1984 chapter summary:
Part 3, Chapter VI (Last Chapter).

Summary:
This chapter starts with Winston sitting in the Chestnut Tree Café, watching the telescreen and being served Victory Gin by waiters. He attempts the chess puzzle from the newspaper, and is left alone by other people. He recalls a recent meeting with Julia, where they admitted they betrayed each other in the Ministry of Love and no longer care about each other. The telescreen describes a military victory against Eurasia which occurred in Africa. Winston’s mind drifts away. He is shot, and dies, but he loves Big Brother.

Techniques:
The chess puzzle Winston does is symbolic of the war, and he compares it to the triumph of good over evil (as the puzzle is always set up so that white wins). This has the effect of trivialising the war, and highlighting the idea of it just being a game rather than something important.
Repetition of dialogue between Winston and Julia (eg. “I betrayed you,” she said baldly.
“I betrayed you,” he said.) underlines the loss of identity they are faced with after having faced room 101.
The use of truncated sentences relating the telescreen’s message (something like “perfect co-ordination – utter rout -… victory – greatest victory in human history”) and also the repetition of “victory” evoke a sense of excitement in the reader, shared with Winston as he imagines running outside and cheering. This highlights the control over emotions held by the inner party members.

Concerns:
Possible concerns demonstrated are:
- utopia
- truth (2 + 2 = 5)
- mind control (he loved Big Brother)
- (destruction of) love

Contextual Links:
The War is mentioned, which could be linked to World War II, or various other wars that occurred around Orwell’s time (such as World War I and the start of the cold war).