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Dismissive Diction In George Orwell's '1984'

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“It’s a beautiful thing the destruction of words” Syme firmly declares(Orwell 1). The Party seeks to narrow the range of thought leading to a decrease in thoughtcrime. Syme is dedicated to the Party and specializes in language, so he is a firm believer in getting rid of Oldspeak. In George Orwell's 1984, Syme utilizes dismissive diction and logos to convince Winston of the beauty in destroying a language. Within the passage of 1984, Orwell utilizes dismissive diction. Through his use of diction, Syme attempts to cast upon a negative sense towards Oldspeak to Winston. He does so when he claims ”if you want a stronger version of “good”, what sense is there in having a whole string of vague useless words like “excellent” and “splendid”” (Orwell 1). By expressing Oldspeak as having “useless” and “vague” terms, Syme aims for Winston to develop a negative feeling towards the language. In attempts to convince Winston of the beauty in destroying language, through his use of negative diction, he intends for Winston to feel it is adverse and unworthy, therefore it should be destroyed. …show more content…

Syme claims that the beauty behind destroying words relies on the outcome because good does come from eliminating words. Through these logical outcomes, Syme tries to convince Winston of the beauty in destroying language. Syme continues on by arguing, “has it ever occurred to you, Winston, that by the year 2050, at the very latest, not a single human being will be alive who could understand such a conversation as we are having now?” (Orwell 2). Syme attempts to appeal to Winston’s intellect by stating that if no one will understand their conversation in the future then there is no need for it. He is making an effort for Winston to believe in the beauty of destroying language by claiming the future is better off without Oldspeak. Therefore, it should be removed from

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