How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Told you before. We didn't have a choice. Government wanted it. You can't tell the Government no." (1.6)
Well, you can tell them no. But they really, really won't like it—and you really, really won't like their response. Only a few paragraphs into the book, we're already getting a pretty good picture of who runs the show.
Quote #2
"Then they started running all that on TV about the Population Police, how the Population Police had ways of finding out everything, how they'd do anything to enforce the law." (2.34)
Striking fear into the hearts of the people is an excellent way of controlling their lives. And propaganda is everyone's favorite tool—especially when you have to watch.
Quote #3
Usually the Garners' mail was just bills or thin envelopes carrying curt orders from the Government about how much corn to plant, which fertilizer to use, and where to take their crop when it was harvested. (5.3)
Gee, who would you trust to run a farm: a family that's been farming for generations, or the Government? Luke's family might have been working the land for decades, but in this world experience counts for nothing and authority counts for everything. This is a perfect example of the totality of totalitarianism.