An analysis of George Orwells Politics and the English Language
My focus is upon a piece by Niccolo Machiavelli, an Italian prince from the renaissance period who writes "The Morals of a Prince", and in an opposite vein, an essay by George Orwell, an English author and enemy of totalitarianism whose essay is "Politics and the English Language". Within these essays I have found a similarity in which Orwell illustrates that 'political writing becomes the defense of the indefensible, most political writing is bad, where it is not the author is usually a rebel who expresses his private opinions'. While this could be true of Machiavelli's piece, he himself contends that 'men who embrace the ideal, while rejecting the real, will only accomplish their ruin'Machiavelli wishes to convince other statesmen of the necessary vices that a prince must possess to rule a kingdom. A bold stance is taken for the sake of reality "...Better to go after the real truth of the matter than ....what people have imagined". He offers rationalizations for why a prince cannot be good, and at the same time, reign effectively. Vice is a condition of humanity, a prince must therefore be cunning, miserly, feared, and dishonest to prevent himself, and his post, from being victimized. Manipulation is key lest friend o
With each of the two pieces written in a different era, Machiavelli's from the renaissance period and Orwell's from the mid 1900s, the similarities described by each could invariably have been referring to the other. To be fair, since Machiavelli's piece was translated from Italian to English, we have to wonder how much of his meaning was lost, or gained, in translation. Seeing that it reads most clearly, I have to believe that what small percentage appears as "bad writing" may have been done on the part of the translator As Machiavelli craftily defends his vices through abstract reasoning. I could deduce that Orwell was closely correct in assuming, 'political speech and writing can indeed be used, as the defense of the indefensible', for Machiavelli certainly uses ornate writing to add credence to his theories. While Orwell ideologically stands his ground indicating that bad writing is interconnected politically, Machiavelli suggests that clinging to the ideal rather than the real, could cause a man to live a false reality and lead to his inevitable downfall. I feel both are a bit extreme, though our language may have changed substantially, it is unjust to say its cause should lie mainly with politics. I must add that I do not agree with "Morals" because corruption is necessary to rule.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1218
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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