But I Was Expecting Not to Expect Something, so it Doesn't Count

     At the end of the book, it's pretty clear to Winston that he got the good ending. He has figured out his issues and solved his moral dilemmas. He loves Big Brother, feels ashamed for loving Julia, and knows with certainty that 2+2=5. However, to the reader, this might not come off the same way. We might have been surprised by this ending, and expecting something much happier.

    But if you pay attention to the book, you can very easily see that there's no way this book could've had a good ending. Right from the beginning we can see that there is a controlling regime, and that they are dead set on making sure that no one breaks the rules. Telescreens, police children, it'd be nearly impossible to get away with any of this. And when Julia and Winston get away with their affairs, it's surprising, because logically there's no way that they could've escaped the eye of Big Brother.

    In addition, it's shown often that people who get caught will not be having a good time. They are shown to disappear, die, or be beaten, and it's strange to think that this couldn't happen to the main character, who immediately reveals himself to us as a personal rebel.

    So while the ending might have been surprising at first, it's not really that unexpected at all.

Comments

  1. KatelynMarch 8, 2021 at 7:26 AM

    I did think it was somewhat surprising and unexpected, like you pointed out, that Winston didn't necessarily "disappear" altogether. He still more or less had his name and face it seemed, even if his mind and body were different. But otherwise, I think your right that this book had a consistent tone to follow through on

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  2. NiiicoMarch 8, 2021 at 7:27 AM

    Yep! there's really no other outcome I expected. Another possible ending could've been a BNW-type suicide thing, but this is kinda ruled out early because Winston believes it doesn't matter

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  3. Alice GaoMarch 8, 2021 at 7:27 AM

    I was never expecting the ending to be conclusive. I don't think happy is the right word here, because what doesn't sit well with me is that the ending isn't satisfying. Nothing happens. Literally nothing. I think some other people wrote blogs on this.

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  4. L. MoffittMarch 8, 2021 at 7:30 AM

    I agree with you, and in a way it's that much more devastating. There was never any possibility of hope or triumph, and admitting at at the end is pretty bleak.

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  5. Daniel MatatovMarch 8, 2021 at 7:33 AM

    I think throughout the book orwell sowed the seeds of hopelessness, and part three is really just him being like lol you thought happiness was allowed? nah bro.

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  6. KiranMarch 8, 2021 at 7:33 AM

    I'm not sure if this is the good ending from the perspective of anyone other than that of the Party's. Winston truly just wanted to keep his beliefs in the beginning, even though he knew he could do nothing against the Party, it was enough for him that he held his beliefs. But the Party stripped that away from him. So while this may be a good ending for the new Winston, this was the worst possible outcome for the old Winston.

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  7. Charlotte EbelMarch 8, 2021 at 7:36 AM

    From the get-go it was pretty clear where this book was going to end up. However, it was a bit surprising that he didn't just disappear. I think the Party kept him alive and released him because of their pride (which could end up being their downfall). They wanted to prove that even the most mentally rebellious of their citizens could become productive members of society and wholly dedicate themselves to Big Brother.

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  8. RayMarch 8, 2021 at 7:36 AM

    There was a brief period in Part II when I thought Winston and Julia would join the fabeled brotherhood and overthrow the party, but those dreams were crushed when O'Brien talked about the specifics (the false specifics as we now know) of the Brotherhood. Throughout all of Part III I knew there was no good outcome possible.

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  9. AnonymousMarch 8, 2021 at 7:37 AM

    I agree the ending was very foreseeable - from the beginning of the book, Winston talked about how everybody who commits thoughtcrime gets caught, disappears, reappears and confesses to a plethora of war crimes, then disappears again a few months or years later. Still, though, as a reader, I was really hoping Winston wouldn't just become another Party member who never existed, but the Party is exactly as absolute as Winston thought when he bought the diary.

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  10. Alex HynesMarch 8, 2021 at 7:37 AM

    I agree, it always felt that he was going to die and just wither away with society continuing on. It felt pretty hopeless from the start and him dying like every other enemy of the state seemed logical. Kind of makes me wonder how many are actually killed/beaten/erased, and how many are left as shells like Winston. Is he a special case? Or is it more common?

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  11. Brooks HuMarch 8, 2021 at 7:40 AM

    I think it's surprising mainly because in almost every other utopian/dystopian novel, it ends with the main character fighting and winning against the oppressive government. But I think that for all the people that have tried to fight back, Winston should've known it was impossible to win.

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  12. Sam K.March 8, 2021 at 7:41 AM

    I actually like how this book didn't have a "happy ending". I think that in a lot of dystopian novels, the protagonist and their love interest end up happily ever after in a society where that is next to impossible. I enjoyed how realistic this ending was, rather than it being something absurd and out of reach.

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  13. AnyaMarch 8, 2021 at 7:49 AM

    I definitely agree that this ending was not unexpected. Though it's not a very exciting ending, it is probably the most effective ending for showing the absolute power of the Party. If Winston had killed himself at the end, even that would technically be an act of defiance. Instead, Winston loses himself and becomes an empty shell under the control of the Party, which shows just how powerful the Party is. They have the power to completely erase a person's humanity.

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