George Orwell Post

George Orwell is criticizing “ugly and inaccurate” modern written English. Orwell is basically saying exactly what he stated when he stated that “the great enemy of clear language is insincerity” (Orwell). He is essentially saying that the insincerity of the writer continues the downward spiral of language as people trying beating around the bush when phrasing their words. At first I did not agree with Orwell’s assertions, but as I read on I began to understand what Orwell was trying to state in his essay. Since Orwell believed that writing to hide your feelings/intentions was more accurate rather than writing to express your feelings. Poor writing habits spread from lack of confidence and writers need to get rid of these feelings and think more clearly. Writers of modern prose tend to not write in concrete terms but use “pretentious latinized style,” and he then compares a biblical text with a parody in modern English to emphasize what he means. By incorporating politicians into his speech, Orwell makes it easier to relate to our society and to think about whether speeches would be better if politicians chose to write them themselves. Because the politicians do not write the essays themselves, their essays come off as less empathetic. With this being said, people generally have a harder time believing what politicians have to say. I still think Orwell would state the same argument to this day that he did in 1946 because we are still going through the same issues. What he stated could still be applied to our English Language to this day.