This story has one of the best endings I have ever read. It was as complete as BB's domination of humanity. This book had you feeling as if it had left no loose ends, that "BB" was reality, that the machine was unstoppable, and that it was hopeless to hope. By the end of the book it's clear Winston would die a martyr but a martyr for the party, even though it was the party that was killing him. What a horribly good book.

I just came across this page now, after writing my initial thoughts of this book on another page. I just finished this book and what I learnt from it is as follows: Evil will and does exist everywhere including the political parties. People will always want to destroy this evil, even it that means they themselves commit evil too. Ultimately they never win. These people are just rebellious at heart and their motives not necessarily pure.
The truth is out there, but I don't think Orwell told us what it was in this interesting book. The truth can and will withstand any brainwashing and torture, nothing can destroy the truth.
Did Winston find the truth, or had he just made an observation of the world he lived in?
I think he observed the evils, he didn't agree with them, But where was the truth. The final solution, where was it?
Even Winston had to agree in the end of the book that he was no better than the political partys, because his motives or actions weren't pure, nor was theirs, so it all equaled out. Winston was forced to conclude that he too was like the rest of them, except for one thing, he was stubborn and rebellious at heart.

Hi Sabrina, thanks for commenting.

I'm glad you've read 1984. This was one of the best fiction books I've ever read.

I'm having trouble responding to this post. Some of it confused me just a little bit. Is there evil in the expression on a loving mother's face who holds her baby for the first time?

I had to think about the political parties comment and then think about the definition of evil and what I considered to be evil. What is evil? Evil is intentional, unintentional, or both? People have different views on it, I guess. Evil is subjective and while everyone reads the same four letters, the word has a different meaning for all.

Political parties are made up of people. In an ideal world, politicians attempt to increase the wealth, happiness, and security of their countrymen the best they can. A congressman that does this and falls short is not evil - the one that bends over backwards for special interest groups that line his/her pocket is.

People always want to destroy this evil...? What is "this" evil. I don't understand.

What evil did Winston do to try and destroy Big Brother?

Ultimately they (Winston?) never win... I hope in your heart you don't really believe this. This is probably the root cause of most 'evil'.

"These people are just rebellious at heart and their motives not necessarily pure."

I hate to say it but I think you've lost what Orwell was trying to get at. I feel that this wasn't his message. Winston didn't die for you like a hero. Winston's death was made to show you that things COULD get this bad. That even if you wanted to be an individual, love, seek truth, and be free - it could be taken away by a machine more powerful than yourself.

What you should take away from the book is not so much a lesson as a desire. You should desire to preserve your freedoms so that you don't wind up like Winston - having a virtuous life denied you.

Winston is not evil - he was a malfunctioning product of evil. Despite their best efforts to make him a robot, he was human. Winston wasn't the only one, either. All throughout the book it's made clear that the party would kill you one day. It was only a matter of time before your humanity would surface and then they would be there to wipe it out.

"The truth can and will withstand any brainwashing and torture, nothing can destroy the truth."

No it can't. On a long enough time-line it possibly can survive but the truth in the short-term is frail enough that the slightest breeze can blow it away. This was another message in the book. Truth has to be fought for. Man has been fighting to find truth just as hard as man has been fighting to suppress it.

Did Winston find the truth, or had he just made an observation of the world he lived in?

He found a piece. He found love and self-realization. He found courage and the will to do what was right. He was a hero up until the rats. After that he was a tragic example.


I think he observed the evils, he didn't agree with them, But where was the truth. The final solution, where was it?

It's with you every time you allow truth to be hidden or humanity and freedom to be trampled on.


Please be gentle on Winston. He was brainwashed every day, surrounded by others who were also brainwashed, and constantly threatened with death.

