Zaeed Huq

Module B essay: Close Study of a Text: Orwells Essays

Orwell, through his essays, attempts to undermine elitism by connecting to the reader in a personal level and also attempts to confront their moral sense. He displays an authoritative voice to persuade readers to be aware of elitism and minimise its effect in society. Orwells use of the essay medium provides a persuasive and personal exploration into the concerns of elitism. His approach in persuading a reader is unique in many different ways which make him very successful; techniques involved in his persuasive writing involve: the structure of the essay, drawing the reader in at a personal level and then providing the argument, confronting the moral values of the reader, etc. Furthermore, confronting the moral standings of the readers allows them to better reflect and understand social concerns presented by Orwell. In Why I write, Orwell begins to present information about his childhood in an attempt to portray himself as prodigious, and through his use of first person he creates an intimate connection to the reader yet have an authoritative voice . His recollections of Burma and Spanish Civil War are met by the reader at a personal level, reinforcing a stronger and deeper relationship with the reader. By establishing a deep connection to the reader his message is retained in the consciousness of the reader. He then lists his four great motives for writing in a manner that provides a highly structured and logical argument. The fragmented sentences at the end of each motive provide a definition, which further his connection to the reader as it provides a sense of clarity. By concluding that every line of serious work that I have written since 1936 has been written against totalitarianism and for democratic socialism he preserves his honesty to form a sense of trust and credibility between Orwell and the reader. Furthermore, in similar ways, referring to his earlier work as the most pitiful burlesque stuff he attempts to portray a veneer of modesty which adds to his authoritative voice in the essay and furthering his credibility. Why I write demonstrates Orwell's skilful attempts to persuade and attract the attention of the reader, it is through his authoritative language and his well-structured persuasive writing that allows him to do so. Orwell continues to debase the notion of elitism through his criticism of nationalistic writers and by appealing to the readers moral conscience. Notes on Nationalism highlights the notion of nationalism (in the same respect to elitism) as pervading and immoral as it desensitises the human thought processes in to disregarding factuality. His repetition of the phrase habit of mind as well as his motif of infection, through words such as widespread, inoculation and contaminated further exemplifies nationalism as being a pervading moral threat. Orwell's use of these strong metaphors and the alluring notion of being morally righteous strongly appeals to the reader in a confronting tone. This creates a sense of authority and allows Orwells ideas to be acknowledged in hope to better society. Orwells criticism of many proclaimed nationalistic writers such as G.K. Chesterton demonstrates the contrast between himself and the nationalistic writers, creating a stronger as well as righteous tone of authority. He describes Chesterton as a writer of considerable talent who chose to suppress both his sensibilities and his intellectual honesty in the cause of Roman Catholic Propaganda to cement the idea that nationalism threatens the sense of morality. He exemplifies Chesterton to communicate the loss of rational thought and morality as he adds Every book that he wrote, every paragraph, every sentence, every incident in the story, every scrap of dialogue, had to demonstrate the superiority of the Catholic over the Protestant or the pagan. Orwells repetition of the word every emphasises the overwhelming nature of nationalism and how it controls the rational thought of an individual. Orwell then reinforces the idea of nationalism being a moral threat

Zaeed Huq as nationalism evokes a sense of self-deception: one prod to the nerve of Nationalism and the intellectual decencies can vanish, the past can be altered, and the plainest facts can be denied. Nearing the end of the essay, Orwell sustains his voice by stressing the need for a moral effort to resist the pervasiveness of ideologies such as nationalism and elitism. Through the use of persuasive language, Orwell continually confronts our moral sense in an attempt to convince us to become aware of and resist the demoralising nature of nationalism. The Sporting Spirit reflects on the destructive influence of nationalism on individual thought and rationality. In similar ways to Why I write, his introduction to the essay: Now that the brief visit of the Dynamo football team has come to an end provides an insightful and clear argument, and through the use of shock value Angle Soviet relations slightly worse than before he continues to attract the reader and also increase the value of his essay as it applies to all of society. Orwell describes through the oxymoron of sadistic pleasures and savage passions the savagery and decadence of sport, which reflects the degeneration of sport due to the infiltration of politics. Furthermore he condemns sport as bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness in other words: war minus the shooting in an attempt to persuade the reader through the use of juxtaposition to relate sport with war, indicating that sport, through the association it has with politics, has similar characteristics to war. He continues to confront our morality in all aspects; the spectators Rattling opposing players with boos and insults to evoke us to reflect and consider our moral compass. Orwells continual attempt to reveal the destructiveness of sport through the use of persuasive language and techniques underlines his key idea of undermining political ideologies such as elitism and nationalism. Through The Sporting Spirit essay, it becomes clear to the reader as to why Orwell attempts to undermine elitism/nationalism and later establishes this in his last paragraph where he proposes an idea to prevent young men to kick each other on the shins amid the roars of infuriated spectators. Persuasive language and techniques and moral confrontations are used by Orwell throughout his essays in order to bring change and to improve societal conditions in terms of its moral standing, he attempts to repress the pervading nature of elitism and prevent it from invading rational thoughts. By setting up an authoritative voice and appealing to the moral conscience of the readers, it can be clearly seen that Orwell attempts to undermine elitism through his essays.