The Six Rules

I am currently reading 1984 by George Orwell. He died in 1950. It has been about six years since I last read 1984. I find it more enlightening now, than I did before.

What particularly stood out to me is how it truly relates to current issues, such as the idea of the collective versus the individual. In the book they have monitors which can watch the people any moment. Their lives are basically dictated for them.

The idea of the collective versus the individual has to do with rights. Do you take individual rights away from everyone to protect the collective, or do you just punish an individual. It is similar to a child misbehaving in at recess, and teacher not letting any of the students go to recess based upon the fact the one child misbehaved.

This leads to more relevant issues, such as control, do you take away everyone's guns to prevent people from killing others. Furthermore, do you take everyone's cars, because those are capable to kill people, too?


George Orwell had six rules for writing which he published in his book Politics and the English Language.

His six rules were:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

Never use the passive voice where you can use the active.

Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.

Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

For more on George Orwell:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_orwell