Orwell's Animal Farm & the Manipulation of Language
- sydneybrashears01
- Sep 13, 2021
- 5 min read
George Orwell, although more well-known for his works Animal Farm and 1984, provides an insightful overview of the strategic use of language in political writing in his lesser-known essay “Politics and the English Language.” Orwell begins by attributing “the decline of […] language” to “political and economic causes” which inevitably create a positive feedback loop of foolish thoughts and slovenly language (591). He goes on to cite several literary devices as the source of vague and incompetent “modern English prose” including: dying metaphors, verbal false limbs, pretentious diction, and meaningless words (592-594). While these tools are undoubtably guilty of clouding any direct meaning at the core of writing, Orwell states, “the great enemy of clear language is insincerity” or the “gap between one’s real and one’s declared aims,” suggesting the presence of these markers may be a result of authors’ attempts to intentionally conceal their meaning (598). Modern “political language,” Orwell boldly asserts, “is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind” (600). This strategic framing of arguments and perspectives is almost inescapable in today’s society as Orwell firmly claims that, “there is no such thing as ‘keeping out of politics’” because “all issues are political issues” (598). In an effort to further evaluate Orwell’s belief that “political writing is bad writing,” and politicians intentionally obscure meaning and manipulate science to promote their own agenda, the strategic statements of politicians regarding mask mandates, school re-openings, and quarantine procedures will be examined here.
While delineating numerous words, phrases, and trademarks of “pretentious diction,” Orwell warns the public of politicians’ tendency to “dress up simple statements and give an air of scientific impartiality to biased judgements,” a warning with more relevancy than ever as public leaders engage in a political dodgeball match, hurling ‘scientific facts’ at one another until they feel as though they’ve garnered public support (594). On one hand, public officials like Alabama Governor Kay Ivey have moved to instate mask mandates state-wide. Citing a 50% increase in COVID-19 cases in the span of two weeks, as well as a total of 1,183 related deaths, Governor Ivey defended her position stating, “the numbers and data over the past few weeks are definitely trending in the wrong direction.” While on the surface her decision may have seemed like a natural response to a worsening public health issue as she pointed to “the numbers” and “support of […] the medical community,” Governor Ivey’s decision also strategically gave way to political pressure from the mayors of Alabama’s ten largest cities with, consequently, the most registered voters (Lardieri, Gattis). On the other hand, some political TV personalities, like Fox News’s Tucker Carlson, who once supported wearing masks, have altogether abandoned their position and the science that supposedly undergirded it. In sharp contrast to his broadcast on March 30 where he stated, “Of course, masks work. Everyone knows that. Dozens of research papers have proved it,” Carlson later referred to school re-opening health protocols, including a mask mandate, as a “bizarre health theater” with “restrictions that have no basis of any kind in science” (Porter). This overt inconsistency and lack of commitment to the science behind the vaguely cited “dozens of research papers” may be a result of President Trump’s comments hours earlier where he called for the quick opening of schools in the fall (Porter, “Remarks”).
To further examine the use of “scientific impartiality” in politically strategic statements, the ‘science’ and rationale behind President Trump’s advocation for business-as-usual education proceedings will be subjected to further scrutiny here (594). Due to significant public apprehension towards sending children back to the veritable petri dish that is school, President Trump attempted to support his goal by stating that, although COVID-19 is a “horrible disease,” “young people do extraordinarily well” (“Remarks”). To punctuate this idea, the President loosely cited information from the Governor of New Jersey claiming, “one person out of thousands of people — one person died, who was under 18 years old.” In addition to being false, as the state of New Jersey had seen two deaths in that age range, the president’s defense also neglected to mention the roughly 4,700 cases diagnosed within that same age criteria (Salant). Contradicting the president’s argument, and further illustrating Orwell’s idea that “[t]he whole tendency of modern prose is away from concreteness,” a representative for the New Jersey Education Association stated that the decision to resume in-person instruction would be made “based on [their] values and [their] scientific, medical, and educational analysis of the situation,” without providing the measures by which they’ll be accomplishing that goal (Salant). In this case, both parties are attempting to provide just enough information to instill a sense of legitimacy in their decision-making process, without having to explain their rationale in a “precise and detailed” manner (959).
