1984 Ending Thoughts

    There were a lot of unsatisfying loose ends in these last few chapters. Since this scene of Winston being tortured by the rats was seen as a climax in the book, there was not much room for the plot to grow. To be completely honest, this scene was not even that climactic because of the use of rats. While researching this book on the internet, I saw that there is great controversy on whether the rats in Room 101 were enough for the readers to imagine Winston’s fear. I agree with that because I think that Orwell could have picked a fear that resonated with more people. There are deeper meanings to the rats that have been mentioned by other literary critics, but I did not feel the tension and desperation that Winston supposedly portrayed.

    Chapter 6 was not any more interesting to me. Most of the last chapter was Winston reflecting on him and Julia while falling into a more dreamlike state. After a disappointing chapter 3-5, I was hoping for an unexpected plot twist to end the book on, like the death of Winston, but it ended very suddenly.

    If you think about it in another way, Winstin did kind of die to himself and his rebellious mindset by “falling in love” with Big Brother and giving his soul to the Party. It shows that in this dystopian society, everyone will eventually succumb to the government, even intelligent people like Winston and Julia. What are your thoughts on the ending? How was it different than your expectations?