Loyalty

The author explores the complex nature of loyalty through his first person narrator Brian's attempts to balance allegiance to the system with his allegiance to friends. Brian first encounters this conflict when Tom utters a Regrettable Falsehood during their conversation about Tom's "marital stress" (3). As soon as Brian realizes his friend has said something against the state, he knows he is responsible to report him. "Jeez," Brian thinks, "Tom, Mr. Frame, you have really put me in a bad spot! Rules are rules, friends are friends. But now rules and friends urge differing courses of action upon me, and which shall I choose?" (4). Always careful not to break the strict moral codes that define life in the Region and to act in the best interest of the Team, Brian determinedly hurries towards "Monitoring & Reporting Services,” convinced that turning Tom in is inherently the right thing to...