With Orwell’s 1984 and “Politics and the English Language” as a backdrop, we’re going to talk about grammatical declension1, and that more than justifies a look at LOLcats. They have a rich history (really) and lead us into complex studies of macros and grammar (yes, really). For me, though, if we’re going to look at declining English and memes, nothing really beats the simple stupidity of wurds. (Full LOLcats image available here.)
Orwell’s Inspiration
[A]n effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible. Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble. If one gets rid of these habits one can think more clearly, and to think clearly is a necessary first step toward political regeneration…
That quotation is drawn from George Orwell’s “Politics and the English Language,” which we will continue to use to frame a unit of study on contemporary English writing and its connection to our thoughts and actions, especially our dishonest thoughts and actions. Refresh your memory of the first instructional post here:
Now we move into some focused writing work that is meant to be balanced through your recent organizational efforts. The way you approach this writing assignment also gets into the circadian dynamics we’ve discussed before, because you must be more vigilant and focused than ever to avoid falling behind. We’re using that Orwell quotation above, though, to focus on two things:
- [A]n effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely.
- [T]he process is reversible.
In other words: You will spiral into confusion and frustration the more confused and frustrated you get, but there is always a way to stop the cycle and reclaim your learning for yourself. There is a lot going on below, and all of it is interesting, if you’re open to it. Use your time wisely, ask the right questions, and do good work.
First, a Caveat
The idea of political discourse is important to Orwell’s argument, and the connections he makes between clear thinking, “the slovenliness of our language,” and politics should grow more important to us, especially now. I think we should embrace the opportunity. Perhaps we can use some of the original meaning behind the word “politics” to help us focus:
Politicks is the science of good sense, applied to public affairs, and, as those are forever changing, what is wisdom to-day would be folly and perhaps, ruin to-morrow. Politicks is not a science so properly as a business. It cannot have fixed principles, from which a wise man would never swerve, unless the inconstancy of men’s view of interest and the capriciousness of the tempers could be fixed.
That comes from Fisher Ames, whose idea of a “science of good sense” ought to appeal to our better natures, especially in the vexed and volatile world of politics. That said, I want to repeat that this is not a unit about politics, at least not expressly or exclusively. It is a unit on the way language shapes our thoughts — a unit about names, business jargon, school jargon, lying, Twitter, slang, profanity, memes, and much more.
Your Assignment
Write an essay inspired by “Politics and the English Language.” This essay must demonstrate an understanding of Orwell, and it must use his ideas and specific language to an appropriate extent.
The audience, subject, purpose, etc, of this essay are all yours to decide. That kind of freedom can lead to bad choices, however, so I’ll give you a list of possibilities. Consider each before striking out on your own. Whatever your choice, you probably ought to start by skimming Paul Graham’s treatise again. You want an essay that is interesting and insightful — the kind of “river” writing that engages its author and reader equally.
Note that many of these are drawn from the essay by Maddie Crum that is included in the first option. That’s a subtle clue that you should devote some time to Crum, even if you eventually choose to write a completely unrelated essay of your own.
Note also that the deadline for this assignment is posted on Google Classroom, where it will be edited at least once or twice in the near future. The goal is organization, remember? You need to stop self-medicating through deadlines and invest in the process part of writing, reading, and thinking.
§ Option 1 | Degree of difficulty: 8.0
Emulate Maddie Crum.
Maddie Crum is the author of this Huffington Post essay about workplace jargon. It’s much more interesting than you think, and it’s perfect for emulation. Start, of course, with the ETA work: Read Crum, break down her writing, and note how it connects to Orwell. Then consider your own observations of a specific place and its identifying or characteristic language. You might look at the language of textbooks, the profanity of the school hallway, the violent metaphors in sports reporting, or the language of the college application process; you might also analyze the way your family communicates, the way a specific group talks on Twitter or Facebook, or the peculiar grammar of texting and other forms of micro-communication. Whatever your chosen subject, the purpose of a direct emulation of Crum is to (1) identify the problem; (2) explain its causes and effects; and (3) offer a well reasoned approach to solving it.
§ Option 2 | Degree of difficulty: 9.92
Write an essay about the current political landscape.
The instructional post that introduced Orwell should help you here, and current events offer almost endless ways to apply “Politics” to current politics. Your goal is to add something meaningful to the discussion. How you approach that goal is up to you, so it will take a lot of individual discussion to get started.
§ Option 3 | Degree of difficulty: 6.5
Write an essay about placeholders such as “like.”
Crum brings up the debate over placeholders, and you can do a lot with the connection between verbal tics and written clarity. It might help you to read Christopher Hitchens’ essay on the subject, especially his idea that “you have to talk well in order to write well, and you can’t write while using “like” as punctuation.”
§ Option 4 | Degree of difficulty: 7.0
Write an essay about the language we use to discuss stress and anxiety.
This builds off of Crum’s inclusion of a Times essay on being busy, which she uses to argue that “[w]hen we replace a specific task with a vague expression, we grant the task more magnitude than it deserves.” The way we discuss stress and anxiety shape how we feel about stress and anxiety, which in turn shapes our responses. You should also look to the recent instructional post on empathy and blame for inspiration here.
§ Option 5 | Degree of difficulty: 8.5
Write an essay on Internet memes.
This one has the most potential to derail even a focused student, so you would need to look past the superficiality of the subject and delve into the way language shapes meaning in memetic circles. Look to the italicized opening of this post for ideas, and bookmark Know Your Meme.
§ Option 6 | Degree of difficulty: 6.5
Write an essay on fonts.
Comic Sans is the obvious whipping boy in this discussion, but it’s a lot richer than that. You would look at whether Orwell’s logic applies to superficial elements of writing like kerning and font type, especially in a hypertextual (or web-based) sense. For instance, does this essay on level design fit Orwell’s ideas, since it deliberately uses no capital letters? Does font choice actually impact clarity of thought?
To give you a little further help, here is an essay written last year by one of the top seniors in the graduating class of 20173:
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We’ll be collecting words that we love (and hate) during a future lesson, and I discovered “declension” during a previous year’s study of Orwell. It derives from the same root as the more obvious “decline” and refers to “a condition of decline or moral deterioration.” It somehow seems apt in 2017. ↩
Writing well about politics is always difficult, but the current landscape has made it into a minefield. ↩
A fact that has less to do with her writing ability than you think. Being good at school and writing well are skills that overlap, of course, but much less than any of us would like. ↩