1984 Betrayal

Before a person can truly be betrayed by another, indefinite trust must be placed in them. A trust, that if broken, can ultimately ruin a bond and the lives of each of those involved. This unfailing truth is a prominent occurrence in the novel 1984 by George Orwell. The idea of trust being put into another person and later resulting in a final betrayal has an immediate impact with the book’s main character Winston Smith, who experience these same threads. Other themes, including love, lead to events that in the end contribute to betrayal among the people of Oceania, the setting of the novel. Various themes, found through relationships between characters impact Winston’s character growth throughout the story, changing his independent and alienated …show more content…
Whether it is through a loving yet detrimental bond between two main characters, an explicit lie made by a supposed friend and Brotherhood member to Winston, or the ultimate self-inflicting factor, betrayal has a significant influence on the novel. A major relationship in which the majority of the novel’s plot is based around, is the relationship between Winston Smith and Julia. Not only is this relationship important in terms of the plot, it is very relevant in the idea of trust leading to betrayal. In their eyes, it is a way for the two to go against the Party in control of everyone, so an indestructible trust must be present. …show more content…
The “ultimate-betrayal” that Winston commits is not the betrayal of the unbreakable relationship between him and Julia, the betrayal between the supposed friendship and alliance between him and O’Brien, or even the betrayal of the totalitarian Party. The ultimate betrayal is when Winston betrays himself, and everything he lives for throughout the novel. Winston, who builds his rebellious nature during his life in Oceania and whose secretive relationship violates the government’s policies altogether, betrays all of this and himself in the very end of the novel. Ultimately, the Party, wins against Winston when he does what is unexpected by the reader and admits his loyalty to the Party he displayed hatred towards. “He gazed up at the enormous face. Forty years it had taken him to learn what kind of smile was hidden beneath the dark mustache. O cruel, needless misunderstanding! Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother” (Orwell 297). After everything Winston had gone through, including his relationship with Julia, he betrays almost everyone, even himself. This ultimate betrayal not only ruins all that he had done, but will most likely return to the common theme of loneliness due to the fact that