dying metaphors used in the CNN article “Little time left to turn down the world’s heat, U.N. says” are, “lock ourselves into” and “paint a very different world” (Smith, Miller, 2). The metaphors that are used make no sense in relation the article. The phrase “...
Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, showcases a world alternate from ours, a dystopian setting. Where human morals are drastically altered, families, love, history, and art are removed by the government. They used multiple methods to control the people, but no method in the world state is more highly used and more effective than propaganda. The world state heavily implemented the use of propaganda to control, to set morals, and to condition the minds of every citizen in their world. However such uses of propaganda have already been used in our world and even at this very moment. The way the media sways us how to think or how we should feel about a given situation. Often covering the truth and hiding the facts. One of the goals in propaganda is to set the mindset of the people to align with the goal of a current power, such as a
“Propaganda means any attempt to persuade anyone to a belief or to form an action. We live our lives surrounded by propaganda; we create enormous amounts of it ourselves; and we f...
One of the most essential ways in which feelings are expressed by humans is through language. Without language people are merely robotic figures that can not express their thoughts because language is in fact thought. When this speech is taken away through complete governmental power, a portion of human nature is also taken away. In 1984, due to totalitarianism, language has begun to transform into a poor representation of humanity and natural human expression. Orwell states, “But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.” In the novel, a new language, Newspeak, has emerged. Newspeak has drastically limited the vocabulary of the English language
In the book, Propaganda, author Edward L Bernays, who is nephew of Sigmund Freud, transcends the public relation industry. This short, 13-part instructional manual delves deep into the intricacies and usage of propaganda. Bernays claims that the public is in a constant state of manipulation. He argues that in order for a society to be highly functioning and stable, public opinion must be manipulated and swayed. While I find his claims disturbing, it was refreshing to read something so blunt. Bernays’ use of psychological techniques to work the mechanics of public opinion truly classifies him as the “father of public relations.”
Howe, Tom. "George Orwell." British Writers Volume VII. Ed. Ian Scott-Kilvert. New York: Scribner, 1984. 273-287.
What does the word propaganda really mean? For most of us we assume that it is a word for negativity use. Just to assure those that think of propaganda as a negative word. Propaganda does have a positive objective if used correctly. The word propaganda is defined in a few different ways, But in the most general usage, it varies from bad to good persuasion of our minds. It is used during election time to our daily lives on television to our newspaper stands. According to Donna Cross’s essay, “Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled,” there are thirteen different types of propaganda; this paper will discuss six varieties. George W. Bush and Dick Cheney used primarily every sort of propaganda to influence the citizens; therefore, our national society needs to develop awareness in the propaganda used by such politicians so that they can make wise decisions intelligently.
Downs, Doug. "Literacy, Discourse, and Linguistics." Writing About Writing: A College Reader. By Elizabeth A. Wardle. Boston: Bedford/St. Martins, 2011. 520-33, 581-594. Print.
The established definition for Propaganda is “ideas, facts, or allegations spread deliberately to further one's cause or to damage an opposing cause” according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Hence, the idea of propaganda has been used since the competition of mankind. It is the manip...
Birk, Newman. “Selection,Slanting,and Charged Language.” Language Awarness:Reading for College Writers.Ed Paul Escholz, Alfred Rosa, and Virginia Clark. 11th ed. Boston:Bedford, 2013. 223-31. Print
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language.” George Orwell: Critical Essays. London: Harvill Secker: 2009. 270-286. Print.
From any corner in the world you will be surrounded by propaganda: in the streets, in your house, even when you’re driving. Propaganda appears in many forms but I personally believe it to be the shaping of public beliefs, in which communication is used with the intention of manipulating. In short, propaganda is the art of brainwash. This form of art has been going for many centuries and has played an important role in the history of art, especially during the 20th century in which propaganda was used to persuade people to join the military service or to stand for their countries during wartime. At that time the objective was only one, nowadays there is more than one objective; how does propaganda influence the way 21st century society pre-establishes ideas and makes contradictions within taboos such as tattoos, marijuana and sexuality?
George Orwell’s essay, Politics and the English Language, first published in 1946, talks about some “bad habits”, which have driven the English language in the wrong direction, that is, away from communicating ideas. In his essay he quotes five passages, each from a different author, which embody the faults he is talking about. He lists dying metaphors, operators, pretentious diction, and meaningless words as things to look out for in your own writing and the writing of others (593-595). He talks about political uses of the English language. Our language has become ugly and the ugliness impedes upon communication. Ugly uses of language have been reinforced and passed down in the population “even among people who should and do know better,” (598). Ugly language has been gaining ground in our population by a positive feedback mechanism.
Toma, C. L., & Hancock, J. T. (2012). What lies beneath: The linguistic traces of deception in