Are English and History Really Needed?

My least favorite class in school is, without a doubt, English. I hated English and I thought that it was asinine to have four years of English in high school, but one day I had to read 1984 for English.

At first, I thought that it was a confusing and rather boring book, but then I noticed the importance of the language of Newspeak in the book. For those of you who haven’t read 1984, Newspeak is the “language of the future” and it’s basically a very primitive form of English (or Oldspeak in 1984). The importance of Newspeak is that because Newspeak is so primitive, abstract themes such as good and evil, freedom and slavery, etc. can’t be expressed or can’t be expressed properly.

You see, English isn’t just a language, it is so much more important. Without language, there is no expression; without language, there is no thought besides what somebody else wants you to think. For example, during the Middle Ages (before the Renaissance) only priests could read the Bible (because back then, Bibles were Latin and only priests could read Latin) and so as a result, other Christians couldn’t read the Bible to develop their own sense of what the Bible told until Martin Luther (not Martin Luther King Jr., this guy lived hundreds of years before Mr. King) helped started Protestant churches. I hate to admit it, but the four years of English in high school are really needed. But I’m still not a fanatic about the English language, after all, who the heck would want an English degree (besides writers that is).

Of course, English isn’t the most important thing in the world. China serves as a grim example. While others were using bronze, China was making iron and while others were fighting with swords, China was using gunpowder. The Great Wall is the only man-made building that can be seen from other space. And yet, other countries eventually superseded China. Why? Because all the bright, smart people in China studied Chinese in order to get into the government and get a good job, as a result, science was largely ignored and China fell.

The moral: study enough of languages so you can learn to express yourself, but don’t throw your entire life to languages (in my opinion, it’s better to not get a degree at all than to get an English degree unless you’re going to be a writer or an underpaid and under-appreciated English teacher).

I also once deemed History obsolete. Now I know that it’s not. History teaches us the mistakes and triumphs of the past so that we can use and recreated the triumphs of the past and learn from the mistakes of the past. But History is also very important. History affects how we think, and how we think affects how we act. Once again, 1984 demonstrates the importance of accurate History.

If History is rewritten over and over again, people will have more reasons to support somebody or oppose somebody so therefore, History, when placed in the wrong hands, can be a powerful and devastating propaganda tool. “He who controls the present controls the past. He who controls the past controls the future.” (This excerpt is from 1984).

Sometimes, I wonder whether or not the subjects in school are needed or not. Well, I’m still not sure about P.E. and a bunch of other subjects, but I know that History and English, no matter how bothersome they might be, are really necessary. Still, don’t expect me to become a History or English major (which are practically worthless except for a few jobs).