If one harbours anywhere in one's mind a nationalistic loyalty or hatred, certain facts, although in a sense known to be true, are inadmissible.
George OrwellRead
From where Winston stood it was just possible to read, picked out on its white face in elegant lettering, the three slogans of the Party:_x000D_ _x000D_ WAR IS PEACE_x000D_ _x000D_ FREEDOM IS SLAVERY_x000D_ _x000D_ IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The slogans illustrate the contradictory nature of the Party's propaganda, highlighting the manipulation of truth.
George Orwell's quote presents the paradoxical slogans of the Party in his dystopian novel '1984'. Each slogan represents a twisted form of reality where war is maintained to ensure peace, individual freedom is curtailed to achieve safety, and ignorance is exalted as a source of strength. These slogans reflect how totalitarian regimes use language to distort facts and control public perception, prompting readers to question the nature of truth and reality in society.
Themes
PropagandaTruthContradictionSocietyControl
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about totalitarianism and its impact on society.
More from George Orwell
All quotes →The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
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Political writing in our time consists almost entirely of prefabricated phrases bolted together like the pieces of a child's Meccano set. It is the unavoidable result of self-censorship. To write in plain, vigorous language one has to think fearlessly, and if one thinks fearlessly one cannot be politically orthodox.
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Not to expose your true feelings to an adult seems to be instinctive from the age of seven or eight onwards.
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As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents.
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It is fatal to look hungry. It makes people want to kick you.
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