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What happens to Winston Smith in Room 101?
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George Orwell
Known best for his powerful anti-utopian novels Animal Farm (1945) and Nineteen Eighty-four (1949), English author George Orwell came to be regarded as a prophetic voice in 20th-century literature.
In the Ministry of Love, Room 101 serves as a place where prisoners are forced into submission by being confronted with their worst nightmares. For Winston Smith, this involves having a cage of rats attached to his head.
Driven by terror, Winston betrays his lover, Julia, by screaming for his tormentors to "Do it to Julia!" instead of him. This act of betrayal successfully breaks his spirit, destroying his independence and humanity. Following this experience, Winston is released, but he is fundamentally changed; he no longer cares for Julia and ultimately comes to love Big Brother.1