Yeah I must say it is one of the best books I have ever read too. Isn't it interesting how we have both read the same book and how we have both extracted different ideas and thoughts about the book and its contents?
About the Mother and Child Love, according to the book, the time they were living in, no-body could trust anybody, Children couldn't trust the parents, and parents couldn't trust the children, wives couldn't trust their husbands, and so on and so forth. Do you remember that part of the book? Where everyone was a spy and even close family members including parents or children could have you damned by reporting you.
So in that time, there was no real love.
Do you really think Winston Loved Julia? I thought it was no more than a bit of lust and companionship. At the end of the day when faced with his worst fear he begged them that they should spare him and replace him with Julia, this of course proves that he is not courageous but that he was just good at enduring pain and other sorts of random tortures, but when faced with his ultimate fear he failed. And he even confessed that he really wanted that to happen because of the terror he was experiencing.
You might have heard of the phrase, One Mans meat is another mans poison.
Perhaps Winston wasn't a hero to endure the torture, perhaps he was just good at enduring pain, more so than the average person, maybe that was his strength. Whereas most people would shudder at the thought of enduring more than one slap.
That's why, when he was faced with his real fear, he failed.
Love never fails, and truth never dies and I believe Money is the root of all evil. Although the book portrays the evil to be based soly on Power.
I think Orwell was pointing out some home truths about both sides of the coin.
The political party had their reasons for being passionate, Winston had his reason for being passionate about his beliefs. Neither the party nor Winston could be justified.
The truth was yet to be found. Orwell left us all hanging and wondering about the whole situation. That's what you call a good book!

Has anyone ever looked into musicians who have used 1984 as themes for their albums?

Radiohead's "Hail to the Thief" is a semi-ode to the book, especially with songs like "2+2=5"

And, Muse's latest, "The Resistance," is completely based on the book. They even use the term "thought police" in the song, "The Resistance." I also went to their concert when they came to Philadelphia, and they even had giant balloons with a big "eye" on them (Big Brother) passed around through the audience.

I don't know, I just thought it's amazing to see its impact even today. It was and is an incredible book.

bookwormservice wrote:I believe the book is a satire of Russian socialism, something that obsessed Orwell.

Yes Orwell was obcessed with socialism (not just Russian) if you really want to read a better satire of socialism try Animal farm !

I adore this book. In a way, it's a bit of a love story, too. Isn't it?

reader2121 wrote:I adore this book. In a way, it's a bit of a love story, too. Isn't it?

It is. I remember how my heart sunk towards the end when Winston and Julia tried to touch hands (or make contact in some way) and felt nothing - that the state had officially won its battle. It killed me. And the last line, "He loved Big Brother." Ugh, as much as it made sense that the State would eventually defeat all in its path, the end of their romance was more disheartening to me than the torture methods used in Room 101.

jill315 wrote:

reader2121 wrote:I adore this book. In a way, it's a bit of a love story, too. Isn't it?

It is. I remember how my heart sunk towards the end when Winston and Julia tried to touch hands (or make contact in some way) and felt nothing.

For me, the passage that you describe above is the most disturbing piece of fiction that I have ever read.

I am not someone who usually gets overly emotional over works of fiction. Yet, I was depressed for days on the two occasions that I have read this book, because of it.

Emperorbjt wrote:

jill315 wrote:

reader2121 wrote:I adore this book. In a way, it's a bit of a love story, too. Isn't it?

It is. I remember how my heart sunk towards the end when Winston and Julia tried to touch hands (or make contact in some way) and felt nothing.

For me, the passage that you describe above is the most disturbing piece of fiction that I have ever read.

I am not someone who usually gets overly emotional over works of fiction. Yet, I was depressed for days on the two occasions that I have read this book, because of it.

I know. I think what made it even more difficult to swallow was how it represented human nature v. the state, and in this case, human nature was defeated, which is not a theme most people like to think about. The one thing we as humans want to believe is that you can alter our physical beings, but not our spirit, which includes our abilities to love. It's such a common ending to many stories - in the end, truth will win, man will win, nature will win, and so on. But in this case, it wasn't that someone was killed (the death of the physical body), but that the soul was killed. Winston was left as an empty shell, and that was the intention, as the book noted, for they would make no martyrs out of their people. I found it so representative of the downfall of culture in which we surround ourselves today, whether we want to be a part of it or not, it's there and it will make of us what it will. I felt, at the moment in "1984," when Winston was about to endure torture from rats, of which he was most terrified, and he offered Julia instead, that it was symbolic of the fall of mankind. That the state had won - they had found a way to kill the spirit and the soul. We're always looking for that happy ending, but "1984" left a feeling of hopelessness one simply cannot shake.