Powerful Quotes from George Orwell’s 1984

NOTE: These quote analyses are written for an audience who has read no further than this part of the story.

QUOTE #1

“His pen had slid voluptuously over the smooth paper, printing in large neat capitals – DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER over and over again, filling half a page.” (Orwell 18)

[Paraphrase / Summary]

While writing in his diary, Winston experienced a self-induced trance and vehemently wrote down his true feelings towards Big Brother and the totalitarian government.

[Literary / Rhetorical Element]

Repetition – “DOWN WITH BIG BROTHER”

[Effect / Function]

The repeated use of the phrase “Down with Big Brother” and the sudden, yet sustained, anger from Winston effectively sheds light onto Winston and his potential to overthrow the existing totalitarian government. This also marks a change from Winston’s former taciturn behavior (regarding individuality) to a more confident one.

QUOTE #2

“Curiously, the chiming of the hour seemed to have put new heart into him. He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear. But so long as he uttered it, in some obscure way, the continuity was not broken. It was not by making yourself heard but by staying sane that you carried on the human heritage.” (Orwell 28)

[Paraphrase / Summary]

Winston contemplated the continuing of thoughts against Big Brother. Though he realizes the futility of inciting reform against government, he assures himself that he must still think these thoughts.

[Literary / Rhetorical Element]

Mood: Depressed, Futile, Pessimistic – “He was a lonely ghost uttering a truth that nobody would ever hear”

[Effect / Function]

Winston’s retrospective outlook on the thoughts that have dominated him (in context with the present state of his society) portrays him as a courageous and methodical man – a stark contrast to dissenters like Goldstein. These qualities contribute to the reader’s impression that Winston may actually alter the existing society.

QUOTE #3

“It struck him as curious that you could create dead men but not living ones. Comrade Ogilvy, who had never existed in the present, now existed in the past, and when once the act of forgery was forgotten, he would exist just as authentically, and upon the same evidence, as Charlemagne or Julius Caesar.” (Orwell 48)

[Paraphrase / Summary]

While altering a person stated in a newspaper article, Winston begins wondering how odd it was that he had the power to presently create pseudo-humans (who “lived” in the past) and that society would blindly accept it as fact.

[Literary / Rhetorical Element]

Contradiction, Oxymoron – “It struck him as curious that you could create dead men but not living ones”

[Effect / Function]

By including an oxymoronic statement, the author effectively forces the reader to question the ethics of government in Winston’s society – and even today! As a result, the reader better understands the value of “evidence” and how it is an integral factor in distinguishing between truth and facts.

QUOTE #4

“A sudden hot sweat had broken out all over Winston’s body. His face remained completely inscrutable. Never show dismay! Never show resentment! A single flicker of the eyes could give you away.” (Orwell 37)

[Paraphrase / Summary]

After being singled out by the fitness instructor, Winston (though extremely nervous) tries to remain cool and collected. He knows that showing signs of fear or abnormality will get him ostracized.

[Literary / Rhetorical Element]

Atmosphere: Tense – “A single flicker of the eyes could give you away”

[Effect / Function]

Not only is the extent to which government instilled fear into the citizens (in an effort to maintain conformity throughout) apparent, but also, the reader observes the routine behavior dissenters like Winston displayed in order to maintain their thoughts and combat their fear.

QUOTE #5

“And only yesterday, he reflected, it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it….Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory?” (Orwell 59)

[Paraphrase / Summary]

Winston is flabbergasted upon noticing that his comrades stupidly took in the information Big Brother presented to them (which was obviously false) as true. He then questions if he is the only citizen with a free mind.

[Literary / Rhetorical Element]

Emphasis – “reduced”, “alone”

Mood: Pessimistic – “Was he, then, alone in the possession of a memory?”

[Effect / Function]

The underlined words help the reader acknowledge the naiveté and ignorance of society, which shows the effect of one of the government’s three main maxims: “Ignorance is Strength”. This incident also gives Winston credibility in showing deep concern for the future of society.

QUOTE #6

“He knew, with more certainty than before, that O’Brien was on his side. He was writing the diary for O’Brien – to O’Brien; it was like an interminable letter which no one would ever read, but which was addressed to a particular person and took its color from that fact.” (Orwell 81)

[Paraphrase / Summary]

The odd aurora that O’Brien gives off whenever Winston thinks about him gives Winston the impression that O’Brien is one of his only allies in overthrowing the existing government. This possibility leads Winston to dedicate his diary to O’Brien.

[Literary / Rhetorical Element]

Hope, Strength – “He knew, with more certainty than before, that O’Brien was on his side”

[Effect / Function]

The fact that Winston feels compelled to continue writing in his diary (because of the apparent alliance between Winston and O’Brien) is important because it allows the novel to progress and gives the reader the impression that the likelihood of Winston altering society has risen.

Works Cited

Orwell, George. 1984. London: Secker and Warburg, 1949.