Orwell: "Politics and the English Language"

1. What is Orwell’s thesis? Does he actually state it, or is it implied?

“Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.” It is not just about the admen.

2. How effective is Orwell’s analogy of the cause and effect of alcohol abuse to the demise of language (para. 2)?

“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 is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. 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.”

This comment is effective because it directly compares the effects of alcohol to our untidy use of the English language.  

3. In each of the following paragraphs — paragraphs 4, 5, 12, 15, and 16 — Orwell uses at least one metaphor or simile. Identify each figure of speech. Then explain how it works and whether you find it rhetorically effective.

Paragraph 4: “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.”

This simile explains how the tea leaves are the writer’s words and when there are meaningless phrases which means the writer won’t successfully get people to understand the main purpose of his/her text.

4. Orwell develops his ideas through extensive use of examples. Try rewriting paragraph 5, 6, 7, or 8 without examples. How does the effect of the paragraph change?

To remove any examples from the text would leave the paragraphs blank because they are entirely made up of examples. Orwell uses these examples to support his arguments and by removing them, it would leave his arguments too vague and we would not be able to comprehend his main point.

5. What is the purpose of the additional information provided in Orwell’s footnotes for paragraphs 7 and 8? Why do you think Orwell chose to put the information in footnotes rather than in the main text?

His footnote is used as his citation of where he found his evidence. He chose to place it at the end because putting in his text would most likely distract the reader and he would not to be able to portray his main argument clearly.

6. Orwell wrote this essay before he was well known for his novels. He uses the first person, yet he does not directly state his qualifications to speak on language. How does he establish ethos? Should he have been more direct?

Orwell establishes ethos by using a formal tone and showing his knowledge and awareness in the English language throughout his essay.

7. How would you describe the overall organization of this essay? Examine its movement, from the examples in the opening to the rules in the ending.

Overall the organization of this essay is very well put together. He starts off with the examples at the begging to show what he is trying to claim. And throughout the text he supports it with examples of what to and not to do. Overall it is very coherent.

8. What is Orwell’s purpose in writing this essay? How might the historical context of post–World War II affect that purpose? Cite specific passages to support your response.

Orwell’s purpose in writing this essay is to inform the “bad habits” of writing in politics, because of the lack of thinking their words through, and how Political writers declined the value of the English language to mislead people. The purpose of the historical context of post – World War II is for him to argue that the Nazi Propaganda affected his purpose.  

9. How would you describe the tone of Orwell’s essay? Can you sum it up in one word, or does the essay range from one tone to another? Cite specific passages to support your response.

Orwell uses a formal tone in his essay. Because he is arguing his claim, throughout most of his essay, the formal/informative tone does not change.

Blue Highways Work

Rhetorical Summary

European and Native American author William Least Heat Moon, in his narrative, Blue Highways, published in the late 20th century; address the topic of preserving old cultural beliefs and through traditions. He supports his claim by interviewing a Hopi, Kendrick Fritz, exploring the nation’s back roads, and discovering himself throughout his journey. Moon's purpose is to show others that there are many different kinds of people in this world and how this journey has had an influence on the shaping of his outlook on life and himself. He adopts a informative tone for his audience and those interested in the topic of the importance of culture and preserving tradition.

                                                                        -William Least Heat-Moon from Blue Highways

Voice Lesson

Consider:

“Creaking open and pinching toes and fingers to check for frostbite, I counted to ten (twice) before shouting and leaping for my clothes. Shouting distracts the agony. Underwear, trousers, and shirt so cold they felt wet.” (102, A, 1)

                                                                        -William Least Heat-Moon from Blue Highways

What literary device is Least Heat Moon using? How is he using it?

Least Heat Moon is using imagery, he uses it by describing how he tries checking his body for frostbite and how cold it really is by saying, “Underwear, trousers, and shirt so cold they felt wet.” (102,A,1).

Would the passage change if you take out “(twice)”?

The passage would change but not drastically. Putting in the word “twice” is just trying to tell the reader how cold it is. Heat-Moon is just trying to make sure he doesn't have frostbite before moving or doing physical activity.

Would the passage change if you switch the word agony for pain?

