Traitor in The Defector Episode of Star Trek Essays -- Star Trek Trait

Traitor in The Defector Episode of Star Trek In "The Defector," Jarroc becomes a traitor when he betrays the Romulan Empire. Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary has several definitions for "betrayal," but the one we are interested in is the second, which reads, "to deliver to an enemy by treachery" (109). By defecting and telling the Federation of the Romulan plan to invade, Jarroc does just that. Merriam-Webster's further defines a traitor as "one who betrays another's trust or is false to an obligation or duty" (1252). By defecting to the Federation and using information that the Romulan High Council gave him in trust to harm the Romulan Empire, Jarroc became a traitor. Until the very end of the show, Jarroc did not believe that he was a traitor. When Riker asked him why he had set his ship to self-destruct (thereby keeping the Federation from learning its secrets), Jarroc replied, "Wouldn't you? To keep your ship from being captured?" Riker became a little upset and said, "Excuse me, Setal, but I thought you were defecting." Jarroc's reply illustrates his attitude: "I am not a traitor" ("The Defector"). One's attitude toward a particular instance of defection (forsaking one cause, party, or nation for another often because of a change in ideology) depends almost entirely upon the observer's position (Merriam 302). Riker equates defection with treason. As we see later in the episode, so do the Romulans. Jarroc, though, has a unique position. Though he has defected (he does not deny it), he still does not think of himself as a traitor. Jarroc does not finally give in and commit treason (in his own mind) until near the end of the episode, when he meet s with Picard. Picard refuses to move until Jarroc provides some evid... ...betrayed himself. Also, by failing in his mission to save his children by keeping the Romulans from going to war, he betrayed his unofficial oath to them. War was the Romulans' aim--Tomalak explicitly said so during the confrontation in the Neutral Zone. Thanks to good planning on Picard's part, though, the Romulans' plans did not come to fruition. Jarroc's daughter would not die in the war that he had been lead to believe was coming, but his actions did not save her. Jarroc himself puts it most succinctly when he says, "I did it for nothing. My home, my family . . . for nothing." Works Cited Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th Edition. Springfield: Merriam-Webster, Inc., 1993. "The Defector." Prod. Ira Steven Behr. Dir. Robert Sheerer. Perf. Patrick Stewart and James Sloyan. Star Trek: The Next Generation. Syndicated. KBVO, Austin. 14 Jan. 1990