As we were assigned to finish 1984 tonight, i was wondering what everyone thought of the ending? good? bad? depressing? or just general thoughts or objections to it.
I personally found it a little unsatisfying. The last line is "I love big brother", and he has been hating big brother the whole time. They have turned him completely around and he is a new person and i dont like it. Big brother is who he has been hating the whole time and now that winston loves big brother, it makes me upset.
I agree with Catherine in the fact that the ending was a bit unsatisfying BUT I feel like that type of ending is necessary in a dystopian type of book. If the ending was all happy then what would one take away from the book? The message that the author is trying to send to the reader wouldn't be as strong. The defeating ending shows even more of a warning to the general population about these totalitarian government which is what the author ultimately wants.
I agree with Catherine in that the ending was unsatisfying. It's hard to accept the fact that someone who wants something so much during an entire story doesn't achieve it at the end. Although to me it was unsatisfying, I like the fact that the ending is left to interpretation. How we interpret it makes us realize our true feelings towards Winston and his actions, and the idea of rebellion in general. I do think that if the book ended with Winston and Julia being together still and overthrowing the Party would be way more likable than Orwell's ending. Like Alex said, the ending definitely shows the true power of the Party and if I were to read this book while in this type of dystopian world, I would be scared out of my pants. If that was Orwell's goal, then I like that he ended the book with that tension.
i agree with everyone above and think that the ending was unsatisfying to us. but i think it was an important part of the book that needed to be added in. the fact that winston said that he loved big brother showed that the party and the party won, no matter how hard he tried to hate them. which makes the totalitarian government seem even more corrupt and evil
The ending is very sad and tragic. Winston was given a hope that Oceania was probably defeated in the war against Africa and the Party could be destructed. But the war turned out to be a victory. His last hope was destroyed. There was no way to get rid of the Party. He gave in to the reality by saying " he loved Big Brother". It's rather pathetic. He tried so hard to get away from the Party.
I think that the ending was good. Not happy good but strong good, like it fits with the rest of the book. After all of Winston's time in the Ministry of Love and his final and total betrayal of Julia, I don't really think any other ending would have worked. I think it would have been hard to end it with a hopeful line of "And he still hated Big Brother." His betrayal of Julia signified him giving into the Party so after that there was no turning back. I definitely wouldn't have bought into a hopeful ending because the rest of the book isn't hopeful. So I think the ending matched the feel of the rest of the book even if it felt unsatisfying and depressing.
I think the ending is tragic because Winston fights all throughout the book for freedom, but at the end he is brainwashed into loving Big Brother. What makes it even sadder is that the ending is kind of showing how a totalitarian government cannot be stopped and whomever tries to will be suppressed into abandoning any thoughts on freedom. Not only that, but it shows how fast we are at abandoning our desires when put in a tough spot, for example, in 1984 Julia tells on Winston the moment she is sent to room 101, and the same for Winston.
I personally found it a little unsatisfying. The last line is "I love big brother", and he has been hating big brother the whole time. They have turned him completely around and he is a new person and i dont like it. Big brother is who he has been hating the whole time and now that winston loves big brother, it makes me upset.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Catherine in the fact that the ending was a bit unsatisfying BUT I feel like that type of ending is necessary in a dystopian type of book. If the ending was all happy then what would one take away from the book? The message that the author is trying to send to the reader wouldn't be as strong. The defeating ending shows even more of a warning to the general population about these totalitarian government which is what the author ultimately wants.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Catherine in that the ending was unsatisfying. It's hard to accept the fact that someone who wants something so much during an entire story doesn't achieve it at the end. Although to me it was unsatisfying, I like the fact that the ending is left to interpretation. How we interpret it makes us realize our true feelings towards Winston and his actions, and the idea of rebellion in general. I do think that if the book ended with Winston and Julia being together still and overthrowing the Party would be way more likable than Orwell's ending. Like Alex said, the ending definitely shows the true power of the Party and if I were to read this book while in this type of dystopian world, I would be scared out of my pants. If that was Orwell's goal, then I like that he ended the book with that tension.
ReplyDeletei agree with everyone above and think that the ending was unsatisfying to us. but i think it was an important part of the book that needed to be added in. the fact that winston said that he loved big brother showed that the party and the party won, no matter how hard he tried to hate them. which makes the totalitarian government seem even more corrupt and evil
ReplyDeleteThe ending is very sad and tragic. Winston was given a hope that Oceania was probably defeated in the war against Africa and the Party could be destructed. But the war turned out to be a victory. His last hope was destroyed. There was no way to get rid of the Party. He gave in to the reality by saying " he loved Big Brother". It's rather pathetic. He tried so hard to get away from the Party.
ReplyDeleteI think that the ending was good. Not happy good but strong good, like it fits with the rest of the book. After all of Winston's time in the Ministry of Love and his final and total betrayal of Julia, I don't really think any other ending would have worked. I think it would have been hard to end it with a hopeful line of "And he still hated Big Brother." His betrayal of Julia signified him giving into the Party so after that there was no turning back. I definitely wouldn't have bought into a hopeful ending because the rest of the book isn't hopeful. So I think the ending matched the feel of the rest of the book even if it felt unsatisfying and depressing.
ReplyDeleteI think the ending is tragic because Winston fights all throughout the book for freedom, but at the end he is brainwashed into loving Big Brother. What makes it even sadder is that the ending is kind of showing how a totalitarian government cannot be stopped and whomever tries to will be suppressed into abandoning any thoughts on freedom. Not only that, but it shows how fast we are at abandoning our desires when put in a tough spot, for example, in 1984 Julia tells on Winston the moment she is sent to room 101, and the same for Winston.
ReplyDelete