Say What You Mean, Mean What You Say
How Language Can Be Used to Become More Influential
Language is one of the most essential traits of humans. Just like people, language evolves
over time, adapting to the social and cultural norms of society. However, one aspect about
language remains constant: the ability to manipulate it to fit one’s purpose. The ability to
manipulate language is a way to conceal a person’s true intentions, whether for the good or
downfall of society. In George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language”, he argues
that this manipulation of language is used by politicians in order to sway people over to their
cause. Their indirect approach of getting their message across leaves it up to the listener to
interpret the politician’s unclear meaning, ultimately shifting blame away from the politician
when they do something that goes against their original policy.
Politicians are people that create laws and policies for the people of the area that they
represent. To get to this position of power, politicians have to convince the general public that
what they intend to do will benefit society. However, their message is often ambiguous and their
true intentions aren’t clear until they have the power to make changes to legislation, policies,
and/or the people’s lives. Most of the time, they intend to make or support policies that would net
economic or political power to their own self interest or political party. In 2017, Donald Trump’s
Inauguration Address reiterated the promises he made to his people during his presidential
campaign, one of which was to “drain the swamp”. Trump promised to get rid of corruption in
Washington and have a government that serves its people, “For too long, a small group in our
nation's capital has reaped the rewards of government, while the people have borne the cost.
Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the
jobs left and the factories closed”. In these couple of sentences, Trump uses what Orwell would
characterize as “dying metaphors” in phrases like “reaped the rewards of government” and “the
people have borne the cost”. This makes Trump’s intentions and future course of action unclear,
until he does take actions that would give him even more political power. Instead of adhering to
his “drain the swamp” promise in his campaign and Inaugural Address, he chose to fill his
cabinet with corporate owners like former Goldman Sachs executive Steve Mnuchin and former
Exxon Mobil chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson. Politicians are a prime example of people that
purposefully manipulate language to become more influential with the consequence being that
the general public suffers, as they are the ones who have to listen to politicians’ speeches without
being able to envision their meaning.
This manipulation of language to conceal one’s intentions isn’t a new tool used by
politicians; in fact, this stretches back centuries to novels and plays from classic literature. The
antagonist manipulates their speech in such a way to convince the other characters to commit to
their cause, without having them know his/her intentions of evil. In Paradise Lost, an epic poem
published in 1667 by John Milton, is about making sense of why Satan and humans fell from a
place of paradise: heaven and the Garden of Eden respectively. When Milton retells the biblical
story of Adam and Eve, he gives Satan the best lines in order to successfully convince Eve to eat
from the Tree of Knowledge: “To happier life, knowledge of Good and Evil; / Of good, how
just? of evil, if what is evil / Be real, why not known, since easier shunnd? / God therefore
cannot hurt ye, and be just; / Not just, not God; not feard then, nor obeyd: / Your feare it self of
Death removes the feare.” (Book IX, Lines 697 - 702). Satan manipulates his language by
making it very clear the opportunities to be had if Eve eats the apple while making the
consequences ambiguous, leaving it up to Eve to interpret the dangers behind eating the apple.
Especially with the lines “Of good, how just? of evil, if what is evil / Be real, why not known,
since easier shunnd? / God therefore cannot hurt ye, and be just;”, Satan makes the repercussions
for eating the apple unclear by dichotomizing God’s power and morals. He convinced Eve by
making it seem like eating the apple was all to her benefit, concealing his own intentions behind
wanting humans to eat the apple. This tool of manipulating language has had drastic
consequences. In the case of Satan, he was able to bring about the downfall of humans by
making them banished from the Garden of Eden. In the case of politicians, they are able to
influence a mass number of people and create division amongst many groups of people. With the
case of Trump, his failure to adhere to the “swamp the drain” promise caused many debates
between his supporters and rivals. Language is a powerful tool, however the nefarious ways it is
used throughout history can make it seem like a weapon.