10 Significant Quotes: 1984

May 20th, 2011: Book Two, Chapter III

1. “Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.” Book 1, Chapter III Page 35. This slogan is a prime example as to how the party controls its citizens. By falsifying records and changing the past, Big Brother is always looked upon in a bright, angelic light. However this is a tremendous lie, and Winston is placed in a world of turmoil when he wants to uproot this lie.
2. “In the end the Party would announce that two and two made five, and you would have to believe it.” Book 1, Chapter VII Page 80.This quote expresses an important theme of the novel 1984. The Party ultimate power resides in limiting its citizen’s intelligence. In this way, the Party is able to maintain control through both fear and simply ignorance.
3. “I understand HOW: I do not understand WHY.” Book 1, Chapter VII Page 80. Winston understands how the process of falsifying the past works, yet is unable to understand why Big Brother would feel the need to change the past in the first place. Big Brother changes the past in order to keep control over the future and maintain the population. Always showing Big Brother in a positive light. Winston however must understand why things have to be this why.
4. “She did not understand that there was no such thing as happiness, that the only victory lay in the far future, long after you were dead, that from the moment of declaring war on the Party it was better to think of yourself as a corpse.” Book 2, Chapter III Page 135.  This quote is essential to the novel. Winston comes to the realization that success for overturning the Party would come at a high cost and most importantly it would not be anytime in the near future. This war over the Party would not be won in their life time. The final words in this quote foreshadows their future.     
5. “The room was a world, a pocket of the past where extinct animals could walk. ” Book 2, Chapter V Page 150. This quote refers back from Winston and Julia’s relationship. In simple terms what they have between them is a thing from the past, like a dinosaur true love during the Party’s existence is extinct. The room becomes their safe place where they can let their emotions run wild and ideas consume them.
6. “They simply swallowed everything, and what they swallowed did them no harm, because it left no residue behind, just as a grain of corn will pass undigested through the body of a bird.”  Book 2, Chapter V Page 156.  This quote explains how the Party is able to survive in modern times, they force what normally to be intelligent citizens to believe the lies of the government. Also to maintain order their Totalitarian Government, they do away with intelligent people who could possibly stand against the government. intelligent people must be reconditioned to reject the self-evident truth, sanity, and common sense if they wish to survive.
7. “They can’t get inside of you. If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can’t have any result whatever, you’ve beaten them.” Book 2, Chapter VII Page 166. Winston explains to Julia how he is able to persevere and stand above the influence of the Party’s might. Death is inevitable, Winston has already accept that fact. He takes pride in his ability to think freely. He’s unlimited, unchallenged, unrestricted thoughts will survive internally in his mind.
8. “Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.” Book 3, Chapter III Page 263. The Party seeks power for its own sake. Its power is absolute and no one is able to challenge it. It keep it masses in isolation from one another, making them unable to compare them themselves to other societies. There is no other reason for power except to maintain power.
9. “If you are a man, Winston, you are the last man.” Book 3, Chapter III Page 270. O’Brien tells this statement to Winston, which is essential to the entire novel. While interrogating Winston, O’Brien’s goal is to make him feel inferior to the point of no hope. Winston needs to believe that he is alone in this challenge against Big Brother. In this way people the chances of people challenging Big Brother are lessened.
10. “To die hating them, that was freedom.” Book 3, Chapter IV Page 281. Winston detest Big Brother down to his inner core. To him, going against Big Brother was the ultimate liberty in life. If he were to die still hating Big Brother, it would make the statement of everything he had stood for in life and the sacrifices he had to make. Even though very few people, if any, would know he hated Big Brother, it was more a personally accomplishment for him.