--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you kept the small rules, you could…" description: "\"“If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. She”\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg" --- # If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones… ![“If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. She” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg) > ““If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. She”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Adhering to minor rules can enable you to challenge larger, oppressive ones. **In simple terms:** Follow small rules to undermine big ones. Key Takeaway Use minor compliance strategically. Themes politics ethics resistance strategy Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - activism - organizational reform - personal empowerment Key Concepts civil disobedience power dynamics law vs morality Questions to Reflect On - When is breaking a rule justified? - How to balance order and rebellion? A Different Perspective Small compliance may reinforce the system. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-ones/) [Break Big](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/break-big-2435392/) [Kept Small](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kept-small-5689612/) [Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rule/) [Rules Break](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules-break/) [Small Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/small-rules-4879978/) ## Related quotes > [If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-break-the-big-ones/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“She spent an astonishing amount of time in attending lectures and demonstrations, distributing literature for the Junior Anti-Sex League, preparing banners for Hate Week,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/she-spent-an-astonishing-amount-of-time-in-attending-lectures-and/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Gotta know the rules to break the rules.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-barlog/gotta-know-the-rules-to-break-the-rules/) [Cory Barlog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-barlog/) > [If you're going to break the rules, you might as well break them correctly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-gutman/if-you-re-going-to-break-the-rules-you-might-as-well-break-them/) [Dan Gutman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-gutman/) > [“Learn the rules, then break them intelligently.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessica-bell/learn-the-rules-then-break-them-intelligently/) [Jessica Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessica-bell/) > [“There are rules to everything, even if nobody made them up, even if nobody calls it a game. And if you want things to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/there-are-rules-to-everything-even-if-nobody-made-them-up-even-if/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [By all means break the rules, and break them beautifully, deliberately and well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bringhurst/by-all-means-break-the-rules-and-break-them-beautifully-deliberately/) [Robert Bringhurst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bringhurst/) > [DX you make the rules and we will break them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-michaels/dx-you-make-the-rules-and-we-will-break-them/) [Shawn Michaels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-michaels/) > [“Learn the rules before you break them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-taylor-goldsberry/learn-the-rules-before-you-break-them/) [Steven Taylor Goldsberry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-taylor-goldsberry/) > [“Sometimes, you must play by the rules. If only so one can break them more effectively.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-rodale/sometimes-you-must-play-by-the-rules-if-only-so-one-can-break-them/) [Maya Rodale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-rodale/) > [There are no rules, but you break them at your peril.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-guber/there-are-no-rules-but-you-break-them-at-your-peril/) [Peter Guber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-guber/) > [“one must first know the rules to break them,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-b-agus/one-must-first-know-the-rules-to-break-them/) [David B. Agus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-b-agus/) > [“If you break little promises you’ll break big ones. That’s what you said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-you-break-little-promises-you-ll-break-big-ones-that-s-what-you/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [My fantasy is to break up the big banks. I wish we would end 'too big to fail' in our banking system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-c-griffin/my-fantasy-is-to-break-up-the-big-banks-i-wish-we-would-end-too-big/) [Kenneth C. Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-c-griffin/) > [If you break little promises, you'll break big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/if-you-break-little-promises-you-ll-break-big-ones/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Big ones quotes > [Theres only two women: Big ol good ones and good ol big ones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-micah-rosales/theres-only-two-women-big-ol-good-ones-and-good-ol-big-ones/) [Maria Micah Rosales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-micah-rosales/) > [Throw back the little ones, and pan-fry the big ones. Use tact, poise, and reason, and gently squeeze them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steely-dan/throw-back-the-little-ones-and-pan-fry-the-big-ones-use-tact-poise/) [Steely Dan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steely-dan/) > ['The Wire's definitely one of them. 'The Sopranos' is one of my all-time favorites. Those are two big ones for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bass/the-wire-s-definitely-one-of-them-the-sopranos-is-one-of-my-all-time/) [Ben Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bass/) > [The story I always recite - and have had to recite so many times over the years to different lawyers and different people within…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dj-shadow/the-story-i-always-recite-and-have-had-to-recite-so-many-times-over/) [DJ Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dj-shadow/) > [If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-break-the-big-ones/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Growing up, the only acts that came to us in Alaska were the big ones. The Mariah Careys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gourley/growing-up-the-only-acts-that-came-to-us-in-alaska-were-the-big-ones/) [John Gourley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gourley/) > [If you appreciate the small things, you're likely to get the big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-eriksson/if-you-appreciate-the-small-things-you-re-likely-to-get-the-big-ones/) [Jonas Eriksson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-eriksson/) > [Of course we all know Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, as a kid these are the big ones. In Germany, it was Mesut Ozil, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kai-havertz/of-course-we-all-know-messi-and-cristiano-ronaldo-as-a-kid-these-are/) [Kai Havertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kai-havertz/) > [You have to let the big ones make up for your mistakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-lynch/you-have-to-let-the-big-ones-make-up-for-your-mistakes/) [Peter Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-lynch/) > [These were big ones. Those companies would then go in and build an electrical system or ports or highways, and these would basically serve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-perkins/these-were-big-ones-those-companies-would-then-go-in-and-build-an/) [John Perkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-perkins/) > [I love so many songs from the '80s, but I'm obliged to the big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-lucia/i-love-so-many-songs-from-the-80s-but-i-m-obliged-to-the-big-ones/) [St. Lucia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-lucia/) > [The Premier League is the best league in the world; it's so strong. The smaller teams love to try their chances against the big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mesut-ozil/the-premier-league-is-the-best-league-in-the-world-it-s-so-strong-the/) [Mesut Ozil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mesut-ozil/) > ['Mustanging' was like trout fishing. It is always the big ones that get away. When you did get a bunch of them into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-c-barnes/mustanging-was-like-trout-fishing-it-is-always-the-big-ones-that-get/) [Will C. Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-c-barnes/) > [If you're going to fail, you might as well fail at the big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-kamen/if-you-re-going-to-fail-you-might-as-well-fail-at-the-big-ones/) [Dean Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-kamen/) > [If you do the little jobs well, the big ones will tend to take care of themselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-do-the-little-jobs-well-the-big-ones-will-tend-to-take-care-of/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) [Browse all 22 Big ones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-ones/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. She”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-break-the-big-ones-she/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big ones" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-break-the-big-ones-she/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1db/george-orwell-57_big-ones_if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-br_2345222.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you kept the small rules, you could break the big ones. She” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“If you kept the small rules,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-break-the-big-ones-she/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-kept-the-small-rules-you-could-break-the-big-ones-she/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```