Language and Style in 1984 by George Orwell
LANGUAGE AND STYLE We are going to talk about the language and style used in 1984. We studied 3 different aspects of this; firstly we studied the language and style that Orwell wrote the book in; secondly at the language and style in which some of the characters at the different parts of society speak in; and to finish the language created for the book: Newspeak.
I. George Orwell / Narrator¡¯s Language and Style
This novel is written in Orwell's typical style. That is to say in the 3rd person narrative and in a clear, lucid way. None of the words used in the novel are particularly complicated, this is due to two different things. Firstly, George Orwell was principally an essayist, he is considered to be one of the best English essayists of the 20th century, and he is known for his opinion that long words and complicated grammar structures are unnecessary for good prose. This meant that he preferred to write in a way that could be easily understood but was also very interesting. Moreover, there are very few examples of ¡°poetical¡± writing, that is to say figurative language such as metaphors or similes, which means that Orwell¡¯s ideas are presented as universal truths.
We can presume that Orwell wrote like this in order to make the book more accessible to the public and thus to be able to impose his opinions on as many people as possible. Secondly, as the story is told from Winston's point of view, we could hypothesise that the language and style used is the kind used by Winston when he thinks and talks. As well as its simplicity, neither the language nor style is particularly dated which helps the book to maintain its popularity.
TRANSITION: Next we are going to talk about the language and style of speaking used by the proles and the party members. The way the 2 main parts of the society in 1984 speak is very different and within the party itself we found 3 different types of speech belonging to the loyal outer party members, the
I. George Orwell / Narrator¡¯s Language and Style
This novel is written in Orwell's typical style. That is to say in the 3rd person narrative and in a clear, lucid way. None of the words used in the novel are particularly complicated, this is due to two different things. Firstly, George Orwell was principally an essayist, he is considered to be one of the best English essayists of the 20th century, and he is known for his opinion that long words and complicated grammar structures are unnecessary for good prose. This meant that he preferred to write in a way that could be easily understood but was also very interesting. Moreover, there are very few examples of ¡°poetical¡± writing, that is to say figurative language such as metaphors or similes, which means that Orwell¡¯s ideas are presented as universal truths.
We can presume that Orwell wrote like this in order to make the book more accessible to the public and thus to be able to impose his opinions on as many people as possible. Secondly, as the story is told from Winston's point of view, we could hypothesise that the language and style used is the kind used by Winston when he thinks and talks. As well as its simplicity, neither the language nor style is particularly dated which helps the book to maintain its popularity.
TRANSITION: Next we are going to talk about the language and style of speaking used by the proles and the party members. The way the 2 main parts of the society in 1984 speak is very different and within the party itself we found 3 different types of speech belonging to the loyal outer party members, the