The Ending

"He gazed up at the enormous face.  Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache.  O cruel, needless misunderstanding!  O stubborn, self-willed exile from the loving breast!  Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose.  But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished.  He had won the victory over himself.  He loved Big Brother" (p. 300)


Possibly the most surreal moment in the novel, this quote represents the ultimate failure of Winston`s rebellion. 
Winston sits in the chestnut tree cafe, a massive symbol of the victims of the party`s oppression throughout the novel,and makes reference to the suppression of `false memories``, which he never doubted before. Throughout the novel, Winston`s vices are seen to fade in correlation with the presence of Julia in the narrative, however now we see Winston essentially living in a drunken stupor in the cafe. While these references are made we are watching Winston make a chess game with himself , making a metaphor of ``White always mates``, white being Big Brother in Winston`s mind. This quote immediately follows Winston`s rejoice over the oceanic army`s victory in a war that Winston previously knew to be false.