Peter Elbow Essay
The understanding of writing today is very different than the understanding of it in the past, it is constantly changing daily as people change due to experiences and events. Language and writing are the communication between human beings, either spoken or written. Peter Elbow addresses writing in his book Writing with Power, as having “magic” within each word. Slang has developed within writing and language adapting to the current generation, this allows it to change generation to generation. Peter Elbow and Orwell’s give examples about the decline of language and the understanding of writing as a magical endeavor. Although, throughout the years the language people have used to communicate has become more simplified, the language has not declined as language only changes as it…show more content… According to the dictionary, language is literally described as, “the words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community;” however, language is so much more than this definition (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary). A person’s language is the way unique ideas and meaningful thoughts are put into words. However, the true thoughts and emotions comprised in a person’s brain cannot always be expressed through words and this is when the importance of writing is embraced and becomes a reality. Writing is a powerful way for true, deep feelings of a person to come to life.
The difference between the perception of Orwell and Peter Elbow on language is that Peter Elbow believes that writing is accurate; whereas, Orwell believes language is the opposite. Orwell says that language is “ugly, inaccurate and in decline” (Orwell). Writing is supposed to be accurate, but our culture and society has made
