Trust No One: Loyalty and Betrayal in 1984

Betrayal is a recurrent theme in 1984. We see Winston betrayed by Mr. Charrington, O'Brien, and Julia, and see him in turn betray Julia and himself. But in the world of the novel, betrayal is less common then it is now. By the definition of the word, there can be no betrayal without trust, and trust is becoming increasingly rare. Anyone can be a member of the thought police. Anyone could reveal all your flaws to the thought police, resulting in your torture. Even parents and children are potential enemies. For this reason, betrayal is not seen as cruel, but almost as a given. Everyone knows that, in the torture chambers of the ministry of love, one can be made to tell any thing, convict even cherished friends with lies. Winston and Julia, for most of the novel, believe that the only betrayal is a betrayal of the heart, as this is the only kind of betrayal they have control over. One of the things that makes them enemies of the party is the fact that they both still trust in something other than the Party and Big Brother. In the world of 1984, even unsanctioned trust is a crime. But they eventually find out that no part of them is safe from the Party, and that they have no choice to betray everything they can betray. The Party accuses all thought criminals of being traitors, but turns them into further traitors through torture. It may seem illogical, but eventually, this method will eliminate traitors by eliminating trust.
Loyalty is also an important concept in the book, mainly as a contrast to the distrust and betrayal. Winston believes loyalty to be the most important virtue: loyalty to Julia, to himself, to mankind and his own beliefs. He says "Once they get hold of us there will be nothing, literally nothing,that either of us can do for the other... The one thing that matters is that we shouldn't betray one another, although even that can't make the slightest difference,"(173). He goes on to explain he doesn't mean confessing each others sins, or even lying about sins they hadn't committed, but only that they should keep loving each other no matter what. After being reduced to a shell of a man, the one thing he still takes pride in is his love for Julia. Loyalty is also important to the Party, but, as O'Brien says, only loyalty to the Party can be allowed to exist. Loyalty to anything else could compromise their loyalty of the Party. They work to systematically turn people against each other until all loyalty and trust is focused on Big Brother. Like all other aspects of life, they have found, in room 101, a way to eliminate loyalty. The torture is both physical and psychological, and tailored to each persons specific fears. Whatever loyalty is left in the dystopia of 1984 will quickly and intentionally be destroyed. Because of this, there will never be true loyalty towards the Party, but loyalty based on fear and manipulation is perfectly suited for the Party's intentions.