At the end of George Orwell’s 1984, Winston Smith is sitting in the Chestnut Tree Cafe. Upon hearing of the victory in Africa we are told he enters a dreamlike state. He has finally defeated himself. He loves Big Brother.
That’s it, right? That’s the end of the story. Or is it?
Join me for a moment and think through the last chapters of the book, if you will.
Did Winston Smith die?
There are a number of theories about whether Winston died or not. Some say he was literally shot in the back of the head. Some believe that the person who was Winston Smith ceased to exist, the death being metaphorical.
Either way, the end is ambiguous, correct? Either Winston physically died, or in admitting a love of Big Brother, he metaphorically died.
I don’t believe either is true. Winston Smith is alive at the end of 1984.
Why is Winston Smith alive?
Winston is alive both physically and mentally.
First, his physical death is described from within a dreamlike state. He is blissfully dreaming of going to the Ministry of Truth and confessing everything and incriminating everyone. He describes a long-hoped-for bullet entering his brain. However, this isn’t actually a description of his physical death, just a part of his dream.
Later, we’ll get to why Winston is alive mentally.
What is Winston’s Plan?
For the first time he perceived that if you want to keep a secret you must also hide it from yourself. You must know all the while that it is there, but until it is needed you must never let it emerge into your consciousness in any shape that could be given a name.
Winston Smith (George Orwell’s 1984)
Above we see that Winston Smith perceives that the only way to keep a secret is if one keeps it from oneself. You must always know that it is there but never let it emerge into your consciousness.
After this thought Winston hatches a plan. He believes that one day the Party would decide to shoot him. It was in that instant that Winston would reveal his secret, his hatred of the Party, his hatred of Big Brother.
They would have blown his brain to pieces before they could reclaim it. The heretical thought would be unpunished, unrepented, out of their reach for ever. They would have blown a hole in their own perfection. To die hating them, that was freedom.
Winston Smith (George Orwell’s 194)
You can see Winston’s plan. He was going to die hating them. Because, as he says, “To die hating them, that was freedom.”
From that moment forward Winston was resolute. He shut his eyes and committed to this purpose.
Why is Winston Smith mentally alive?
Now we come to the crux of the issue. We know that Winston is not physically dead. But why is it that we know he is mentally alive?
Think of his plan. “To die hating them, that was freedom.”. Now, think of how he was going to accomplish that. He must keep secret his hatred of them and of Big Brother. He must keep this secret from the Party and from himself. And yet, while keeping this secret he must also know that it is there.
How can we know that Winston Smith is mentally alive? It is in the way that he describes the bullet that we know he is mentally alive. Winston is surely successful in convincing himself and the Party of all else. He loves the Party, and in the end he is able to convince himself of the hardest thing, he even loves Big Brother.
Or does he?
He does not. Winston knows of his secret hate of Big Brother, and we know of it too. He has succeeded in keeping this secret from the Party and himself.
However, he betrays his knowledge of this secret in the way he describes the bullet that would spell his doom. He describes the bullet as “long-hoped-for”.
A long-hoped-for bullet.
Why hope for a bullet? Why does Winston Smith describe the bullet this way in the end of the book?
He hopes for a bullet because to him it represents his freedom. The bullet is his plan. He told us this.
Hatred would fill him like an enormous rolling flame. And almost in the same instant bang! would go the bullet, too late or too early. They would have blown his brain to pieces before they could reclaim it.
Winston Smith (George Orwell’s 1984)
This is why he hopes for the bullet. This is why he describes the bullet as long-hoped-for. His rebellion is not quashed, his mind is not gone. No, he has simply succeeded in his plan. He loves Big Brother, and his hatred is known to but secret from him. The long-hoped-for bullet will be his freedom.
I posted this summary on Stack Exchange:
He doesn’t die physically and he doesn’t die figuratively.
He succeeds in the plan he laid out while in the Ministry of Love. I delve into this more here.
However, for the sake of this answer I will lay out Winston’s plan.
First some information:
- Winston perceives the only way to keep a secret is if it is a secret to everyone, including yourself. You must have knowledge of this secret, but it should never enter your consciousness.
- Winston concludes that the only way to have freedom was to die hating them (them being the Party and Big Brother).
- Winston believes that at some point in the future he will be shot and a bullet will enter the back of his head.
Winston’s Plan
- He will keep his hatred of the Party and Big Brother a secret, even to himself.
- He will be shot with a bullet in the back of the head.
- The instant he is shot, he will let loose his secret hatred of the Party and of Big Brother. In this way he will be free, because “To die hating them, that was freedom.”
Winston knows of this secret, however, and we know to. He betrays his knowledge of this secret in the slightest by describing that bullet, which was to enter the back of his brain, as “long-hoped-for”. After all, why would one hope for a bullet?
He hopes for the bullet, because the bullet is his escape, the bullet is the penultimate step in his plan. The bullet represents his freedom. It is then that he will die with dignity, his rebellion complete, finally unveiling the secret he is keeping from them, and from himself. He hates them and he hates Big Brother.