--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was as though they were intentionally…" description: "\"“It was as though they were intentionally stepping nearer to their graves. As he sat waiting on the edge of the bed he thought again of the cellars of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7d/george-orwell-57_1984_it-was-as-though-they-were-intentionally_2914739.jpg" --- # It was as though they were intentionally stepping nearer… ![“It was as though they were intentionally stepping nearer to their graves. As he sat waiting on the edge of the bed he thought again of the cellars of the Ministry of Love. It was curious how that predestined horror moved in and out of one's consciousness. There it lay, fixed in future time…” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7d/george-orwell-57_1984_it-was-as-though-they-were-intentionally_2914739.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7d/george-orwell-57_1984_it-was-as-though-they-were-intentionally_2914739.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7d/george-orwell-57_1984_it-was-as-though-they-were-intentionally_2914739.jpg) > ““It was as though they were intentionally stepping nearer to their graves. As he sat waiting on the edge of the bed he thought again of the cellars of the Ministry of Love. It was curious how that predestined horror moved in and out of one's consciousness. There it lay, fixed in future time, preceding death as surely as 99 precedes 100. One could not avoid it, but one could perhaps postpone it: and yet instead, every now and again, by a conscious, willful act, one chose to shorten the interval before it happened.”” [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. Facing inevitable death, one can either accept its certainty or deliberately shorten its arrival through conscious choices. **In simple terms:** People may try to control or delay death. Key Takeaway Consider how you confront mortality. Themes mortality destiny consciousness choice Mood somber thoughtful philosophical Type literary reflective When to use this quote - war - political oppression - personal crisis - terminal illness Key Concepts existentialism free will psychology Questions to Reflect On - What actions, you take to feel agency over inevitable outcomes? - Can confronting death change how you live now? A Different Perspective Attempting to control death can be illusory and cause anxiety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Predestined](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predestined/) ## Related quotes > [“It was curious how that predestined horror moved in and out of one’s consciousness. 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Something was killed in your breast: burnt out, cauterized out.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/there-were-things-your-own-acts-from-which-you-could-never-recover/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Of course he chanted with the rest: it was impossible to do otherwise. To dissemble your feelings, to control your face, to do what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/of-course-he-chanted-with-the-rest-it-was-impossible-to-do-otherwise/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [ “The girl from the fiction department… was looking at him \[Winston\]… She was very young, he thought, she still expected something from life… She… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-girl-from-the-fiction-department-was-looking-at-him-winston-she/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“When you make love you're using up energy; and afterwards you feel happy and don't give a damn for anything. They can't bear you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/when-you-make-love-you-re-using-up-energy-and-afterwards-you-feel-2/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The Ministry of Truth, which concerned itself with news, entertainment, education, and the fine arts. The Ministry of Peace, which concerned itself with war.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-ministry-of-truth-which-concerned-itself-with-news-entertainment/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Wealth and privilege are most easily defended when they are possessed jointly. 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I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/you-do-not-exist-i-think-i-exist-i-am-conscious-of-my-own-identity-i/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“As soon as he touched her she seemed to wince and stiffen. To embrace her was like embracing a jointed wooden image. And what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/as-soon-as-he-touched-her-she-seemed-to-wince-and-stiffen-to-embrace/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [If he were allowed contact with foreigners he would discover that they are creatures similar to himself and that most of what he has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-he-were-allowed-contact-with-foreigners-he-would-discover-that/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## 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. 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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. 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