We

The novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is very similar to Ayn Rand’s Anthem. Both dystopian novels feature characters with numbers in their names, indicating a loss in their individuality. However, in We this loss of individuality seems to have been taken a step further. In the society of We every part of the people’s lives is controlled by the Table of Hours. There is no room for individual thought when every part of their lives is planned out; in this way the Benefactor can be sure to have complete control of the people, at least theoretically he can. Another way We is similar to Anthem is in the differences both protagonist have from their fellow citizens. In Anthem Equality 7-2521 was taller and smarter then his “brothers”. While in We D-503 has hairy hands, which he views as being a monkeys hands, they are something he absolutely detests about himself. To D-503 his monkey hands make him less of an evolved being because he has this left over trait from older times. These traits that set the two characters apart from others in their society allow the characters to escape the mindless masses and follow their own path even though in the end D-503 is brought back into the herd.

 

I found We to closely parallel to the Genesis story of Adam and Eve. One State is the Garden of Eden, an ideal society, and the Benefactor is God, then it is clear that D-503 is the equivalent of Adam. He is given the task of building the Integral and giving knowledge of the perfection of One State to whomever receives it, much as Adam was trusted by God to protect Eden. However, with the infiltration of the Guardians by S-4711, the Garden of One State was not perfect. S-4711 represents the Serpent in the Garden, and he and I-330, the Eve of this story, tempt D-503 with the fruit of knowledge, that is the soul and the outside world, the world of the Mephi, and as Eve encouraged Adam to eat the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, so does I-330 seduce D-503 into joining her in the Mephi's cause. With as many possible Biblical allusions that occur in the novel, it is evident that Zamyatin may have had this very theme in mind when he wrote We. The S in S-4711's name may be representative of his role as the Serpent; it is also mentioned several times that his posture and body are "double-curved," similar to that of a snake.

  

My favorite passage is on page 33 and 34:

"The cheerful little crystal bell in my headboard dings 7:00 AM; time to get up. To the right and left through the glass walls I see something like my own self, my own room, my own clothes, my own movements, and all repeated a thousand times. It cheers you up: you see yourself as part of an immense, powerful, single thing. And such a precise beauty it is: not a wasted gesture, bend, turn."

 

I loved the imagery this passage produced. I could clearly picture thousands of people performing these basic routine movements. The passage helped to reinforce the idea that the people of OneState are really just one big person. It enforced the thought that all individuality had been eliminated in OneState. D-503 might has well been looking into a thousand mirrors. It disturbed me a bit that seeing all of these people performing the same movements as he was comforted and even cheered D-503 up. If I were to see something like this it would definitely freak me out.

 

I did not enjoy this novel. While I can admit that there were interesting aspects of it, such as how ingrained math was into the people’s minds that D-503 came to liken his love for I-330 to the square root of negative one, an irrational number, as his feelings for her were irrational to him. Overall I found the book to be dry and confusing at times. Frankly it bored me and I was very happy when I finally made it to the end of the book.