3/4/11 Essay What feelings does George Orwell invoke at the end of 1984 and how does he bring

g them out? At the close of his intricately woven dystopian novel, George Orwell conveys the feelings of helplessness and defeat to the audience by illustrating how Winston does not feel these emotions despite his forced reform of morals. The final torture by threat of rats had obliterated Winstons willpower. By chapter VI, Winston has finally given in to Big Brother, drinking gin in the middle of the afternoon evidently an activity that now occupies most of his time, as Orwell notes that the staff of The Chestnut Tree already knew his habits. The astute reader would draw the parallel between the broken Winston Smith and the three survivors of the original leaders of the Revolution Jones, Aaronson, and Rutherford. Winston had remembered seeing them confess on the telescreen a year after being arrested in 1965. Winston remarks that they had been pardoned, reinstated in the Party, and given posts which were in fact sinecures but which sounded important (65). However, after their release some time, Winston caught a glimpse of all three of drinking gin in the Chestnut Tree Caf at the lonely hour of fifteen (66). They appeared to be lifeless and dead, with nobody at the tables nearest to them. Orwell paints the picture of Winston in the identical situation at the same hour, at the same caf with the same lonely atmosphere a mirror image of the arrested men he had seen years earlier. He notes the news from the Ministry of Peace regarding the war with Eurasia, and that without question Oceania had always been at war with Eurasia (regardless of the fact that OBrien had force-fed Winston with drivel about Oceania being at war with Eastasia during the torture). Similarly, Winston is further portrayed as mentally destroyed as he traces with his finger in the dust on the table: 2+2=5 (239). This is evidently reminiscent of OBriens torture, where Winston is forced to yield to the Partys will, despite every blatant contradiction. Later, as he meets Julia by chance, the two admit their betrayal of each other, noting the drastic changes in appearance that had occurred in both of them since the time they last met. He accompanies her to the station, but feels an overwhelming urge to go back to the Chestnut Tree Caf, to return to his corner table and unlimited gin. All in all, Orwell depicts Winston as a mentally crippled man compared to his former rebellious self reduced by the Ministry of Loves tactics to a mindless alcoholic that digests any

information given to him by the ministry without question. By also emphasizing Winstons indifference to his change, Orwell ultimately creates a sense of disgust in the reader as one realizes how far Winston has fallen.