Common Mod '1984' quotes

1st ‘1984’ quote - “The birds sang, the Proles sang. The Party did not sing.”

The contrast in Winston’s reflection (…) emphasises how instinctive expressions of joy, like singing mark a subtle form of resistance. Despite their lowly status, the Proles retain more humanity than Party members, suggesting that the cost of survival within the Party is the forfeiture of joy and spontaneity.

2nd ‘1984’ quote - “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.”

The Party’s grip over the populace is further encapsulated in the paradox (…) highlighting how citizens are trapped in a perpetual present where the past is continuously altered, and the future is dictated by the Party. Through this manipulation of memory, Orwell constructs a society in which reality itself is engineered, depriving citizens of historical truth and anchoring them in an eternal, manipulated present.

3rd ‘1984’ quote - “We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves.”

The Party’s psychological dominance culminates in O’Brien’s declaration to Winston, (…) metaphorically depicting hollowing and refilling Winston from an “empty vessel”, highlighting the full extent of the Party’s psychological control and the eradication of emotional freedom.

4th ‘1984’ quote - “You did not have friends you had comrades,”

Orwell critiques the regime’s systematic erasure of personal bonds in favour of duty-bound relationships through the reiterated linguistic manipulation that (…) undermining the fundamental human need for personal bonds. By replacing genuine relationship with politically sanctioned affiliations, Orwell suggests that true living marked by emotional intimacy is severely diminished under the regime.

5th ‘1984’ quote - “The paperweight was the room he was in, and the coral was Julia’s life and his own,”

With individuals left clinging to fragments of connection in a society structured for mere survival, Winston’s relationship with Julia symbolises a brief glimpse of emotional freedom. This is encapsulated in the metaphor, (…) which represents a fragile encapsulated world untouched by the Party. By embedding their emotional reality in this image, Orwell reinforces the vulnerability of authentic experience and the doomed nature of intimacy under authoritarian control.

6th ‘1984’ quote - “He felt no love for her, and he hardly even wondered what was happening to her,”

The lack of emotion in, (...) illustrates the Party’s success in stripping individuals of their humanity with Winston’s indifference signifying the annihilation of pure human emotion’s, reducing people to mere instruments of the Party’s will who are incapable of any authentic connections or resistance.

7th ‘1984’ quote - “No emotion was pure, because, everything was mixed up with fear and hatred”

The paradox (…) illuminates the Party’s manipulation of human emotion, aiming to strip individuals of authentic personal feelings and subjective emotional experiences, replacing them with collective emotions designed to enforce loyalty and submission. In doing so, Orwell reveals that even the most personal forms of rebellion are co-opted, leaving individuals with no choice but to experience both survival and living as one compromised, indistinguishable state.

8th ‘1984’ quote - “Nothing exists except through human consciousness”

The paradox (…) suggests that reality itself is dependent on perception, yet perception can be manipulated, particularly by the Party who controls collective consciousness and makes individuals entirely dependent on its sanctioned version of reality. This manipulation of perception erases individual experience, showing that under the Party’s rule, there is no room for autonomy and thus, no real distinction between the two.

9th ‘1984’ quote - “War is Peace; Freedom is Slavery; Ignorance is Strength”

This notion is epitomised in the Party slogans (…) epitomising “doublethink” and compelling citizens to accept paradoxical ideas as truth, thereby eroding critical thought and ensuring the Party’s unchallenged control over truth, memory and freedom.