Yes, the passage would change because pain is just physical suffering or distress, while agony is extreme or prolonged physical pain. You can tell the significant difference between the words and how they would change the meaning of the passage.

Apply:

Make a sentence using plenty of detail of an agonizing situation.

While the dog’s keen teeth went right through my flesh I screeched in affliction.

Multiple Choice Question

“Creaking open and pinching toes and fingers to check for frostbite, I counted to ten (twice) before shouting and leaping for my clothes. Shouting distracts the agony. Underwear, trousers, and shirt so cold they felt wet.” (102, A, 1)

                                                                        -William Least Heat-Moon from Blue Highways

The speaker’s purpose in the passage is to show _____ EXCEPT

A)     Imagery

B)      How he is handling  his situation

C)      His motives for staying there the night

D)     The agony he is suffering from the weather

The answer would be C because in this passage he shows imagery, how he is handling the situation (how he checks for frostbite), and his agony from the weather: “shouting distracts the agony” (102, A, 1).  

Examples

“Ayman al-Zawahiri, deputy to Osama bin Laden, spoke for more than an hour and a half about the need to press on with the fight against the "Zionist crusader project" and to coalesce around the efforts of the insurgent group al-Qaeda in Iraq.”-Washington Post

“Seeking a charismatic, youthful and unrepentant champion who also holds traditional GOP views on foreign and economic policy, many leading figures in the conservative movement have begun to coalesce around Cruz, 43, as their best shot at elevating a fellow hard-liner.” - Washington Post

“What more proof do we need of the decadence of the Western governing class?”-Washington Post

“I don’t know who the true God is, if he is Jew, Muslim, Christian or someone else, but he is definitely disgusted by the malevolence and decadence of His –what should have been- perfect creation, humanity.” –CNN

“La Sylphide...exemplary, among the finest achievements in this company’s history.” Los Angeles Times

“Save room for these exemplary hotel restaurants” – CNN

“The Dow is having its best winning streak since November 1996 -- less than a month before Greenspan uttered the now infamous "irrational exuberance" phrase.” – CNN

“What these researchers wanted to know is whether traders’ neurology makes bubbles bubble or, put another way, whether there’s something going on in the brain that controls their “irrational exuberance,” the term made famous by former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan.” – Washington post

“Because of the changes that Congress made in Section 702, the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board reported that the volume of untargeted collection — and incidental U.S. content within it — have grown exponentially.” – Washington Post

“However, if the campaign activity is "incidental" to the official trip, the expense doesn't need to be split up. In this case, Landrieu's Senate office picked up the whole cost of the trip.” – CNN

“The trust fund for Social Security disability benefits, which is separate from the fund for retirement benefits, is on track to be insolvent -- most likely by the end of 2016 but no later than 2017.” - CNN

“WASHINGTON -- The nation's Social Security and Medicare programs are sliding closer to insolvency, the federal government warned Monday in a new report underscoring the fiscal challenges facing the two mammoth retirement programs as baby boomers begin to retire.” - L.A. Times

          “On the one hand, he was very philanthropic, on the other hand he was very parsimonious.” – CNN

“In domestic legislation, Mr. Jacobs, who served in a district representing parts of Indianapolis, called himself a “parsimonious progressive” who sometimes skewered both sides of the political spectrum.” – Washington Post

“The 48-year-old prodigal son was not always so eager to take his father's path and preach the gospel. Franklin Graham was a self-described bad boy who rebelled against his father's saintly ways.” – CNN

“Williams went as far as to compare Bergdahl, who deserted his post, of being akin to the Prodigal Son from the Bible.” – Red State

“Lithgow’s emotional accessibility is an attribute employed to distinct advantage in director Daniel Sullivan’s visually appealing, three-hour mounting of the play, especially in its later phases, after Lear is stripped of dignity and sanity, and is left to writhe in the mire of his monumental folly.” – Washington Post

“Precisely what happened during the execution of convicted murderer and rapist Clayton Lockett remains unclear. Witnesses described the man convulsing and writhing on the gurney, as well as struggling to speak, before officials blocked the witnesses' view” - CNN