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.