Cultic Studies Review, Vol. 7, No. 3, 2008, Page 62
throughout by a loving companion, had fewer practical problems, but relates in touching
detail the powerfully symbolic act of cutting her hair.
Although finding it more difficult to slough off the theological burden, Irene‘s description of
her attempts to re-integrate into mainstream society echoes these themes:
I felt like a zoo animal let loose in the wild. I had no job skills, so we lived off
welfare. ...Everything was different. The variety among the people and the
ideas I encountered was … a huge shift from my prior life, in which everyone
thought and acted the same way … And then there was my constant doubt
and guilt over the choices I made to leave Verlan and the church.
The cultural adjustment was even harder for her children, who had never lived ―outside.‖
Irene—explaining to a school psychologist that the child in question was not retarded, but
simply had never seen a baseball mitt, a fire hydrant, or even a light bulb, and in fact had
never seen a single one of the items pictured in a test he had flunked—eloquently conveys
this struggle.
Perhaps the most salient message of these books is the variety of ways life can impose
misery in a totalitarian group, and the valor and resiliency that can overcome a lifetime of
indoctrination.
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.
What Orwell Didn’t Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American
Politics
Edited by András Szántó, PublicAffairs (250 West 57th St, Suite 1321, NY, NY
10107). 2007. ISBN—10: 1-58648-560-1 ISBN—13: 978-1-58648-560-3
(paperback), $14.95 ($10.17, Amazon.com). 272 pages
Publication of this collection of essays by twenty writers coincided with a symposium at
Columbia University in New York to honor the sixtieth anniversary of Orwell‘s essay ―Politics
and the English Language.‖ George Orwell (pen name for Eric Arthur Blair, 1903–1950)
wrote his classic commentary on misuse of language in 1946, three years before he
published his apocalyptic novel 1984 (or Nineteen Eighty-Four). The novel reflects Orwell‘s
prognosis that language as propaganda can augment a social dystopia or totalitarian
regime. Orwell argues that language should reflect reality as directly as possible. ―Politics
and the English Language‖ is reproduced in full in the appendix of this volume. The editor,
András Szántó, who resides in New York, is a writer and consultant to philanthropic
organizations. He is also a freelance journalist.
Most of the essays in this anthology reflect on our current state of politics, and that includes
criticizing the Bush administration and its handling of the war in Iraq. The book project
began when the deans of five prominent journalism schools commiserated about the sad
state of political language and how rapidly it seemed to be disconnecting from reality.
Despite the book‘s overall leftist lean (Orwell, a socialist, should have been pleased with
that), a few essayists strike notes that cut left and right through political jargon. As Szántó
notes, ―It goes without saying that politicians have always taken liberties with the truth‖ (p.
x). However, Szántó already overlooks two Orwell rules (1 and 3) for writers here: ―It goes
without saying that‖ is better stated as ―Invariably‖ or ―Notoriously.‖
Before I go on, let us look at Orwell‘s six rules for writers, from his essay:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing
in print.
throughout by a loving companion, had fewer practical problems, but relates in touching
detail the powerfully symbolic act of cutting her hair.
Although finding it more difficult to slough off the theological burden, Irene‘s description of
her attempts to re-integrate into mainstream society echoes these themes:
I felt like a zoo animal let loose in the wild. I had no job skills, so we lived off
welfare. ...Everything was different. The variety among the people and the
ideas I encountered was … a huge shift from my prior life, in which everyone
thought and acted the same way … And then there was my constant doubt
and guilt over the choices I made to leave Verlan and the church.
The cultural adjustment was even harder for her children, who had never lived ―outside.‖
Irene—explaining to a school psychologist that the child in question was not retarded, but
simply had never seen a baseball mitt, a fire hydrant, or even a light bulb, and in fact had
never seen a single one of the items pictured in a test he had flunked—eloquently conveys
this struggle.
Perhaps the most salient message of these books is the variety of ways life can impose
misery in a totalitarian group, and the valor and resiliency that can overcome a lifetime of
indoctrination.
Livia Bardin, M.S.W.
What Orwell Didn’t Know: Propaganda and the New Face of American
Politics
Edited by András Szántó, PublicAffairs (250 West 57th St, Suite 1321, NY, NY
10107). 2007. ISBN—10: 1-58648-560-1 ISBN—13: 978-1-58648-560-3
(paperback), $14.95 ($10.17, Amazon.com). 272 pages
Publication of this collection of essays by twenty writers coincided with a symposium at
Columbia University in New York to honor the sixtieth anniversary of Orwell‘s essay ―Politics
and the English Language.‖ George Orwell (pen name for Eric Arthur Blair, 1903–1950)
wrote his classic commentary on misuse of language in 1946, three years before he
published his apocalyptic novel 1984 (or Nineteen Eighty-Four). The novel reflects Orwell‘s
prognosis that language as propaganda can augment a social dystopia or totalitarian
regime. Orwell argues that language should reflect reality as directly as possible. ―Politics
and the English Language‖ is reproduced in full in the appendix of this volume. The editor,
András Szántó, who resides in New York, is a writer and consultant to philanthropic
organizations. He is also a freelance journalist.
Most of the essays in this anthology reflect on our current state of politics, and that includes
criticizing the Bush administration and its handling of the war in Iraq. The book project
began when the deans of five prominent journalism schools commiserated about the sad
state of political language and how rapidly it seemed to be disconnecting from reality.
Despite the book‘s overall leftist lean (Orwell, a socialist, should have been pleased with
that), a few essayists strike notes that cut left and right through political jargon. As Szántó
notes, ―It goes without saying that politicians have always taken liberties with the truth‖ (p.
x). However, Szántó already overlooks two Orwell rules (1 and 3) for writers here: ―It goes
without saying that‖ is better stated as ―Invariably‖ or ―Notoriously.‖
Before I go on, let us look at Orwell‘s six rules for writers, from his essay:
1. Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing
in print.
