This was such a morbid closing to the book. I watched the movie right after finishing the book and the descriptions and visuals of Winston's body made me think of what became of the characters in the final moments of Requiem for a Dream. Pure mental and physical agony.
I was sad that Winston was broken after all but him betraying Julia and them having a seemingly lifeless conversation after was even worse. Their moments together had a certain peacefulness to them and I thought their "secret" ways of communicating in public where they would communicate in "segments" was such a realistic thing to do.
After some Reddit reading, I realized that the "bullet that entered his brain" was a symbolic one because his mental state had died with him fully loving Big Brother. I remembered O'Brien saying he would be shot once the process ended so I thought that's what happened. But, I should have known it was symbolic.
In conclusion, I'm glad I finally read this book and I was fortunate enough to be able to discuss it with you and exchange perspectives and observations.
Thank you so much for discussing this with me. I really enjoyed your insights.
Just as Winston didn’t know how much time had passed, neither do we and even if it were as little as a few months, they were both irreparably changed and could not connect anymore. Their rebellion was beat out of them.
I probably felt more pity and empathy. It was so hard for him to resist and he did what he could, but his entire world is filled with the Party and nothing else. His one window out with Julia was destroyed. We go through the book with both hope and a sense of foreboding, but I wanted this one bit of hope to survive. But it’s probably the most realistic ending because that brutality does something powerful that no one can escape from.
The obvious prescient volume. The perfect time to discover it or read it again. Thank you so much!
I personally feel Huxley’s “Brave New World” just as apropos.
This was such a morbid closing to the book. I watched the movie right after finishing the book and the descriptions and visuals of Winston's body made me think of what became of the characters in the final moments of Requiem for a Dream. Pure mental and physical agony.
I was sad that Winston was broken after all but him betraying Julia and them having a seemingly lifeless conversation after was even worse. Their moments together had a certain peacefulness to them and I thought their "secret" ways of communicating in public where they would communicate in "segments" was such a realistic thing to do.
After some Reddit reading, I realized that the "bullet that entered his brain" was a symbolic one because his mental state had died with him fully loving Big Brother. I remembered O'Brien saying he would be shot once the process ended so I thought that's what happened. But, I should have known it was symbolic.
In conclusion, I'm glad I finally read this book and I was fortunate enough to be able to discuss it with you and exchange perspectives and observations.
Thank you so much for discussing this with me. I really enjoyed your insights.
Just as Winston didn’t know how much time had passed, neither do we and even if it were as little as a few months, they were both irreparably changed and could not connect anymore. Their rebellion was beat out of them.
I probably felt more pity and empathy. It was so hard for him to resist and he did what he could, but his entire world is filled with the Party and nothing else. His one window out with Julia was destroyed. We go through the book with both hope and a sense of foreboding, but I wanted this one bit of hope to survive. But it’s probably the most realistic ending because that brutality does something powerful that no one can escape from.
A good book by Orwell. And a Veggie Delite.
Indeed. He’s a fantastic writer and packed so much into one story.
Good to see you. 🫂