Kiara Britto quote

“The stuff that was coming out of him consisted of words, but it was not speech in the true sense: it was a noise uttered in unconsciousness, like the quacking of a duck.”

This quote was taken from Part I, chapter 5, when Winston is having lunch with his friend, Syme.
We can see from this quote that Winston is resentful of the Party’s oppression. More specifically, our protagonist is criticizing the lack of freedom of speech in Oceania. His quote is directly referring to Syme, his “comrade” who works in the Research Department. Syme venerated Big Brother and spoke about all things related to the Party with much enthusiasm.
In the book we get a good sense of how dominant Big Brother is in the everyday lives of our characters. To illustrate, the citizens of Oceania do not have the possibility to think anymore, as the Party has taken away their freedom of thought with Doublethink. Their every move is watched and if they do not meet the Party’s high standards, they run the risk of losing their lives. Winston is denouncing the idea that Syme does not speak or think for himself. He has been brainwashed by the Party and is unconscious of what he is saying. He is simply repeating what he is told as he is accustomed to doing.
To make his point, George Orwell compares Syme to a duck, enhancing the fact that Syme tends to quack away with no true recollection of what he is saying.

I really like this analysis because it puts emphasis on the lack of individual identity and freedom of speech we can observe in Oceania. It's difficult to even imagine what living in a society like this would be like since in our society, people take such pride in their identities, it is a huge part of our lives. When I try to imagine living in a society where everyone wears the same clothes, has the same opinions and says whatever the authority wants them to, I think it would be terribly dull. However, the people of Oceania know no different, they have nothing to compare it to. I guess people can adapt to any conditions if they have to, and after a while even the most unimaginable situations can seem normal. I suppose if I lived in a society like Oceania, I would't see anything wrong with it either.

-maeve