Dec 05 2008
Orwellian Sins, Noted (Period 3)
Post ONE of your observed Orwellian sins. Note the source.
21 responses so far
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The sin that I chose was from 1984 by George Orwell. In the story the underlaying theme is that of totalitarianism and communism. The story takes place in England and it is about a government that acts like the “Big Brother” show, where you are constantly being watched. There are cameras in the street, in your house, and they regulate what you buy and where you work. Orwell was trying to warn Western Countries about totalitarianism and the effects.
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Pretentious Diction:
“The mercurial light of the radiant rain, eddying through the room with a water inconstancy, failed to illuminate every corner.”
-The Taking by Dean Koontz.
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“If I Ain’t Got You Babe”
Some people want it all
But I don’t want nothing at all
If it ain’t you baby
If I ain’t got you baby
Some people want diamond rings
Some just want everything
But everything means nothing
If I ain’t got you, Yeah
- Alicia Keys
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“Check your capital. It seems elementary, but in the recent past many flippers found themselves in trouble because they had not correctly calculated the amount of money it takes to finish a flip and market it.” Carole Moore, Times Herald.
I chose this passage because of it’s passive voice, the author, Carole Moore, casually throws in passive voice multiple times into her article I took this from, “Risky move”.
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“Our economy has already lost nearly 2 million jobs during this recession” from CNN.com
This is an example of a euphemism used to lighten injury to somebody; the economy was not hit, the two million people were.
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“Durante has accused the commissioners of trying to undercut his ability to uphold the law by proposing to shutter the intake centers used to test drivers suspected of being impaired.”
Sheriff Threatens Lawsuit, Keith Phucas, The Times Herald
I chose this because it demonstrates passive voice, which is considered a “sin” or “risky move” by Orwell.
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Nathaniel Hawthorne writes in the manner that Orwell calls a sin, as he makes many complications when those same words could be written in simpler words. This is seen in The Scarlet Letter.
Henry David Thoreau writes in circles with his Civil Disobedience. There seems to be some passive voice, where there could have been active. He complicates his writing with excessive words.
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“Then I’m a rock your body
Turn you over
Love is war
I’m your soldier
Touching you like it’s our first time
I’mma put you to bed, bed, bed
I’mma put you to bed, bed, bed”
Put You To Bed- by J. Holiday
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The quote “She’s a deep one,” from ‘The Great Gatsby’ is an Orwellian sin because the word ‘deep’ is not used in the same context as its literal translation.
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“President-elect Barack Obama could reverse some of President’s Bush’s most controversial executive order, including restrictions on embryonic stem cell research, shortly after taking office in January.”
*sin (ii) and (iii) (v)
CNN politics articlehttp://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/11/obama.executive.orders/index.html
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My example of Euphemisms is from the obituaries in the paper. Instead of just saying died, the author wrote passed away. This is a Euphemism because died is a much shorter way of saying passed away but passed away is used because it it is a less harsh way of saying it.
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“50 year old Actor-Comedian Bernie Mac passed away early this morning in Chicago after losing his battle with pneumonia.”
This is an example of euphemism lightening with words the death of an actor, from the Daily Stab celebrity news website.
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“I learned real fast how much of a whirlwind the press and everything was.”- Kevin Federline on talking about Britney Spears and their two kids. This is a sin in the English language because Orwell says that learned real fast is not proper.
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Donda West, the mother and onetime manager of rapper Kanye West, passed away Saturday “as the result of complications from a cosmetic surgical procedure,”.
-People Magazine
This is an example of Euphemism as instead of saying Kanye’s mother died they just say that she “passed away due to complications”.
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An influenza pandemic is a large scale epidemic of the influenza virus, such as the 1918 Spanish flu.
“Influenza Pandemic.” Science Daily. 2008. 5 Dec. 2008
.
***This line breaks, “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out” and “Never use a scientific word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent”.
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Euphemisms –
“I would like to sincerely apologize for my off-color remarks to the press yesterday.”
“…when he used a crude expression to describe former girlfriends”
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
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“I sit there and I’ll look back and I’m like: I’m a smart person. What the hell was I thinking?”
Britney Spears
(http://www.people.com/people/package/gallery/0,,20240653_20241764_20545269,00.html)
Spears uses language when she is in a tell all interview, “For the Record” on MTV.
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“Analog it aint”
I think that this is a sin because it is using unnecessary words, and it is not using proper English words, it basically uses slang.
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Euphemism-
“Ginnifer Goodwin and Chris Klein have called it quits after two years of dating” – people magazine
This is an Orwellian sin because they could have shortened it and just said they broke up.
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LAS VEGAS (AP) — O.J. Simpson was transferred Monday from jail to a Nevada state prison to begin serving nine to 33 years for his felony convictions in a gunpoint confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers, a state corrections official said.
“felony convictions in a gunpoint confrontation with two sports memorabilia dealers”
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iUNgbOr-2bnpFUX0MiII6je2CkRAD94UPTV80
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“The 43-year-old attorney, father of three and former N.Y. City Council member had a promising political career going until last May, when he ran a red light in northern Virginia. ”
-Los Angeles Times
This quote can be considered an Orwell “sin” because it most definitely could have been two very well written sentences but instead the journalist crammed all of the information into one long sentence.
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