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George Orwell Quotes

Novelist

George Orwell, born Eric Arthur Blair, was a British novelist and political critic. Known for his sharp social criticism and profound insights into totalitarianism, Orwell is best remembered for his novels '1984' and 'Animal Farm', which remain influential to this day.

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Famous George Orwell Quotes

“It was almost normal for people over thirty to be frightened of their own children”

People Children Normal Thirty Frightened Conspiracy 1984 Important Thought Police

Book:Animal Farm and 1984

Source: Animal Farm and 1984

“The people will believe what the media tells them they believe.”

People Believe Media Believe In Me New Media

Author:George Orwell

“People invent new machines and improve existing ones almost unconsciously, rather as a Somnambulist will go walking in his sleep. The interesting puzzle in our times is that we so willingly sleepwalk through the process of reconstituting the conditions of human existence.”

People Humans Process Sleep Interesting Existence Conditions Design Walking Machines Our Time Puzzles Graphic Human Existence Graphic Design

Author:George Orwell

“Politically, Swift was one of those people who are driven into a sort of perverse Toryism by the follies of the progressive party of the moment.”

People Moments Party Politician Driven Folly Progressive

Book:The Complete Works of George Orwell: Smothered under journalism, 1946

Source: The Complete Works of George Orwell: Smothered under journalism, 1946

“All people who have reached the point of becoming nations tend to despise foreigners, but there is not much doubt that the English-speaking races are the worst offenders. One can see this from the fact that as soon as they become fully aware of any foreign race they invent an insulting nickname for it.”

People Facts Political Nations Race Doubt Worst Becoming Racism Despise Foreigners Insulting Nicknames Offenders English Speaking

Book:All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays

Source: All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays

“Whoever controls the image and information of the past determines what and how future generations will think; whoever controls the information and images of the present determines how those same people will view the past." "He who controls the past commands the future. He who commands the future conquers the past.”

People Thinking Past Views Education Generations Information Determine Command Conquer Future Generation

Author:George Orwell

“If thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought. A bad usage can spread by tradition and imitation even among people who should and do know better.”

People Ifs Knows Should Language Tradition Spread Imitation Usage

Book:All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays

Source: All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays

“The essential point here is that all people with small, insecure incomes are in the same boat and ought to be fighting on the same side. Probably we could do with a little less talk about' capitalist' and 'proletarian' and a little more about the robbers and the robbed.”

People Littles Fighting Sides Economic Ought Essentials Income Boat Inequality Capitalist Insecure Robbers Economic Inequality Fighting On

Book:The Road to Wigan Pier

Source: The Road to Wigan Pier

“It's frightful that people who are so ignorant should have so much influence.”

People Influence Ignorant

Author:George Orwell

“Huge events like the Ukraine famine of 1933, involving the deaths of millions of people, have actually escaped the attention of the majority of English russophiles.”

People Attention Millions Events Huge Majority Genocide Ukraine Famine Involving

Book:In defence of English cooking

Source: In defence of English cooking

“In the end I worked out an anarchistic theory that all government is evil, that the punishment always does more harm than the crime and that people can be trusted to behave decently if only you will let them alone.”

People Ifs Doe Government Evil Crime Theory Harm Punishment Behave Trusted

Author:George Orwell

“The common people, on the whole, are still living in the world of absolute good and evil from which the intellectuals have long since escaped.”

People World Long Stills Whole Evil Common Absolutes Good And Evil

Book:A Collection of Essays

Source: A Collection of Essays

“Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it.”

People Way Matter Action Language Conscious Bother English Language

Book:All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays

Source: All Art Is Propaganda: Critical Essays

“There is a minority of gifted, willfuf people who are determined to live their own lives to the end, and writers belong in this class.”

People Writing Ends Class Determined Minorities Gifted

Author:George Orwell

“In places this book is a little over-written, because Mr Blunden is no more able to resist a quotation than some people are to refuse a drink.”

People Littles Book Able Written Drink Refuse Quotations

Book:Orwell's England: the Road to Wigan Pier in the context of essays, reviews, letters and poems selected from the Complete works of George Orwell

Source: Orwell's England: the Road to Wigan Pier in the context of essays, reviews, letters and poems selected from the Complete works of George Orwell

About the Author

Born: June 25, 1903
Died: January 21, 1950
Known for: Novelist
Quotes: 1163

Books & Sources

1984Related source material

Animal Farm and 1984Related source material

All Art Is Propaganda: Critical EssaysRelated source material

A Collection of EssaysRelated source material

Animal FarmRelated source material

Down and Out in Paris and LondonRelated source material

Facing Unpleasant Facts: Narrative EssaysRelated source material

The Road to Wigan PierRelated source material

Keep the Aspidistra FlyingRelated source material

Why I WriteRelated source material

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