Please

Yay. My computer is home from the repair shop, and I'm back in the saddle. Let me say a few things to you:

First, don't misunderstand Orwell. An impassioned argument for coherence and clarity is not an argument for dumbing things down. A good vocabulary is the sign of an intelligent and flexible mind. Words are the writer's tools. Don't misunderstand Orwell's message, and think you can grunt your way to a passing score on the AP exam. Stay away from inflated constructions and hackneyed phrases, yes. However, you are being ushered into the world of academic discourse, and you must practice and acquire its language, period. We've all read enough posts about Orwell's call for simplicity. It's more than that.

How about this? Orwell argues against the "belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes" (paragraph 1). What about that? What does that mean? Do you think that's true?

Second, the plot to Brave New World is SECONDARY to the ideas contained within the text. SECONDARY TO. SUBORDINATE TO.

Today I was talking to some colleagues about our tendency to prescribe drugs to hyperactive kids -- first, we label them (ADHD), and then we prescribe Ritalin or some other pharmaceutical cocktail. This is how we work in America. Look at all the Rx ads that bombard our airwaves. WHAT IS THAT?

I hear you saying things like, "I don't really understand what Huxley is getting at. Does he think this is an ideal society, all that Soma and casual sex? What's with the Savage Reservation?" As Huxley's dark vision unfurls around us, we don't even see it, and what's more, when we read about something similar, we don't recognize it..."it's just the way things are."

What does Postman say about Huxley?