"Politics and the English Language" By George Orwell

After reading "Animal Farm" and "1984" I was well prepared for the beliefs that Orwell has. He believed that the problem with language in politics was it purpose was to hide the truth or even confuse people. Which is evident when trying to read some articles, laws, statements, or other political writings these days. Sometimes I will come across something and read it over and over again trying to figure out why I am so lost or confused. In most cases I realize there are structural problems, or big, usually unused words that do not even make sense in the given context. When I began to think about this I thought back to my senior year AP English class and a boy who was in my group. He was probably one of the smartest, laziest people in that whole entire class. He had poor time management skills and I would always be so frustrated to see him get A's on everything. I worked so hard in high school for the grades I received. It didn't help his locker was right next to mine, but anyways that's a different story. The point of this story is that when we had to write our final research papers he wrote his very last minute and I was expecting a wonderful cohesive paper. When I got a copy of his paper I kind of laughed a little bit. It was almost as if he decided to randomly flip through a dictionary and picked words to use in his paper. It was horrible and he did not receive a very good grade on that particular draft.

The point of that story is simply that sometimes people write with the intention of either sounding smart, confusing readers, or filling empty space. I would rather write in detail and use good imagery to fill space. Things like that is what writing good and valuable.

Orwell also believes that the "fight against bad English is not frivolous" and I completely agree with him. Sometimes I believe that people just give up on language or become lazy towards it. It is so frustrating for me to hear improper grammar or read a badly written article in a magazine. Another thing that greatly frustrates me is the fact that people are trying to simplify old, BEAUTIFUL, writing so that it is easier for people to read. This make me so sad, but simplifying amazing writing we are allowing people, our society, to get by easier and get out of learning.

Orwell said, "But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought," which is a pretty throught provoking statement and I agree


Like Orwell concluded with, this isn't perfect, no one is. I write simply but I write honest.

Metaphors of Reading

I especially liked this chapter when I came across it. In my high school English class we read some of "Leaves of Grass," by Walt Whitman. I found it very interesting that Whitman has responded differently to Margaret Fuller's "Women in the Nineteenth Century." He responded very well to her work of art while other well known authors criticized it. Manguel then goes on to say, "For Whitman, text, author, reader, and world mirrored each other in the act of reading, an act whose meaning he expanded until it served to define every vital human activity, as well as the universe in which it all took place (p168)." This is what caught my attention and really made me begin to think. All of the things Manguel mentioned go hand and hand with each other. To understand one may, and very often does, make another easier to understand. I love to read murder mystery novels (blame my mother) and from them I am able to, in a way, make connections to the world. Not everyone has good intentions and I would be silly to believe otherwise. Another type of book I like to read is memoirs. I vividly remember reading a book my senior year called, "The Glass Castle" By Jeannette Walls. This book was one authors experiences, put into to text, and read by many. It shows something about out world and the people that live in it. These examples are the things that first came into my mind when I was reading this section Manguel wrote. Everything can be connected to reading, and reading itself allows one to write well and maybe even see the world a bit more clearly.

I have never really thought about WHY I was reading, but always had library books in my locker, read before I went to sleep, read in the car on long road trips, or read on the way to softball games. After reading Manguel's "A History of Reading" I have begun to think about why someone reads and the importance of reading. I understand that everyone reads for many different reasons but regardless of those reasons you can discover an entirely different world by stepping into a book. This book has also allowed me to think about the purpose author's intended when writing, especially some of the greatest books that have ever been written. In the beginning Manguel says, "I am not alone" and now I feel as though I am not alone either.

Me

My name is Melody and I am a sophomore at KSU. I began studying political science with the intention of going to law school but now I have decided to switch my major to English. I never thought I would be a teacher, never. I grew up in an family or educators, my mom teaching and my dad being a principal and superintendent. I had an amazing AP English teacher my senior year and she impacted my life the most up until this point. I plan to teach honors or AP classes for a little bit and then pay my own way through law school.

I love being around people! I am an AOII at Kennesaw and it has been a great experience and I have learned a lot about myself. I also play as many sports as possible, right now I play Rugby and I absolutely love it! I do not have a very high tolerance for close minded people and I have no problem being blatantly honest. Sometimes I blame the fact that I grew up in Illinois and did not have a southern upbringing by any means. I am usually a very positive and happy person and I love to argue and joke around but I am rarely serious!