George Orwell Quotes

A collection of quotes by George Orwell.

George Orwell was an English writer and journalist, known for his clear and incisive writing style, as well as his critique of authoritarianism and totalitarianism. He was born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903, in Motihari, Bengal, British India. Orwell's father worked as an opium agent in the Indian Civil Service.

Orwell is best known for his dystopian novel, "1984," which portrays a society under constant surveillance and control by a totalitarian regime. Published in 1949, the book has become a literary classic and has had a profound influence on political and cultural discourse. Another notable work by Orwell is "Animal Farm," an allegorical novella that satirizes the Russian Revolution and the rise of Stalinism.

Throughout his career, Orwell used his writing to shed light on the social and political issues of his time. He spent time as a self-proclaimed tramp in London and Paris, which provided him with material for his non-fiction work, "Down and Out in Paris and London." Orwell also fought in the Spanish Civil War and wrote about his experiences in "Homage to Catalonia."

George Orwell's commitment to truth and integrity is evident in his writing and political activism. His work continues to be celebrated for its insights into power, propaganda, and the nature of humanity. Orwell passed away on January 21, 1950, in London, but his legacy lives on through his thought-provoking literature.

In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most su

In a way, the world-view of the Party imposed itself most successfully on people incapable of understanding it. They could be made to accept the most flagrant violations of reality, because they never fully grasped the enormity of what was demanded of them, and were not sufficiently interested in public events to notice what was happening. . 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.

The only good human being is a dead one.

The only good human being is a dead one.

Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to

Freedom is the right to tell people what they do not want to hear

As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for

As with the Christian religion, the worst advertisement for Socialism is its adherents

Patriotism is usually stronger than class hatred, and always

Patriotism is usually stronger than class hatred, and always stronger than internationalism

An autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals somet

An autobiography is only to be trusted when it reveals something disgraceful. A man who gives a good account of himself is probably lying, since any life when viewed from the inside is simply a series of defeats.

In our time, political speech and writing are largely the de

In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible

We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the

We have now sunk to a depth at which the restatement of the obvious is the first duty of intelligent men

He who controls the present, controls the past. He who contr

He who controls the present, controls the past. He who controls the past, controls the future.

In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act

In a time of deceit telling the truth is a revolutionary act.

He who controls the past controls the future. He who control

He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past.

The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being, but to

The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being, but to remind him that he is already degraded

Many people genuinely do not want to be saints, and it is pr

Many people genuinely do not want to be saints, and it is probable that some who achieve or aspire to sainthood have never felt much temptation to be human beings.

Progress is not an illusion; it happens, but it is slow and

Progress is not an illusion; it happens, but it is slow and invariably disappointing.

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound

Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words it is war minus the shooting.

People sleep peacably in their beds at night only because ro

People sleep peacably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.

Political language. . . is designed to make lies sound truth

Political language. . . is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.

The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of

The aim of the High is to remain where they are. The aim of the Middle is to change places with the High. The aim of the Low, when they have an aim -- for it is an abiding characteristic of the Low that they are too much crushed by drudgery to be more than intermittenly conscious of anything outside their daily lives -- is to abolish all distinctions and create a society in which all men shall be equal.

So far as I can see, all political thinking for years past h

So far as I can see, all political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.

A family with the wrong members in control; that, perhaps, i

A family with the wrong members in control; that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase.