his is around page 271 in my edition of the book:
"'you are the last man,' said O'Brian. 'You are the guardian of the human spirit. You shall see yourself as you are. Take off your clothes . . . Go on, stand between the wings of the mirror. you shall see the side view as well.'
[Winston] had stopped because he was frightened. A bowed, grey, skeleton-like thing was coming towards him, Its actual appearance was frightening, and not merely the fact that he knew it to be himself..."
Just read the description of Winston in that passage. Orwell makes many allusions towards his vision of the future in the book, both direct and indirect, but in my opinion this passage is the most powerful. It sums up all of what Orwell was trying to convey about society.
I know this doesn't answer all of your questions, but, like i said, it's a start :)
Hope this helps, and good luck on your essay!
Source:
1984 - George Orwell
This quote (if I remember correctly) is from a diatribe given by a party member named O'Brien directly to the stories protagonist, Winston Smith. Smith is imprisoned in the Ministry of Love for crimes against the State and O'Brien is finally explaining what exactly the government's philosophy really is.
The totalitarian government of Oceania is one directed by hatred of the individual. They bully because they can. They delight in doing so. They bait the populace with promises of a better life and the ubiquitous phrases about how much Big Brother cares for them, but it's all a thin cover for their utter disgust and loathing of the people they govern.
That is the essence of the quote above. We're stomping on you. We know we're stomping on you and we know it hurts. Good! Keep right on hurting. It delights us! There is no way we can be stopped. Ever.
The quote makes sense inside the story, but there are precious few governments in history this would accurately apply to... thank God for that!
This quote (if I remember correctly) is...