Hayley ’s Reviews > 1984 > Status Update

“If both the last and the external world exist only in the mind, and if the mind itself is controllable-what then?”

“The past was not only changed, but changed continuously.”

“Everything faded into mist. The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth.”

“Until they become conscious they will never rebel, and until after they have rebelled they cannot become conscious.”

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

“But where did they knowledge exist? Only in his own consciousness, which in any case must soon be annihilated.”

“If the party could thrust its hand into the past and say of this or that event, it never happened-that, surely, was more terrifying than mere torture and death?”

“Nothing was your own except the few cubic centimetres inside your skull.”

“Freedom exists only in the moments we exercise it. We must mark the paper; we must refuse. We must bear witness to the facts before our eyes, listen and give clear voices to the bones mute protest, for as soon as we fall silent-from distraction, obedience, exhaustion or fear-our freedom evaporates and we are left worshipping only its empty image.”