I guess I should have known better what to expect about the ending. I had read Orwell's seminal 'Animal Farm', being the only other work of his I have read. 1984 starts with an already bleak situation as the people live under the tyrannical rule of the Party. However, Winston's arc develops over time where he starts to rebel.
He does have a somewhat independent and curious mind which leads him to slowly break the mold and rebel in his own ways. The affair with Julia is perhaps the biggest form of that. And side by side we are made aware that there is a whole underground organization that opposes the Party. And Winston joins that group too more than halfway through the book.
Surely the finale / climax promises something dramatic that affects the Party? Alas, that is not the case. Act 3 is all about Winston suffering at the hands of the Party in unimaginable ways. It comes across as torture porn and it continues on for many pages. First he is physically broken and then mentally, leaving a completely shattered man at the end.
While reading about his suffering during the final chapters you still think there might be light at the end of the tunnel. But as you move towards the final page you begin to realize there might not be any satisfying ending for Winston. The end is going to be what the Party wants and it's exactly what happens.
1984 is a powerful book although very bleak. Orwell can touch those emotions and thoughts and ideas which sometime seem very abstract or hard to describe. Such is his skill. He says a lot in this relatively short book and that is admirable. I had grown fond of Winston and Julia but their ending is heartbreaking.
Nonetheless, I can see why the book is so popular and considered a classic. Bleak masterpiece.
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