1984 Section 4

A few days after their meeting with O’Brien, Winston and Julia are relaxing at the room above the store. Winston begins reading the book about the rebellion.  The next chapter of the book is an incredibly long and overly drawn out excerpt from the book by Goldstein.  This part of the novel is awful and dry as hell.  Suddenly the Thought Police bust into the room and arrest both Julia and Winston. Winston becomes disoriented and isn’t sure what time they took him. He is taken to the Ministry of Love, basically a giant prison where people are tortured and brainwashed.  He spends days, weeks, months and maybe even years inside. They break his will to the point that he is able to accept that 2+2=5 and gives up all hope of rebellion. He is finally released after giving up all he cares when he is faced by his phobia of rats. Winston is released back into society and is a completely changed man.  He no longer can even think his own independent thoughts and is controlled by the government.  Many people go through this experience and like all those people, Winston is shot by the Thought Police after an indefinite period in society. The last sentence of the novel is, “He loved Big Brother.”