1984 Section Three, Part VI Analysis (pp. 287-298)
by George Orwell

The distressing end to the novel serves to show Winston has been totally broken. He believes without hesitation whatever he is told to believe. He behaves in the same manner as prisoners captured before him, evening listening to the same music. Julia is similarly defeated. Winston's daydream about being shot in the head further supports the reading that he will be killed soon (though he is still alive by the end of the novel.) Winston's premonitions come true, and all other political prisoners before him were eventually executed as well.