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George Orwell Collection: Politics & The English Language, Shooting an Elephant, A Hanging - George Orwell's Political Insights: Exploring Politics & The ... Shooting an Elephant, and A Hanging
Explore George Orwell's political insights with the “George Orwell Politics & The English Language, Shooting an Elephant, A Hanging.” This collection brings together three influential essays that delve into Orwell's reflections on language, imperialism, and the moral complexities of societal structures.As the essays unfold, immerse yourself in Orwell's thought-provoking analyses. “Politics & The English Language,” “Shooting an Elephant,” and “A Hanging” are not just essays; they are powerful commentaries that invite readers to critically examine language, authority, and the ethical dilemmas embedded in political and social contexts.This isn't just a collection of essays; it's a journey into Orwell's incisive observations on the intersection of language and power. The essays provide a lens through which to explore the nuances of political discourse and the impact of imperialism on both the oppressor and the oppressed.
Now, as you delve into the “George Orwell Collection,” you sense the relevance of Orwell's political insights in today's context? This collection is not just a compilation of essays; it's an invitation to reflect on the enduring challenges and moral quandaries inherent in political language and actions.
Open the pages, and let the “George Orwell Collection” be your guide through Orwell's astute observations on politics, language, and societal structures, offering a timeless perspective on the complexities of the human experience.Whether you are a student of political science, a language enthusiast, or someone interested in the impact of political decisions on individuals and societies, this collection provides a compelling exploration of Orwell's enduring relevance.
Delve into George Orwell's Political Insights with 'George Orwell Collection'Explore the thought-provoking and politically charged works of George Orwell with 'George Orwell Collection.' This compilation brings together some of Orwell's most impactful essays, including 'Politics & The English Language,' 'Shooting an Elephant,' and 'A Hanging,' offering readers a profound glimpse into the mind of a literary and political genius.
A Critical Examination of Language and PoliticsGeorge Orwell's essays are a compelling exploration of the relationship between language and politics. 'Politics & The English Language' dissects the manipulation of language for political ends, while 'Shooting an Elephant' and 'A Hanging' provide firsthand accounts of the complexities of colonialism and the moral dilemmas faced by individuals in positions of authority.
Timeless Relevance and Thought-Provoking DiscourseOrwell's writings remain as relevant today as when they were penned. His keen insights into the use and abuse of language, the consequences of political power, and the moral challenges of life in a complex world offer readers valuable food for thought and discussion.
Why 'George Orwell Collection' Is a Must-Read for Political and Linguistic InsightTimeless RelevanceDiscussion and DebateThe Perfect Gift
Now, as you delve into the “George Orwell Collection,” you sense the relevance of Orwell's political insights in today's context? This collection is not just a compilation of essays; it's an invitation to reflect on the enduring challenges and moral quandaries inherent in political language and actions.
Open the pages, and let the “George Orwell Collection” be your guide through Orwell's astute observations on politics, language, and societal structures, offering a timeless perspective on the complexities of the human experience.Whether you are a student of political science, a language enthusiast, or someone interested in the impact of political decisions on individuals and societies, this collection provides a compelling exploration of Orwell's enduring relevance.
Delve into George Orwell's Political Insights with 'George Orwell Collection'Explore the thought-provoking and politically charged works of George Orwell with 'George Orwell Collection.' This compilation brings together some of Orwell's most impactful essays, including 'Politics & The English Language,' 'Shooting an Elephant,' and 'A Hanging,' offering readers a profound glimpse into the mind of a literary and political genius.
A Critical Examination of Language and PoliticsGeorge Orwell's essays are a compelling exploration of the relationship between language and politics. 'Politics & The English Language' dissects the manipulation of language for political ends, while 'Shooting an Elephant' and 'A Hanging' provide firsthand accounts of the complexities of colonialism and the moral dilemmas faced by individuals in positions of authority.
Timeless Relevance and Thought-Provoking DiscourseOrwell's writings remain as relevant today as when they were penned. His keen insights into the use and abuse of language, the consequences of political power, and the moral challenges of life in a complex world offer readers valuable food for thought and discussion.
Why 'George Orwell Collection' Is a Must-Read for Political and Linguistic InsightTimeless RelevanceDiscussion and DebateThe Perfect Gift
30 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 28, 2017
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199 people want to read
About the author
George Orwell
1,280 books50.6k followersEric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism (both fascism and stalinism), and support of democratic socialism.
Orwell is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture.
Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Room 101", "Newspeak", "memory hole", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime". In 2008, The Times named Orwell the second-greatest British writer since 1945.
Orwell is best known for his allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945) and the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), although his works also encompass literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. His non-fiction works, including The Road to Wigan Pier (1937), documenting his experience of working-class life in the industrial north of England, and Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences soldiering for the Republican faction of the Spanish Civil War (1936–1939), are as critically respected as his essays on politics, literature, language and culture.
Orwell's work remains influential in popular culture and in political culture, and the adjective "Orwellian"—describing totalitarian and authoritarian social practices—is part of the English language, like many of his neologisms, such as "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "Room 101", "Newspeak", "memory hole", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime". In 2008, The Times named Orwell the second-greatest British writer since 1945.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
December 24, 2024
Apparently I need to qualify which collection I read, because they are all so different. This version includes Shooting an Elephant; The Spike; Why I write; Politics and the English Language (brilliant! My AP students are reading this next year); I Defence of English Cooking (the reason I bought this book); Such, Such Were The Joys; Some Thoughts on the Common Toad. I read this in just over a day - engrossing, entertaining, food for thought.
Quotes that stood out:
Once again, no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.
I happened to know, what very few people in England had been allowed to know, that innocent men were being accused. If I had not been angry about that I should never have written this book.
