Yevgeny Zamyatin\u2019s \u201cWe\u201d <\/i>is an iconic example of a dystopian society that is threatened by individuality. \u00a0The One State and its inhabitants were a supposed perfect population who had found happiness through conformity and rationality. \u00a0The citizens of the One State were kept under the watchful eye of the Benefactor as well as his secret police force, the Guardians. \u00a0In order to eliminate individuality, people were given numbers instead of names (D-503 and I-330), as well as a large sum of rules and regulations to abide by throughout their lives. \u00a0From dawn to dusk, and even into the night, the people of the One State were told when to wake, when to sleep, when to eat and when to take breaks. \u00a0Social interactions, even how to conduct one\u2019s sex life, were all regulated by the Benefactor. \u00a0D-503 was the submissive One State citizen turned hesitant revolutionary and ultimately returned to mindless member of the One State, and although he was the main character of the novel, my interest lies in the Benefactor and his view of how society should function.<\/p>\n
According to the Benefactor, the population before becoming the One State \u201cwanted someone, anyone, to tell them once and for all what happiness [was].\u201d \u00a0People wanted a paradise where there was no love, pity, or desire. \u00a0A society where everyone is healthy, works efficiently, and believes in the vision of the One State is required to make this a reality. \u00a0The ideology of the Benefactor is exceptionally clear and in my opinion would in theory work in a small scale system, however implementing a system like the One State on a large scale is impossible. \u00a0Love, pity, and desire are all fundamental pieces of human emotion that may be able to be controlled for a small few, however with a population as large as the One State, a system like that does not function. \u00a0When the quantity of people living together is that great, the same effect arises as did in the Russian Revolution of 1917. \u00a0The proximity of people to one another encourages the spreading of ideas, which is exactly what occurred in Zamyatin’s \u201cWe\u201d.<\/i> \u00a0After reading the novel, I was left with the question: after seeing countries fail to achieve perfect communist systems, on what scale would a system like the One State be a practical solution to human unhappiness and individuality?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Yevgeny Zamyatin\u2019s \u201cWe\u201d is an iconic example of a dystopian society that is threatened by individuality. \u00a0The One State and its inhabitants were a supposed perfect population who had found happiness through conformity and rationality. \u00a0The citizens of the One … Continue reading