While reading the book 1984 I was pretty interested, I wasn't as bored with this one as some of the other books we've read in class. The ending however was pretty disappointing. I was looking forward to Winston murdering some party members, or doing some pretty exciting stuff but unfortunately none of that happened. One of the reasons I think Orwell decided to do this is because most stories end off with a happy ending, the hero defeating the dragon or the prince saving the princess. Although I respect his choice of ending it the way he did, it was just really disappointing to see Winston die without even believing any of the things that he fought so hard to believe during the whole book. It might have been necessary for Orwell to end it that way though because that's maybe how he thought things were going to turn out. If he was writing the book as a sort of foreshadowing for what might happen to America, he's not going to make the end be all happy if he doesn't think ours will be happy either.
My understanding of a martyr is someone who's influence still influences after their death. For instance, Martin Luther King, one of the biggest civil rights leaders in history. If he hadn't died a martyr the world might not be the same place it is. A lot of people gained a lot of strength and hope through Martin Luther King and if he would have died believing that the world should be segregated people wouldn't have looked up to him the same. Another guy, Jesus. If he hadn't died a martyr we probably wouldn't have had a bunch of holy wars, deaths over religion, or Christianity at all
