POLITICS AND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE Essay, Research Paper
If George Orwell, author of ?Politics and the English Language? read Tom
Verduccis? essay ?Three Dimensional?, he would argue with Tom Verdiccis? style.
Tom Verdicci breaks several of Orwell?s rules. The rules broken are; (1) Never
use a long word where a short one will do; (2) Never use a foreign phrase,
scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English
equivalent.
The first rule broken is ?Never use a long word where a short one will do.?
Verdicci tends to puzzle the reader by using words such as ?captaincy,
crispness, deficiencies, and competent. Orwell states: ?A scrupulous writer, in
every sentence that he writes, will ask himself at least four questions, thus:
What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will
make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?? In each sentence
which Tom Verducci has used these words, it seems like he didn?t bother asking
himself these four simple questions. Consequently, Tom Verducci has broken one
of Orwell?s rules.
Verducci goes on to break a second rule, which states: ?Never use a foreign
phrase, scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English
equivalent. For example in his essay, there is a passage written in foreign
language that states ?Blue Jays first baseman hits like a bouncer but schmoozes
like a maitre d?. This phrase relates to another rule of Orwell?s. Orwell
states: ?In certain kinds of writing, particularly in art criticism and literacy
criticism, it is normal to come across long passages which are almost completely
lacking of meaning.? Thus, this phrase is a prime example, which breaks Orwells
rules in two ways.
Overall, the essay written by Tom Verducci is well done. But to George Orwells
expectations, it is breaking several of his rules. Both readers agree on the
fact that asking themselves a question, which is: ?Have I said anything that is
avoidably ugly,? is agreed upon. Tom Verducci has not said something, which is
?ugly? in his essay. Also, Verducci has not broken the rule of ?Never us a
metaphor, smile which you are used to seeing in print.? Tom Verducci uses
various types of words to keep his essay interesting to the extent of not making
it boring by repeating words, which are metaphors or similes. Thus, Tom
Verducci has not broken all of Orwell?s rules.
In conclusion, George Orwell, author of ?Politics and the English
Language? read Tom Verduccis? essay ?Three Dimensional?, he would argue with Tom
Verdiccis? style. The rules Tom Verducci breaks are: Never use a long word
where a short one will do; Never use a foreign phrase, scientific word or a
jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.