Since We´re Running Out Of Time

He Loved Big Brother

Winston is tortured in the Ministry of Love and is almost “cured” when he cries out about loving Julia, which causes O'Brien to threaten Winston with having rats eat his face (but Winston betrays Julia when he pleads to O'Brien that the torture should be done to her and not to him). Winston is later reintegrated into the life of a normal Oceania citizen, he believes in everything the telescreens say and is disgusted by any idea of change in his society. He also runs into Julia, who confesses to Winston that she betrayed him, too. After hearing about Oceania´s victory against Eurasia, Winston imagines himself confessing to all of his crimes, being shot dead, ultimately understanding that Big Brother's mysterious smile was one of love, supposedly winning the victory over himself, and (astonishingly), admitting to loving Big Brother.

The book contains an appendix, called The Principles of Newspeak, which talks about how Newspeak will abolish as much terms of English as possible in order to decrease the range of free thought of citizens (Newspeak is predicted to be adapted completely by 2050).

I´ve Figured It Out...

“ -Power is not a means; it is an end. One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution; one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship. The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power.- ” (Orwell, 263)

I think that this quote, said by O'Brien towards Winston, highlights the depths of human nature. I thought about this a lot and, although it makes me sad to admit it, I think that this is true. Throughout history, humanity has shown that power is usually uncontrollable and can sometimes lead to disaster. I also believe that most of the social problems in society are caused by the need of power. Either one gender wants to have power over the other or one country over the other. I guess power has also caused a lot of wars then. This quote also made me feel very helpless in humanity because it made me realize that the world is not as wonderful as it seems.

“The long-hoped-for bullet was entering his brain. He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.” (Orwell, 297-298)

I think that this was an excellent way to end the book. I think this signifies defeat. Even though Winston describes this as a “victory”, his love for Big Brother goes against everything that Winston had ever dreamed of and believed in at the beginning of the book. On one side, the Winston Smith that was introduced at the beginning of the book was free, intelligent, and self-sufficient. But on the other side, the Winston Smith that came out of the Ministry of Love is the Party´s robot, dependent on the telescreens, and simple-minded. I think that this shows Winston's negative character development since he has become everything that he feared he would become. I remember that Winston once mentioned that true freedom is to die hating them while talking about the Party, I believe that the Winston Smith introduced at the beginning of the book would be disappointed at the Winston Smith described at the end of the book.

Happily Ever After?

So, I'm done with the book (YAY!) I am extremely surprised with the ending of it since it is not similar to other dystopian novels I've read. When I was kind of in the middle of the book, I genuinely thought that Winston would be able to change his society in the future, but I now realize that is not the case. The book has taught me about the importance of memories and history and about the dangers of an excess of power. 1984 is also a vivid example of how an individual's opinion and decisions can affect a whole society, but most of all, I think that 1984 is a warning. When George Orwell died in 1950 (just a year after this book was published), he did not live to see his success, and he did not live to see what the world became after 1949 (or how it was actually in the year 1984). He wrote this book with the fear of becoming a society with no past or future but, have we become a society with no past or future? This book has also taught me about love and how it's present even in the darkest of times, but most importantly, this book has taught me that the hero, does not always win.

"Pools of sorrow, waves of joy are drifting through my opened mind
Possessing and caressing me
Jai Guru Deva OM

Nothing's gonna change my world

 Nothing's gonna change my world"