Essay: George Orwell, Politics and the English Language, 1946

Orwell’s thesis acknowledges how writers use degraded and inaccurate language to express a thought. The modern form of English writing contains unnecessary elements, ultimately degrading the quality of a written text.  Furthermore, Orwell specifically explains the pretentious diction and meaningless words used in writing. Though Orwell’s thesis is evident throughout the passage, he does not explicitly state his thesis. However, by critiquing modern writing, Orwell challenges readers to decipher the hidden meaning of his words.
“A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks…It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts”(Orwell, paragraph 2). Orwell’s analogy of alcohol abuse to the demise of language provides a vivid, logical, and philosophical viewpoint . He expresses the imperfections of alcohol abuse and the English language as an understandable analogy of the current situation regarding the language. He describes English as a chain reaction; similar to alcohol, which may provide temporary relief, but it will lead to more difficult problems. Orwell essentially warns readers how the English language has been butchered for far too long that it will be difficult to revert it to before. However, Orwell concludes positively, ensuring readers of the possibilities of improving language. Orwell successfully compares alcohol abuse and the demise of the English language, giving the message that humankind is capable of correcting its footprint as long as effort is put in.
A. Paragraph 9:  Simile- “phrases tacked together look like the sections of a prefabricated hen-house” (Orwell, paragraph 9). Orwell’s use of this phrase is rhetorically effective because it emphasizes how writers fail to communicate in a proper manner due to overused phrases. By comparing the two, he shows how both of them require no effort as they have already been “established.”
B. Paragraph 10: Metaphor- “there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power(Orwell, paragraph 10). By comparing to a dump, Orwell implies that metaphors are equal to trash or worn out.
C.  Paragraph 18: Simile- “an accumulation of stale phrases chokes him like tea leaves blocking a sink”(Orwell, paragraph 18). Orwell’s originality shines as he compares how stale phrases in writing make a block in the overall message.
D. Paragraph 21: Simile- “A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outline and covering up all the details.” (Orwell, paragraph 21). Orwell emphasizes that grammar plays a crucial role in effectively communicating the overall message.
E. Paragraph 22: Simile- “his words, like cavalry horses answering the bugle, group themselves automatically into the familiar dreary pattern”(Orwell, paragraph 22). The device is not rhetorically effective because readers confuse themselves in the complexity of the metaphor.
Dying Metaphors. A newly invented metaphor assists thought by evoking a visual image,
while on the other hand a metaphor which is technically ‘dead’ has in effect reverted to
an ordinary word and can generally be used without loss of vividness. But in between
these two classes there is a huge dump of worn out metaphors which have lost all
evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing
phrases for themselves. Many of these are used without knowledge of their meaning, and
incompatible metaphors are frequently mixed, a sure sign that the writer that the writer is
not interested in what he is saying. Some metaphors now current have been twisted out of
their original meaning without those who use them even being aware of the fact.
“The writer knows more or less what he wants to say, but an accumulation of stale phrases chokes him like tea leaves blocking a sink”(Orwell, paragraph 18). By removing the extensive examples in paragraphs 5,6,7, or 8 weaken Orwell’s overall argument, lose the credibility of Orwell, and the logic to his argument. By mentioning the “mental vices from which we now suffer”(Orwell, paragraph 5), readers frame their perspective in alignment with Orwell. Additionally, the points explained in paragraph 9 explain the central theme – how “the work of prose construction is habitually doged”(Orwell, paragraph 9). Examples Orwell chose to include built the foundation of Orwell’s argument.
Orwell chose to put the information in footnotes rather than in the main text primarily because if they were removed, the text would leave the paragraphs blank as they are just examples. However, by using the footnotes within the examples, his arguments are concise and comprehensible to his main point. They serve to clarify and expand in his ideas. Footnotes as opposed to placing the additional information in the body of the essay as would be best because if put in the body, it would blur the main focus of Orwell’s essay.
Orwell’s ethical appeal, ethos, established by the immense use of example; rather than the vague nature in writing, Orwell directly focuses on the central claim. Additionally, the formal tone and the raise for awareness enhances Orwell’s ethos throughout the piece.
Coherently, Orwell’s organization transitions from examples of the reason of his claim to what to and not to do. He starts the piece with a few introductory paragraphs, later listing 5 passages which apply to his claim, and advises how English writers at a high calibur should write; he speaks on 4 distinct points: Dying Metaphor, Operator or Verbal False Limbs, Pretentious Diction, and Meaningless Words.
During WWII, propaganda was used to stress both points, and their propaganda appeal to pathos through their words. Specifically, Orwell’s purpose was to inform the “bad habits” writing has in politics because the lack of thinking of proper words. The historical context of post WWII was to argue how Nazi and US propaganda and the use of words affected the overall purpose.
While Orwell’s tone varies across the piece, the goal is constant – how wording affects language and writing. Though Orwell’s overall tone is cautious and agitated, Orwell originally expresses how the “vagueness and sheer incompetence is the most marked characteristic of modern English prose”(Orwell, paragraph 9). However, after ridiculing the foolery of modern English, his tone shifts to optimistic and how “the point[of the piece] is that the process is reversible”(Orwell, paragraph 2). Shifting from a agitated tone to a cautious and optimistic tone strengthens Orwell’s overall message.