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 with the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the sloviness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible.
In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning.
The dropping of the atom bombson Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of political parties. Thus political language has to consist of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.
The inflated style is itself a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outlinesand covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincere. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.
It should also be possible to laugh the not un- formation our of existence, to reduce the amount of Latin and Greek in the average sentence, to drive out foreign phrases and strayed scientific words, and in general, to make pretentiousness unfashionable.
I. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Ii. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
Iii. If it possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Iv. Never use the passive when you can use the active.
V. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Vi. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists - is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
Sin was not necessarily something that you did: it might be something that happened to you.
The gods are jealous, and when you have good fortune, you should conceal it.
Broadly, you were bidden to be at once a Christian and a social success, which is impossible.
The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but earth is still going round the sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.
Quotes that stood out:
Once again, no book is genuinely free from political bias. The opinion that art should have nothing to do with politics is itself a political attitude.
I happened to know, what very few people in England had been allowed to know, that innocent men were being accused. If I had not been angry about that I should never have written this book.
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 with the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the sloviness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible.
In the case of a word like democracy, not only is there no agreed definition, but the attempt to make one is resisted from all sides. It is almost universally felt that when we call a country democratic we are praising it: consequently the defenders of every kind of regime claim that it is a democracy, and fear that they might have to stop using the word if it were tied down to any one meaning.
The dropping of the atom bombson Japan, can indeed be defended, but only by arguments which are too brutal for most people to face, and which do not square with the professed aims of political parties. Thus political language has to consist of euphemism, question-begging and sheer cloudy vagueness.
The inflated style is itself a kind of euphemism. A mass of Latin words falls upon the facts like soft snow, blurring the outlinesand covering up all the details. The great enemy of clear language is insincere. When there is a gap between one's real and one's declared aims, one turns as it were instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish squirting out ink.
It should also be possible to laugh the not un- formation our of existence, to reduce the amount of Latin and Greek in the average sentence, to drive out foreign phrases and strayed scientific words, and in general, to make pretentiousness unfashionable.
I. Never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Ii. Never use a long word where a short one will do.
Iii. If it possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Iv. Never use the passive when you can use the active.
V. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Vi. Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.
Political language - and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists - is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.
Sin was not necessarily something that you did: it might be something that happened to you.
The gods are jealous, and when you have good fortune, you should conceal it.
Broadly, you were bidden to be at once a Christian and a social success, which is impossible.
The atom bombs are piling up in the factories, the police are prowling through the cities, the lies are streaming from the loudspeakers, but earth is still going round the sun, and neither the dictators nor the bureaucrats, deeply as they disapprove of the process, are able to prevent it.
December 14, 2023
gramer dersinde neden bunu okudugumuzu mezun olana dek sorgulayacagim + orwell bos yapma amk
January 23, 2024
A Hanging and Shooting an Elephant both set out in Burma under British Rule. Perhaps two of Orwell's better sort stories to read compared to his other short stories.
May 27, 2024
A tremendous guide
A tremendous guide for writing, thinking, and making art of any form. To communicate and cogitate clearly, these are great rules.
A tremendous guide for writing, thinking, and making art of any form. To communicate and cogitate clearly, these are great rules.
September 19, 2024
Tack Oscar furu för rekommendationen
Grym essä
Grym essä
November 8, 2025
"The Hanging" was an excellent read about humanity
April 14, 2025
I would like to review them separately.
Orwell’s political essays: 3 stars. They are not clearly written and despite showing an evolution of his thought on colonies and drawing from his life experiences, they are always vague and never portray a clear stance. Useful to understand his novels, especially Animal Farm, but otherwise not mind blowing.
The Hanging: 4 stars. It makes you feel all sorts of things making it difficult to discern between the emotions you are experiencing. A story that you get through without noticing, feels like much more than just a story. Extremely applicable to modern day politics.
Shooting an Elephant: 5 stars!!!!!! Would easily put this above 1984 and Animal Farm. The emotions that this short story evokes are insane. In a few pages you go from fear to grief to happiness to guilt. The descriptions are so vivid that it is impossible not to feel part of the chaos of the story. Based on Orwell’s own experiences, I believe that it is a good prelude to his later political essays and his views on British colonialism.
Orwell’s political essays: 3 stars. They are not clearly written and despite showing an evolution of his thought on colonies and drawing from his life experiences, they are always vague and never portray a clear stance. Useful to understand his novels, especially Animal Farm, but otherwise not mind blowing.
The Hanging: 4 stars. It makes you feel all sorts of things making it difficult to discern between the emotions you are experiencing. A story that you get through without noticing, feels like much more than just a story. Extremely applicable to modern day politics.
Shooting an Elephant: 5 stars!!!!!! Would easily put this above 1984 and Animal Farm. The emotions that this short story evokes are insane. In a few pages you go from fear to grief to happiness to guilt. The descriptions are so vivid that it is impossible not to feel part of the chaos of the story. Based on Orwell’s own experiences, I believe that it is a good prelude to his later political essays and his views on British colonialism.
Read
February 8, 2019I read two essays today, A hanging and shooting an elephant. I liked the 'A hanging' essay because it tells a story with very detailed descriptions. I liked when George Orwell described when the prisoner tried to avoid stepping in the puddle. That part describes how all people are similar and how we think. He probably mentioned this detail to show that even people who are walking to death are still thinking and conscious to realize the obstacles they face.
June 15, 2017
Do Not Buy This Book
If you want to read the Politics of the English Language, don't buy this book. The essay has been excerpted, cut off in mid-sentence.
If you want to read the Politics of the English Language, don't buy this book. The essay has been excerpted, cut off in mid-sentence.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews