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1984 by George Orwell Quotations and Analysis

WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH

These are the slogans engraved on the Ministry of Truth. They evoke the double think of the totalitarian regime of Oceania. The meaning and logic of the slogans run counter to all conventional sense and they reveal the mind-numbing force of the Party. All reality is what the Party says it is, even in the face of logic and reason. War is peace because with a common enemy, an individual can find peace. Freedom is slavery since the only way to be free is by being a slave to the collective will of the Party. Ignorance is strength because the individual finds strength only in the official knowledge of the party.

“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past.”

The Party’s internal slogan, this represents the entire strategy of the Party. It is spoken twice in the novel; once in Book One, Chapter III while Winston thinks about the way the Party controls history and personal memory; again in Book Three, Chapter II as Winston talks to O’Brien about the nature of history. It is a perfect example of how the Party exerts control over history and truth to subvert individual ideas of both. The totalitarian power of the Party resides in its ability to exert all understanding of reality over individual will.

“And when memory failed and written records were falsified—when that happened, the claim of the Party to have improved the conditions of human life had got to be accepted, because there did not exist, and never again could exist, any standard against which it could be tested.”

From Book One, Chapter VIII, this demonstrates the far-reaching power of the Party. By not only erasing and re-writing history, but also eliminating any and all counter-claims to truth, the Party rendered it impossible to challenge their dominating version of truth. Even if a rebellion were to present a real challenge, there are no documents or records to support any of their claims. The only history and truth is the official version written and constantly re-written by the Party. This is the ultimate exertion of knowledge as a form of power.

“And perhaps you might pretend, afterwards, that it was only a trick and that you just said it to make them stop and didn’t really mean it. But that isn’t true. At the time when it happens you do mean it. You think there’s no other way of saving yourself and you’re quite ready to save yourself that way. You want it to happen to the other person. You don’t give a damn what they suffer. All you care about is yourself.”

Spoken toward the end by Julia to Winston as they talk about their experiences in Room 101. This quotation reveals the final triumph of the Party. They deny any real love, devotion, or dedication to each other and accept the Party’s version of what happened. The triumph of the brutal state over individual will is complete as they accept and admit their love was a lie and that their intentions were to hurt each other so as to prevent themselves from being hurt. They final claim is that there are no real motives beyond self-interest and individuals require a powerful central authority to ensure peace and order.

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