As I start writing this response to Orwell's "Politics and the English Language," I find that I am more hesitant than usual. I feel like I'm in danger of doing the kind of writing he blames for the "general collapse" of the English language. Worse, you'll all now be aware of the fact that my writing is bad.

Ah, well. The part of Orwell's argument that I found most interesting was the idea that meaning should choose words, rather than words dictating meaning. It's true that we often get so concerned with sounding intelligent that we forget to make our actual point. Using too many words is just as dangerous as using the wrong ones, since our meaning can get lost or even changed in the midst of all the letters. I also often fall victim (case in point) (again) to cliched metaphors and phrases. It's easy to rely on these words to try to describe something, even if they don't actually describe what we think they do.

Especially in political writing and speaking, where meaning is essential, I think Orwell is right that we need to concentrate on being more succinct and exact. However, given the nature of politics, this is very difficult. "In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible." Politicians use metaphors, and especially euphemisms to make their points more palatable to the public. Very few would vote for a politicians who advocated the total destructionof a village and its people, and so politicians frame such ideas under the guise of "spreading democracy" or "achieving liberation for an oppressed people." Not only is this type of language bad, its also dangerous.

Lyn Pykett's feminist critique of Wuthering Heights reiterated the importance of literacy in the actions and identities of the two Catherines. She describes the first Catherine's diary as being indicative of her rebellious, dissatisfied nature. The fact that Catherine wrote about the things in her life that she did, as well as the ones that caused her frustration, shows that she was determined to exist outside of society's expectations for girls. Growing up, she is wild and unrestrained. It is only after going to Thrushcross Grange that she begins to conform. In this conformity, she loses part of herself. It might be the most vital part, since her transformation into a proper lady eventually leads to her demise, though it may be in a roundabout way. I think this is a common theme in feminist literature; a woman gives up her own desires and personality in order to be what society wants her to be, and so causes her destruction.

Cathy uses books in order to hang onto her identity. She refuses to allow her will to succumb to the imprisonment at Wuthering Heights, though she cannot do anything about the physical entrapment. Books eventually allow her to choose Hareton, which will make her happy. Cathy is able to fulfill her desires, because she holds onto the power of literacy. Catherine stops holding reading and writing in any sort of real esteem, and so stops fighting for her identity.