Jarok As A Traitor :: Star Trek Defector Essays Papers

Jarok As A Traitor Betrayer. Renegade. Mutineer. Defector. No matter how you say it, it all means the same thing: a traitor. I believe that Admiral Jarok from the episode "The Defector" from the third season of Star Trek the Next Generation is indeed a traitor. He betrayed his country and his family, disclosed secret information, and I intend to prove that he fits the definition of a traitor. The definition of a traitor according to Webster's New World Dictionary from 1994 is: a person who betrays his or her country, cause, or friends (1418). This definition is pretty vague, so to understand the concept of a traitor one must know the definition of betray. To betray is: to help the enemy of one's country or cause; to break faith with; fail to meet the hopes of; to disclose secret information or confidential plans (133). In the following paragraphs, I will analyze this definition and show how Admiral Jarok is a traitor. Jarok is a traitor in the political sense, regardless of his motives (to stop a war). By political I mean having to do with the Romulan government or empire. To betray one's country is to be a traitor, and Jarok betrayed the Romulan government by giving away top secret information. According to the storyline of Star Trek the Next Generation, the Romulans and the Federation are enemies. Picard and his crew are members of the Federation, and Jarok is a Romulan; therefore, Jarok and Picard are enemies. Jarok claims that he has discovered a plot for a new Romulan offensive, and he wants to help the Federation stop a possible war. By coming to the Federation to help them, he betrays the Romulans and is a traitor by "helping the enemy of one's country or cause." Jarok elaborates by telling Picard that the Romulans are building a base on Nelvana III, a planet in the Neutral Zone, and there are 21 Warbirds in orbit around her, just waiting to make a first strike. (Lynch 1995) Jarok announces that the Romulans will shortly launch a major offensive against the Federation. (Kernick 1993) At first he wouldn't give Picard the coordinates of the base, but Picard demanded proof. Jarok, beaten, gives all the information he can, including the location of the Romulan fleet and information about cloaking technology. (Tong 1994) Jarok betrays the Romulans by disclosing secret information or confidential plans. Jarok also breaks the faith with and fails to meet the hopes of the Romulans.