“We”, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, is a futuristic novel set in a dystopian society in the twenty-sixth century. The premise of the novel is a dystopian society where everyone is equal; they can be partners with whomever they want, they never have to worry about money or going hungry, and all they have to do is go to work everyday to put in their fair share. The only catch is that they have no privacy and no freedom and must live under the laws of the all-powerful Benefactor.
There are many symbols in the novel. One of which is I-330, who symbolizes temptation. She was D-503’s “forbidden fruit.” Before meeting her, D-503 was a model citizen. He was the head engineer for the INTEGRAL, OneState’s major project, that when completed would allow them to take over the universe with their dystopian ideals. D-503 writes his “Records” so that people on the other planets the Integral travels to can see the glory of OneState, and why they should adopt its ideals. As the records unfold, however, and after meeting I-330, it becomes clear that D-503 is realizing the faults with his society and begins to rebel against its rules. He knows that when he sneaks over the Green Wall, lies about being sick to miss work, or sees I-330 without a pink ticket he is breaking the rules. It causes a constant struggle within him, but he cannot resist sneaking to see her. He even betrays the women he loves, O-90, to see her when he knows he should not. I-330 represents the temptation that drives people to rebel against their society’s rules. Just as money and power cause people in our society to break the law, D-503 broke the laws of his society because of I-330.
My favorite quote from the novel is, “And mathematics and death never make a mistake” (Zamyatin 98). It occurs in the middle of D-503’s speech about irrational numbers and how he fears the unknown. The reason that I like this quote is because of how much it relates to my own thoughts on life. I always say that there is nothing more permanent than death and that the only thing I can stand about math is that there is only one right answer. By expressing that they never make a mistake, D-503 means that they are both final and permanent. In math there is only one right answer; it is final and always right no matter what. Death is also final and permanent, there is no coming back from it. The quote also represents D-503’s society where everything is definite and its inhabitants do not think about life or its meaning. In their society they also never make mistakes because they always follow the rules. This is until D-503 meets I-330 and learns of the world outside his society where there is freedom and rebellion against the Benefactor. This is where the irrational root comes in. It is the undefined and unexplainable thing in this society and in D-503’s life. It represents the rebellious world that lies underneath the society and seeks to start a revolution.
As far as my opinion of “We,” it is not my favorite novel, however, I do not hate it. My opinion on the novel is indifferent. I enjoyed the tone of the novel and found the stream of consciousness style of writing to be entertaining. The plot of the novel, however, did not stand out in my mind. I feel as though it is another similar version of the same story that has been told over and over again. “Farenheit 451” and “Anthem” are just two examples we have read this year that have very similar ideas in them. It is not that I have a problem with the dystopian novels, I just would have enjoyed the novel more if it took a more unique approach to the dystopian topic as “The Handmaid’s Tale” did.
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