Finally, Orwell’s claims about the intentional manipulation of language via the use of false “scientific impartiality” will be used to examine conflicting statements about the effectiveness of quarantine recommendations. Dr. Drew Pinsky, in an appearance on Fox News, thoroughly exemplified George Orwell’s template of the modern politically-minded citizen (who, in an attempt to show that they “dislike one thing and want to express solidarity with another,” inevitably prove that “they are not interested in the detail of what they are saying”). In an effort to further support the narrative that lockdowns and business closures do more harm than good, Dr. Pinsky is on record saying, “There is no science of lockdown, there is not. We don’t have that science. It’s all models, conjecture, theory, this isn’t science” (Nelson). A culmination of data from 29 studies published in a Cochran Review showed that, “the combination of quarantine with other prevention and control measures […] had a greater effect on the reduction of transmissions,” but aside from being incorrect, Dr. Pinsky’s comments were ironically in response to his perception that “the whole topic of science has become a shield behind which the governors are hiding, going ‘Hey I’m just following the science’” (“How”, Nelson). Dr. Pinsky’s ability to inadvertently condemn an action, whilst simultaneously engaging in it himself, is a perfect example of the cycle of “slovenly language” and “foolish thoughts” which plague modern politicized societies.
Orwell believes this large-scale manipulation of language for strategic, political purposes ultimately contributes to the permeation “corrupt thoughts” in society (598). Though potentially “corrupt” in its intent to conceal meaning, the real danger of this thought process lies in its reliance on “readily-made phrases,” which suppress creativity and original thought. Character and creativity within the state can only be preserved (and the abuse of language reversed) when people use language as an “instrument for expressing and not for concealing or preventing thought” by actively seeking words to suit their meaning and refusing to surrender to vague, prefabricated phrases (600).
Works Cited:
Cohen, Mitchell, and Nicole Fermon. Princeton Readings in Political Thought. Princeton
University Press, 1996.
Gattis, Paul. “Alabama mayors, hospital officials call for statewide mask requirement.” AL,
https://www.al.com/news/2020/07/alabama-mayors-hospital-officials-call-for-statewide-mask-requirement.html. Accessed 28 July 2020.
“How effective is quarantine alone or in combination with other public health measures to
control coronavirus (COVID-19)?” Science Daily, https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200408133253.htm. Accessed 30 July 2020.
Lardieri, Alexa. “Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Issues Face Mask Mandate.” U.S. News, https://
www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-07-15/alabama-gov-kay-ivey-issues-face-mask-mandate. Accessed 29 July 2020.
Nelson, Joshua. “Dr. Drew Pinsky: Why governors pushing lockdowns are not following the
science.” Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com/media/dr-drew-pinsky-governors-pushing-lockdowns-following-science. Accessed 30 July 2020.
Porter, Tom. “Tucker Carlson said mask-wearing has 'no basis of any kind in science,'
reversing an earlier position that they are obviously effective.” Business Insider, https://www.businessinsider.com/tucker-carlson-no-basis-in-science-for-masks-contradicts-old-stance-2020-7. Accessed 28 July 2020.
“Remarks by President Trump on Safely Reopening America’s Schools.” White House,
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-safely-reopening-americas-schools/. Accessed 29 July 2020.
Salant, Jonathan. “Trump cites few coronavirus deaths among kids in N.J. as reason for
reopening schools.” NJ, https://www.nj.com/coronavirus/2020/07/trump-cites-few-coronavirus-deaths-among-kids-in-nj-as-reason-for-reopening-schools.html. Accessed 29 July 2020.
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