For class this week, we were assigned to read the novella We by Yevgeny Zamyatin. I personally admit that I was not looking forward to reading this book, knowing nothing about it except that it was two hundred pages long. However, upon first picking up this book, I found that I could not put it down. Not only was it interesting to me, it also gave me an opportunity to see the ideas and theories that were circulating Russian society at the time. One of these ideas (and a central theme in this novella) was that of a perfect society. The concept of a perfect society, or utopia, has incited the questioning of the possibilities of this since the beginning of mankind. Man has always strived for perfection; therefore humanity in general has explored numerous methods of possibly achieving the ultimate society.

In searching for a perfect society, a theory is to end all unpredictably and to cling to logic and science. The argument is that by adhering to what cannot be questioned or suddenly change, a society will stay consistently perfect. The arithmetically perfect society of the One State in Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We shows a society that is completely and utterly obsessed with logic and science. With this obsession in mind, the society has little choice but to stamp out any unpredictable factors within society; specifically, individuality. This individuality, whether it’s described through clothing, emotions, relationships, or even scheduling is completely eradicated and systemized into one single unit of people. As a result, the society becomes completely equal, with everyone wearing the same uniform and all adhering to the same schedule dictated by the One State. However, the novella We exemplifies that while these ideas of perfection seem on the surface to be solely beneficial to humankind, all of them have the potential to be morphed and distorted into a dystopia. The novella We clearly emphasizes this, particularly through the development of the character D-503.

One of the key components of a utopian society is that of equality. The idea of individuality is not only frowned upon, it is also unheard of in this type of society. No one person is better or worse than another. D-503, who was the ideal citizen of One State, shows through his actions that even the “perfect” citizen is susceptible to the instinctive human desire to be superior. At one point early in the novella, D-503 praises the perfection of the One State society, and relates this by stating, “…it was as if I – not whole generations past – had personally, myself, conquered the old God and the old life. As if I personally had created all this” (Zamyatin, 7). This line clearly epitomizes the expression of pride D-503 felt as an individual, and how in turn his pride placed him subconsciously on a level above the equality-focused doctrine of the One State. In turn, he fools himself into the unconscious belief that as a builder of the Integral, he has the ability to alter the State or leave it as is. This fantasy contradicts the utopian ideal of equality and the idea that there is no individual. D-503’s own innate human emotions cannot be stamped out by the One State, and their beliefs.

This is but one example of many in Zamyatin’s novella. The idea that the author strives to convey (and I believe ultimately succeeds in doing) is that as long as there are human beings, and in turn innate human emotions and tendencies, there can never be a utopian society. These emotions are not explainable, and cannot be controlled by math or science. Emotions are inherently unpredictable, and what make us unique as individuals. It is what drives humans to question, to fight, to argue, to love, and so much more. Try as a government might, a way has not been found yet to stamp out human emotion, and unfortunately, that would be the only plausible way to guarantee complete and utter control in a utopian society.