Summary: The Word Police

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I am writing to you on behalf of your article that was from in the 1993 New York Times, “The Word Police”. In this article you focus on the way that society is becoming increasingly sensitive to language and how there are people that are trying to change it, hence the name “The Word Police”. The point that you seem to be trying to get across in this article is that people are become way too insensitive to language and this can lead to consequences within society. The quote that you put in the article by Orwell sums up the overall meaning of the article pretty well. Orwell says “(the movement is) designed to make lies sound more truthful and murder more respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to the wind.”(19) Then he expands by…show more content…
A lot of your examples came through your use of sarcasm. One way you did this was by using an “insensitive” word and then following it by using its “politically correct” counterpart. This was seen in your third and ninth paragraphs where you said “superman (super-person)” and “the average man (sorry, individual)”, respectively. Although these are two of the best examples, there are plenty more that can be shown. This approach works very well because it shows the ridiculousness of what this movement is trying to do by constantly giving examples throughout the article. Although this was a good method that can be successful on most people, it can also be cause for confusion in the article if the sarcasm is not understood. This could easily be fixed by using more clarification within your sarcasm by explaining in either the beginning or the end of your…show more content…
The one example you mention, that almost every person can relate to, is your example with Santa Claus. While talking about how using these politically correct words will not really help society, you say “will tossing out Santa Claus- Whom Ms. Maggio accuses of reinforcing the “male-as-norm system”- in favor of Befana, His Italian Female alter ego, truly help banish sexism?”(17) This example not only relates to the reader of the article but it also evokes emotion within the reader. For many people Santa Claus is a huge part of their childhood happiness. Getting rid of him will bring out a feeling of anger or sadness. So every time you think of this movement you will think back to how they are trying to get rid of Santa. You also make connection with the reader by bringing up the book Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. With the audience of the New York Times being an older generation, most of them can relate to the book. You give the example, in paragraph 19, that people involved in this movement wish to change this American classic due to its use of the word “nigger” even though this word goes on to describe one of the most honorable protagonist of the book. Again, this example helps the reader relate to this movement and how they want to change an American classic that these people have grown up with which helps to evoke feelings of
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