“Everything will be dead inside you. Never again will you be capable of love, or friendship, or joy of living, or laughter, or curiosity, or courage, or integrity. You will be hollow. We shall squeeze you empty, and then we shall fill you with ourselves.” (211)
This brings back Orwell's frequently quoted saying, ‘we are the dead.’ Before Winston was captured, he used this saying as a metaphor to both how the party is taking over and what committing thoughtcrime reduces you to. It is a conscious decision that one makes, knowing you will be caught and killed. This quote brings even more meaning to ‘we are the dead.’ O’Brien is saying the party truly makes people dead, at least inside. They empty people of themselves, which literally makes them ‘the dead.’
So what might Orewell be trying to say beyond the text?
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