The Betrayal

Winston has committed the unthinkable. He has betrayed Julia in the one way he thought impossible. He sells her out to save himself. Winston's love for Julia did not survive the tests and torture of the Party. O'Brien finally won. Winston repented on his feelings towards Julia. Winston and Julia, during their rebellion against the Party, felt that the Party would never win because nothing the Party did would change how they felt. They were wrong. The contents of Room 101 and the fear it instilled had that power.

Winston and Julia loved each other deeply. During the course of their rebellion they felt that nothing would ever change that. The Party did not have that power. During the preliminary stages of his capture, Winston continued to believe that. He was subjected to torture, mentally and physically and still he held fast to his feelings. This did not satisfy O'Brien and the Party. Winston had to become a complete and utter slave to the Party causes. This meant that it was necessary that he feel no connection to Julia. Enter Room 101, the ultimate torture. Winston has to face his biggest fear, rats. He betrays Julia, telling O'Brien that he would rather she be eaten alive than himself. He wants to live more than he loves Julia. Facing his irrational fear of rats forced him to do things he would never have previously considered. Fear is a driving force in humans. People can do things they never imagined when faced with terrifying experiences. When people are attacked or assaulted, it happens that someone can fight with unknown strength against their assailant. The same happened in Winston's situation. His fear or rats made him betray Julia, the one thing he said would never happen. Winston never saw it coming. He lost the war against the Party with the betrayal of Julia to save himself.

Winston betrays Julia, forsaking her to protect himself. This is what O'Brien and the Party want, for every person to feel no loyalty to anyone except the Party. As long as Winston loved Julia this was an impossible ideal. They needed Winston to sacrifice this one stronghold and he did. Room 101 and its contents forced Winston to betray Julia, submitting himself to the will of the Party. His loyalty to Julia was finally destroyed and the Party won its battle.