As he once wrote of Kipling, his own enduring influence can be measured by a number of terms and phrases–doublethink, thought police, 'Some animals are more equal than others'–that he embedded in our language and in our minds. In Orwell's own mind there was an inextricable connection between language and truth, a conviction that by using plain and unambiguous words one could forbid oneself the comfort of certain falsehoods and delusions. Every time you hear a piece of psychobabble or propaganda–'people's princess, ' say, or 'collateral damage, ' or 'peace initiative'–it is good to have a well-thumbed collection of his essays nearby. His main enemy in discourse was euphemism, just as his main enemy in practice was the abuse of power, and (more important) the slavish willingness of people to submit to it. .Christopher Hitchens
About This Quote
George Orwell was a prolific writer. He published more than 50 books, including Animal Farm, 1984, and Homage to Catalonia. He also wrote essays for many periodicals, including the New English Weekly, the Evening Standard, the South American Review, and the Listener. His writing can be divided into three main categories: criticism of totalitarianism, criticism of the British class system, and criticism of totalitarianism in general.
George Orwell is credited with coining several words in the English language that are still used today. Doublethink is one of them.
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