Reality vs. Appearance according to Orwell and Machiavelli
These authors have different opinions on the way that ordinary people should be informed of what is going to happen in the everyday life of ordinary citizens. George Orwell's “Politics and the English Language” says that “English is in a bad way” (Orwell 28) because the ruling government wants their citizens to think that by writing and speaking in a deceptive way the ruling class can control what the ordinary people believe is happening to their lives. Niccolo Machiavelli's “The Prince” language says that not only does the ruling class need to control the subjects thinking they also need to mask or hide what is really going by making it hard for the people to understand what the ruling class is saying or doing. Have you ever tried to understand a new law that you are voting on? The language in the “new” law, that the government is trying to pass, is so complex and hard to understand that you have to read 4 or 5 pages of translation and rebuttals because they make the language sound complex so that you can't just read the “new” law and understand what it means to the public. This is done intentionally so that when voting, people will not understand what they are voting for or against. As citizens, the public has the right to know how the language of deception influences the government and media and how it effects today's society.
Orwell states that you need to come to the point quickly without writing words or phrases that imply one idea and mean something else. Using these words or phrases are meant to confuse or hide the true meanings of the statements. Machiavelli writes that confusing statements are what might be necessary to make a bad situation better and not to wo...
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...gainst. At the same time, hasn't that what has happened in the United States recently? There are so many laws being enacted that Americans don't have time to do things that they want to do. How far have we really come since Machiavelli's or Orwell's time? Living in this time, people still don't know what is going on in their own town or State and we still don't really know what the Government or the Media is saying.
Works Cited
(1) Machiavelli, Niccolo “The Prince” English 1A: Section 43199. N.P.:McGraw-Hill, 2013.(18-27). Print.
(2) Orwell, George “Politics and the English Language” English 1A: Section 43199. N.P.:McGraw-Hill, 2013.(28-37). Print.
(3) "Realism, Political." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 7. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 96-97. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 25 Mar. 2014.
...ng thought really drives home Orwell’s point that if we allow totalitarianism it will overwhelm anyone and drive out any concept of free will. This world Orwell creates casts light on the psychological manipulation in totalitarian societies that leads to so many other infringements of human nature such as the ability to think for oneself and form your own opinions. This novel does not apply to today’s geopolitical state, however at the time of its original publication it was a great weapon in the fight against Communism.
Orwell, George. “Politics and the English Language.” George Orwell: Critical Essays. London: Harvill Secker: 2009. 270-286. Print.
Orwell’s article on the English language is on point because it defines how people have become lazy in how they communicate with each other. This type of “slovenliness” is part of the problem in terms of why the English language is often misused by the speaker: “The slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts” (Orwell para.2). Due to the speaker’s laziness, the language becomes confused, and the person begins having “foolish thoughts” that do not have very good accuracy. This mental process is one way that Orwell defines the importance of language as a tool for clarity of thought, which is important when conveying a message to another person or group of people. Certainly, this is an
Orwell argues that society is completely oblivious to the constraint that is involved in every day life. There is no individual in society and that everyone remains the same. “Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought?” (46) Not only does a limiting of words show society that by controlling methods of co...
In the essay, George Orwell –the author –makes a well-thought out argument about the deterioration of the English language and the careless manner in which it is used in politics. Among the many mistakes and offenses made within English language Orwell lists, the writer argues against the use of pretentious diction, which is the use of excessive or unnecessary (and incorrect) words used in place of more simple words. Orwell contends that pretentious diction is especially harmful to English politics (and the English language, in general), because the political terminology and jargon that is used makes writing difficult to interpret, vague, and slovenly. Orwell also explains how different words may mean different things to different people and how important it is to use simple, concrete words so as to communicate the correct message to other
Despite the warnings of Orwell through both his essay and dystopian novel, bad English is still used today, and could be argued to affect more English than it did during Orwell’s life. The consequences are also just as he predicted, those who control the language are able to wield control over the thoughts of others. The usage of poor quality English by media has he effect of making the recipients of news more detached from events and as a consequence, more self-focused. The clumsiness and foolishness imposed by bad English ultimately degrading thought, politics, culture, and society is what Orwell had foretold. This is the English tragedy that is disregarded, modern thoughts of “English” are not of language but of the English Queen.
In life, when a close friend adopts a quirk in their speech, such as saying “like” a lot, sometimes people can catch themselves accidentally saying “like” more than before. This change in speech makes what the person is saying seem like certain due to “like” traditionally be used to approximate. Over time, this has the potential to make the speaker thoughts to become less confident. Orwell is explaining that this is what is happening with bad habits in the English language on a much grander scale.
Orwell also felt the use of foreign phrases was irrelevant by saying: “There is no real need for any of the hundreds of foreign phrases now current in the English language.” The use of foreign phrases and scientific jargon causes the wr...
In society today for the most part, people are free to speak freely, connect with friends and family and stay in touch with what’s happening in everywhere. It’s not unusual think that everyone enjoys the same rights and privileges but in reality this is not so; in some parts of the world speaking one’s mind could result in death, broadcast agencies are forced to have their reports approved and leaders strategize wars and alliances like seasoned chess players. This might all sound very disheartening but is in fact tame compared to the literacy works and ideas conjured up by English author George Orwell in his novel 1984 which depicts fictional life under the cruel and all seeing “Big Brother” regime of futuristic London. During his lifetime growing up with the examples of a Soviet Union and Nazi Germany and later through his military experiences, Orwell witnessed firsthand how easily people could be manipulated and the truth become twisted. It is for this reason that George Orwell’s novel 1984 is an important work of literature because it discusses timeless themes like democracy, censorship, and politics which have all remained highly debated topics in society today.
decades, what we call module verbs. These are verbs like can, must, will, shall, etc.…’”’ (Rosen & Arts 1). First, the language used by Orwell’s society recognized as Newspeak, which is just the English language but simpler by cutting out the complicated vocabulary and making up new words that sound childish, is just simply a rubbish or slang version of English. The way they cut out complicated words in English trying to make it simpler resembles how the government’s ruling is not complicated at the least and they try to avoid this factor by being simpler in their ways of carrying out orders or propagandas. By cutting out words from the English language instead of expanding, this resembles an imaginary barrier made of the toughest substances,
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.
Based on the two essays, George Orwell is a vivid writer who uses a unique point of view and strong themes of pride and role playing to convey his messages. His writings are easy to pick out because of the strengths of these messages. Just like politicians in government, people with power turn corrupt to stay in power and keep their reputations. Anyone who takes on power must be prepared to live with the consequences of his actions. Orwell knows this challenge well and conveys this principle in his writing. After all, his narration is based on real life experiences and not fictional fantasies.
Orwell highlights how powerful the use of language and propaganda can be when used to control society. One of the first times ...
Realism is one of the important perspectives on global politics, it is a notion about the conservative society and political philosophy (Heywood 2011: 54; Shimko 2013: 36). Besides, Gilpin (1996) claims that “realism…, it is not a scientific theory that is subject to the test of falsifiability, therefore, cannot be proved and disproved.” (Frankel 1996: xiii). The components of the realist approach to international relations will be discussed.
Kaufman, D., Parker, J., Howell P., Doty, G., (2004). Six Principles of Political Realism. In Understanding International Relations: The Value of Alternative Lenses. Morgenthau, H. J.; New York: McGraw-Hill.