Hello and welcome to another discussion of George Orwell's essays, brought to you through training, wisdom tooth clinics, and my computer deciding that it has to update itself, oh my!

Orwell famously discussed the English language and how it could be used as a tool in the back of his book 1984, and I believe this essay is a first draft of the ideas he explores there. (This was published in 1946, and 1984 was published in 1949) .

Orwell sees the decline of society in the decline of the English language. He makes the point that our thoughts shape the language we use, but that our language also shapes our thoughts (the 1984 vibe coming in here). To Orwell, if people cannot effectively use language as a tool, then they will find it much harder to gather and collaborate in any meaningful political sense. He talks about language that helps people to understand each other, and language which does not.