--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Let's face it: our lives are miserable…" description: "\"Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg" --- # Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and… ![“Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg) > “Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.” [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. Human existence is brief, burdensome, and often unhappy, highlighting life's hardships. **In simple terms:** Life is short, hard, and unhappy. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond suffering. Themes suffering mortality politics human condition Mood somber critical Type political philosophical When to use this quote - war experience - daily grind - political activism Key Concepts existential dread social critique Questions to Reflect On - What small joys counterbalance misery? - How can societal change reduce hardship? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on misery can ignore joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Laborious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborious/) [Laborious Short](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborious-short-1835473/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lives Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-miserable-657780/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) [Miserable Laborious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable-laborious-5715789/) ## Related quotes > [“Now, comrades, what is the nature of this life of ours? Let us face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/now-comrades-what-is-the-nature-of-this-life-of-ours-let-us-face-it/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Life is hard enough. Don't go around making others lives miserable just because you can, you don't know what they've been through or what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-nishah/life-is-hard-enough-don-t-go-around-making-others-lives-miserable/) [Hussein Nishah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-nishah/) > [May my haters live very long to see my continued success and make their lives miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/may-my-haters-live-very-long-to-see-my-continued-success-and-make/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [I suppose that's what happens when you make other people's lives miserable: life gets miserable back at you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonya-hartnett/i-suppose-that-s-what-happens-when-you-make-other-people-s-lives/) [Sonya Hartnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonya-hartnett/) > [The consolation of reading biography: Most great men have led lives even more miserable than our own.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-consolation-of-reading-biography-most-great-men-have-led-lives/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Life can be tough sometimes. But I think it just starts with admitting, 'Okay, the world's not perfect, how do we live our lives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-lee/life-can-be-tough-sometimes-but-i-think-it-just-starts-with-admitting/) [Amy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-lee/) > [Oh, he did his best to make their short lives miserable, because that was his job, but nothing he could think up was half…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/oh-he-did-his-best-to-make-their-short-lives-miserable-because-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The people who tried government regulation have lives which are miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stossel/the-people-who-tried-government-regulation-have-lives-which-are/) [John Stossel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stossel/) > [A person who lacks enthusiasm & initiative lives a miserable life & deprives him all of his inner strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dranil-kr-sinha/a-person-who-lacks-enthusiasm-initiative-lives-a-miserable-life/) [DrAnil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dranil-kr-sinha/) > [We are each others angels in the way that we answer each others prayers and we can also make each others lives miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jewel/we-are-each-others-angels-in-the-way-that-we-answer-each-others/) [Jewel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jewel/) > [“Solving crimes is as difficult and laborious as committing them, with the difference that the lunch breaks are paid.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sascha-arango/solving-crimes-is-as-difficult-and-laborious-as-committing-them-with/) [Sascha Arango](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sascha-arango/) > [No man ever was glorious, who was not laborious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/no-man-ever-was-glorious-who-was-not-laborious/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [This much is true: When we created the euro, it wasn't possible to create a political union along with it. People weren't ready for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/this-much-is-true-when-we-created-the-euro-it-wasn-t-possible-to/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) > [Hat-making is laborious and time-consuming. It's a very tactile medium, and you can develop the skills, but it's one of those things: you either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-treacy/hat-making-is-laborious-and-time-consuming-it-s-a-very-tactile-medium/) [Philip Treacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-treacy/) > [Thought is not a gift to man but a laborious, precarious and volatile acquisition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/thought-is-not-a-gift-to-man-but-a-laborious-precarious-and-volatile/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) ## 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 Faces quotes > [It can sometimes make people fold into themselves and kind of run away, but I think in this case these characters are being forced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/it-can-sometimes-make-people-fold-into-themselves-and-kind-of-run/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [My friends, this body - perhaps more than any other gathering in human history - now faces that difficult task.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/my-friends-this-body-perhaps-more-than-any-other-gathering-in-human/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [His fingertips slid down from my face, lightly stroking the line of my neck, down toward my shoulder. Everywhere he touched, a trail of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/his-fingertips-slid-down-from-my-face-lightly-stroking-the-line-of-my/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I've seen every one, from Motley Crue to John Denver, with tears running down my face. I had no idea everyone had such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-ve-seen-every-one-from-motley-crue-to-john-denver-with-tears/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) > [So," I said. "Seems you're going to be stuck with me for a while." He smiled. A real smile that lit up his whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelley-armstrong/so-i-said-seems-you-re-going-to-be-stuck-with-me-for-a-while-he/) [Kelley Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelley-armstrong/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [If I had a million dollars, I just wouldn't just completely set back. I'd have to get out there and show my face to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/if-i-had-a-million-dollars-i-just-wouldn-t-just-completely-set-back-i/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [If enough money is involved and enough people believe that two plus two equals five the media will report the story with a straight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-jacoby/if-enough-money-is-involved-and-enough-people-believe-that-two-plus/) [Susan Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-jacoby/) > [Here comes old Rosie she's looking mighty fine, here comes hot Nancy she's steppin' right on time. There go the street lights bringing on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-seger/here-comes-old-rosie-she-s-looking-mighty-fine-here-comes-hot-nancy/) [Bob Seger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-seger/) > [A face is too slight a foundation for happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wortley-montagu/a-face-is-too-slight-a-foundation-for-happiness/) [Mary Wortley Montagu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wortley-montagu/) > [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/) [Michael B. Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-b-jordan/) > [Are we fighting?" I asked Morelli. "No. Were discussing." "Are you sure?" "Am I yelling?" Morelli asked. "Is my face purple? Are the cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/are-we-fighting-i-asked-morelli-no-were-discussing-are-you-sure-am-i/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) [Browse all 13,128 Faces quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-laborious-and-short/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Faces" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-laborious-and-short/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e18/george-orwell-57_faces_let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-la_729163.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Let's face it: our lives are miserable, laborious, and short.” — 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": "Let's face it: our lives are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-laborious-and-short/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/let-s-face-it-our-lives-are-miserable-laborious-and-short/#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 } } ] } ```