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

Traitor in The Defector Episode of Star TrekIn The Defector, Jarroc becomes a traitor when he betrays the Romulan Empire. Merriam Websters 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 forge to invade, Jarroc does just that. Merriam-Websters further defines a traitor as one who betrays anothers trust or is false to an obligation or duty (1252). By defecting to the Federation and utilize 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 passel his ship to self-destruct (thereby keeping the Federation from learning its secrets), Jarroc replied, Wouldnt you? To keep your ship from being captured? Riker became a little upset and said, Excuse me, Setal, but I mentation you were defecting. Jarrocs reply illustrates his attitude I am not a traitor (The Defector). Ones 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 observers 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 at last give in and commit treason (in his own mind) until near the end of the episode, when he meets with Picard. Picard refuses to move until Jarroc provides some evid... ...betrayed himself. Also, by failing in his mission to fork out 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 Ne utral Zone. Thanks to true planning on Picards part, though, the Romulans plans did not come to fruition. Jarrocs daughter would not die in the war that he had been lead to believe was coming, but his actions did not surrender her. Jarroc himself puts it most succinctly when he says, I did it for nothing. My home, my family . . . for nothing.Works CitedMerriam Websters 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