3 Powerful Quotes From George Orwell That Will Make You Think

These quotes are more relevant than ever.

1984 is a novel which still haunts me to this day, the constant depiction of mass surveillance, the unbearable mental torture, and the totalitarian government all make a world where no one wants to live in. All came from the mind of the brilliant George Orwell.

Eric Arthur Blair (pen name George Orwell) was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. He’s famous for his strong opinions against totalitarian regimes and writing major works about the political issues of his time.

Two of his greatest works are 1984 and Animal Farm. Both novels contain a strong message of the dangers of totalitarianism and the eventual destruction of free-thinking and speech. These novels ought to warn us of the future where the government is supreme and controls all aspects of society.

Despite both of these books being published 70 years earlier, these books are more relevant than ever. Becoming one of the most celebrated and popular works of literature, written by such a master of his craft.

George Orwell proves to be a master of dystopian fiction, and his works are constantly quoted and referenced in today’s culture. Here are three of his quotes which will make you think hard:

“In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.” ― George Orwell

In 1984, when all sectors of society are controlled by the totalitarian regime called The Party, the truth is what The Party says is true. If the Party says 2 plus 2 equals 5, then the truth is 2 plus 2 equals 5 regardless of how wrong they are.

The citizens are constantly fed with propaganda claiming that the government is always right and the government’s enemies are in the wrong. A simple truth cannot be spoken without facing severe repercussions, this is the dystopian world that Orwell has created.

In a time where everyone fools themselves, someone who speaks the simple truth is considered to be brave.

In problems faced by humans such as climate change, the pandemic, and many more. Most people still deny such facts, they claim that climate change is a hoax or the pandemic is all set-up. And they choose to terrorize the ones who speak the truth which is almost the entire population.

As problems seem to get bigger and worse, it’s tempting to succumb to comfortable lies than face our hard reality and Orwell did a good job portraying this issue.

There’s a great quote from Mysterio in the movie Spider-Man: Far From Home, “It’s easy to fool people when they’re already fooling themselves.”

“Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing.”

— George Orwell

People living under the Party regime were subject to psychological and mental torture when they start to doubt the Party and its teachings. When someone is straying from their ideologies, they tear the dissenters’ minds using abhorrent torture methods and made them believe that the Party is right.

During our time, it’s easy to convince people to believe the version of your truth but not the objective truth itself.

When one has absolute power, it’s almost impossible to think that he will use it wisely. In order to secure power, one has the tendency to use all methods available in order to shape and distort the thinking of the public similar to one’s own.

in 1984, every day there is an allotted time where the citizens are supposed to undergo 2 Minutes Hate, where the enemy of the Party is shown in a screen and the citizens were supposed to scream and say derogatory words. They would shout every vile thing they could think of and release all of their hate and anger just to strengthen the idea that the enemy of the party is always the evil one.

It’s easy to shape people’s beliefs, to distort and bend their wills when we have the absolute power to do so.

“Big Brother is Always Watching”

— George Orwell

Big Brother refers to the leader of the totalitarian state in which 1984 is set in. He’s this all-mighty figure who the brainwashed citizens put their faith into. He was treated as an all-powerful leader who could see everything, everywhere, and everyone.

Now, Big Brother is often used to symbolize the government’s abuse of power, a government that conducts mass surveillance to its state and one who regularly releases propaganda supporting the government.

It was never clearly stated whether Big Brother was a real person or a fictitious one but his influence impacted all those who have read the novel.

Constant monitoring happens in our lives, most companies keep track of our data and sells them to third-parties sometimes without our consent, and most of the time with our consent.

We trade our privacy for specific services offered to us that make our lives easier and more efficient. But we need to remember the limits, privacy is a freedom that we often take for granted.

In a dystopian world similar to the one Orwell prophesied, everything is in control. No one has privacy and everything is seen and heard.

1984 is still a dystopian fiction but every day, we slowly see it become reality. Orwell’s novels seek to warn us of the impending autocratic future if we let our rights be taken for granted.

I’m not here to say that the government is plotting a mind-control device or any other conspiracy stuff like that because that is unlikely to happen (for now at least).

But we need to be aware and keep check of the government’s power, a world like 1984 is not a world we want to live in. We need not to be passive citizens, but we are all citizens and members of the society that has the potential to spark change when necessary.

Millions of people have sacrificed their lives to achieve freedom that we have today and we share their ability to ignite passion and revolution during times of necessity.

Freedom of speech, free-thinking, privacy, these rights were almost non-existent in Orwell’s prophecy and we must not let it be taken from us before it’s too late.