The Power of Language 1984 Comparison Essay

Words: 1522
Pages: 7
Open Document
The Power of Language

George Orwell, the writer of many highly regarded literary works, is extremely interested in the power of language, mainly how it is abused. By analyzing two of his works, 1984 and Politics and The English Language, it is clear that Orwell is using his writing to bring awareness to the dangers of the manipulation, misuse, and decline of language. In 1984 he demonstrates how language can be used to control thought and manipulate the past. This is proven throughout the novel by examining the language of Newspeak and how it is key to controlling the totalitarian state, and how using language to alter and manipulate history can shape reality. In his essay Politics and the English Language Orwell …show more content…
He was told to rewrite papers, books, and posters and to change them to something that would better suit the Party’s interests at the time. Orwell described this process “ Day by day almost minute by minute the past was brought up to date. In this way every prediction made by the party could be shown by documentary evidence to have been correct; nor was any item of news, or any expression of opinion, which conflicted with the needs of the moment ever allowed to stay on record.” (42) In this quote Orwell demonstrates the dangers associated with the abuse of language. Writing is a tool that is supposed to open and clear the mind, but when the language is used to do the opposite the consequences can be severe. Using language as a tool to secure power is a scary thought, especially when it blurs the lines between reality and fiction. By getting the Party to alter the past in 1984 Orwell is warning of the potential consequences that could arise when language is misused to alter consciousness and shape reality. In Politics and the English Language Orwell warns of the potential danger of a more dense population due to the decline of language. He claims that English is currently being “abused” and forgetting that all people are different and that everything changes with time, even language itself. Orwell goes onto state “A scrupulous writer, in every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least
Show More

Related Documents: The Power of Language 1984 Comparison Essay

Response to 1984 Essay

101-10017 Essay 2 July 9, 2009 Is Their World Really That Different? 1984 by George Orwell is a novel consisting of a world controlled by a higher power. A world where people live in constant fear of doing or saying something wrong and thoughts can be incriminating. Thoughts of impurity result in disappearance and people are constantly being watched and observed without knowing. Telescreens are everywhere and could constantly be watching every facial expression, abnormal body language and movement…

Words 942 - Pages 4

1984: Nineteen Eighty-four and Orwell Essay

6George Orwell Literature and Totalitarianism I said at the beginning of my first talk that this is not a critical age. It is an age of partisanship and not of detachment, an age in which it is especially difficult to see literary merit in a book with whose conclusions you disagree. Politics — politics in the most general sense — have invaded literature, to an extent that does not normally happen, and this has brought to the surface of our consciousness the struggle that always goes on between…

Words 8315 - Pages 34

Example Research: Critical Discourse Analysis Essay

the way social power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context. With such dissident research, critical discourse analysts take explicit position, and thus want to understand, expose, and ultimately resist social inequality. Some of the tenets of CDA can already be found in the critical theory of the Frankfurt School before the Second World War (Agger 1992b; Rasmussen 1996). Its current focus on language and discourse…

Words 9518 - Pages 39

Seven types Essay

that reason can be applied to explore "expanding possibilities of alternate, multiple, and simultaneous meanings" of ambiguous words used by authors(eNotes, "Seven Types of Ambiguity Essay--Critical Essays: Analysis"). He divides his book into seven different categories of ambiguous meaning: (1) the parts of language used effectively in multiple ways at once; (2) different meanings that can be determined based on the author's one intended meaning; (3) the unconnected meaning that results from word…

Words 2539 - Pages 11

Assignment: Understanding the Business Context of Human Resources (5cbic) Essay

CIPD Level 5 Diploma in Applied Human Resources | Assignment: Understanding the Business Context of Human Resources (5CBIC) | Name: Sian GluckTutor: Tim BatesDate: 29/08/2014 | No. | Understanding the Business Context of Human Resources (5CBIC)Contents: | 1.0 | Compare two different types of organisation and their operational/business purpose (AC:1.1) | 2.0 | Assess how business type and purpose affects the HR Function (AC: 1.2) | 3.0 | Explain how different organisational structures…

Words 2790 - Pages 12

Biography Of Karl Mannheim University Of Sociology Of Education

Stenhouse. 1981-1984 Course Team Consultant, Open University Course E205. 1982-1983 Academic Consultant, BBC/Open University television programme "Organizing to Learn". 1983-1986 English Correspondent, International Mother-Tongue Education Network. 1983-1987 Series Editor "Issues in Education and Training", Falmer Press. 1983-1985 Governor, Elm Grove Middle School, Brighton. 1984 Consultant Case Study Worker, Consultancy in Education Project, University of Queensland. 1984-1986 Co-Director…

Words 5986 - Pages 24

Goldkuhl 2003 1 Essay

8th International Conference on the Language Action Perspective on Communication Modelling (LAP-2003), 1-2 July, 2003, Tilburg, The Netherlands Conversational Analysis as a Theoretical Foundation for Language Action Approaches? Göran Goldkuhl VITS Research Network Department of Computer and Information Science, Linköping University and Jönköping International Business School Sweden ggo@ida.liu.se Abstract Communication modelling approaches within the Language Action Perspective (LAP) are based on…

Words 7936 - Pages 32

Theories Of Internationalization

host companies have the knowledge and experience in the domestic market. The success of the firm depends on producing in the host country instead of exporting goods from the home country. Production through FDI should be considered profitable in comparison to selling, licensing skills or leasing. Source: (Dunning, 1980) According to Anderson (2003), changes in technology more so space shrinking technologies in terms of transport and communication are important in “internationalization of economic…

Words 3571 - Pages 15

Lit Review Essay

American Presidency: A Literature Review A literature review (also known as a literature survey or bibliographic essay) is a common assignment across the disciplines. For more information on how to approach this task, see our handout on Writing Literature Reviews. For over three decades, scholarship on the American presidency has taken place beneath the shadow of Richard Neustadt's Presidential Power [1] , first published in 1960 and periodically updated since that time. Neustadt's book can be seen to…

Words 7064 - Pages 29

Mr Barnaby Bax Essay

Greenblatt et al, eds, The Norton Shakespeare International Student Edition. Second Edition (New York: W. W. Norton & Co, 2008). Ben Jonson, Volpone ed. Brian Parker and David Bevington (Manchester: Revels Student Edition 1999). A good selection of essays is also available at a reasonable price in Russ McDonald (ed.), Shakespeare: An Anthology of Criticism and Theory 1945-2000 (Blackwell, 2004). This book is not a set text, but it is worth considering purchasing it. 1. Aims and objectives of…

Words 9832 - Pages 40