Aspects of Zamyatin's We - Book Report/Review Example

Critical Analysis of an Aspect of Zamyatin’s We. Question 4: Changes in D-503 The character of D-503 undergoes various changes that are consistent with the external realities that determine the manner in which individuals live in the One State. His character is constructed by the social realities that surround him in a way that is consistent with the society that is rigidly built on mathematical realities. D-503 wishes to live his life in accordance with the established patterns of behavior as conditioned by the Benefactor who rules the One State. At first D-503 is portrayed as a stickler to the rule of law. He resists temptations to savor the delights of life beyond the suppressive and oppressive limits of the society. Although there seems to be some inner feelings of unease in his character, he does not openly embrace the character of liberty and dissidence as manifested in the character of I-330. His mind has been conditioned and attuned to the rhythm of live as projected in the philosophies of the One State. In essence, he demonstrates a deep conviction of living a life order without the kind of moral ‘corruption’ associated with the natural world beyond the green wall. Living in a world ordered on the principles of mathematics converts D-503 into a stooge of the social order. The ideals of mathematical order have been ingrained in his character to such a level that he does not strain to live in accordance with the expectations of the benefactor. For instance, he hates imagination as illustrated in the manner in which he is troubled by the square root of one. The very notion that the square root does not offer a definite number but instead stretches to the horizon awakens in him some worries over the primacy of mathematics over other forms of reality. When he dreams about certain events of importance, he wants to keep it secret because the very act of dreaming signifies a collapse from the lofty world of mathematics into the unstable world of imagination (Zamiatin 88). This character is built out of the fact that D-503 wishes to conform to the standards of behavior that are consistent with mathematical order and the discipline imposed over the society of One State. The conditioning of the character of D-503 could be examined from the way in which he lives. The character, like other inhabitants of One State live in a glass house that allows the secret police a vantage view of all their activities. All life is ordered and carefully monitored by the authorities. The threat of punishment keeps the entire society in a single frame of mind in a way that makes it easy for the government to dispense its duties in an orderly and rigid manner. For instance, people are meant to walk uniformly in accordance with some mathematical formula. They are also forced to wear similar clothes so that there is no element of diversity within the population. As such, it becomes necessary to consider the fact that some of the issues that manifest in the character of D-503 are simply a reflection of the political order of the mathematical world in which he lives. At first, D-503 does not wish to convert to the ways of the natural world and sincerely demonstrates his allegiance to One State through thought and action. However, his resolve to live in accordance with the patterned lifestyle collapses when he comes into contact with the liberal spirit of I-330. This meeting becomes a point of transformation as D-503 encounters, for the first time, an individual in their midst who lives her life in total defiance of the established order. She smokes and drinks and openly practices things that are out of order with the established ways of D-503. In this manner, it becomes difficult for D-503 to make any hard decision of character because he is attracted to the woman. The challenge comes in the fact that romantic relationships and feelings of love were outlawed in the society in which they live. Love and love-making are activities that are determined mathematically and conducted in ways that serve the general good of the society (Zamiatin 41). For instance, people had to seek permission in order to engage in sexual activities. As such, the lives of people in One State were entirely controlled by the Benefactor in the sense that there could be no private life. The influences in the One State have a strong bearing on the character of the D-503 in the sense that he cannot connect with his inner being. He has surrendered his entire self to the control of the state. However, the influence of I-330 makes his succumb to feelings and passions, which he considers as a manifestations of corruption within his inner element. This awakening to a sense of transgression has the effect of imparting a strong element of guilt in his character. It becomes difficult for D-503 to connect with his inner self in a way that would redeem his sense of duty to One State and the benefactor. His loyalties are divided between patriotism and the corrupt feelings of love, which he has discovered in I-330. Later on D-503 awakens to the reality of the possibility of alternatives and begins to question some of the ideals on which his unyielding loyalty is based. In practice, he demonstrates the capacity of disloyalty if it means serving some higher moral goal. For instance, he yields to the demands of O-90 who sought to be pregnant by him. However, he does this with the self-righteous conviction that the newborn will be handed over to the One State. Eventually, he has to work with I-330 to smuggle O-90 away from One State to the outside world because she would not be willing to part with the child. On this matter, it becomes important to consider the fact that some of the characters manifested in D-503 portray the battles that go on within his element, and which divide his world into two distinct parts. Increasingly, D-503 finds himself in difficult situations that require some level of compromise. He does not know how to deal with I-330 after she reveals to him that she works for some underhand organization that seeks to destabilize One State. At the subconscious level, he feels complicit to the underhand schemes and suffers from the silent guilt of betraying his duty to the nation. His character again takes the form of obedience after he is configured through technology to yield to the requirements of the One State. His act of revealing the subversive activities of I-330 to the authorities is a demonstration of the level of the disturbances that affect his personality both at the conscious and the sub-conscious level. D-503 is a divided individual torn between the influences of two possibilities. He can never really be single in a manner that would help him to demonstrate some element of humanity as understood within the essence of character and characterization. The unstable character of D-503 is used to show the difficulties involved in creating a perfect world ruled on rigid laws of mathematics. The Benefactor’s attempts are simply efforts to create a private world or order amidst the larger external world that is full or chaos and disorder. Eventually, the impact of the powerful external realities have to break into the smaller private world in a way that destroys the neat rules of mathematics on which it was founded. The disturbances and instabilities in the character of D-503 illustrate the level of difficulties involved in conditioning the lives of human beings in definite patterns towards the attainment of certain political and ideological ends. To a significant degree, the novel is a criticism of the primacy of science, logic, and mathematics in knowledge and reality. Initially, all seems to be working in perfect order before signs of rebellion occur. At the very end, I-330 tells the establishment that revolutions would continue to happen frequently within the state. This signifies the possibility of eventual collapse of the mathematical society in ways that would lead to the rise of a multiplicity of possibilities within the state. The central message is that reality is complex and multiple, and cannot be reduced to the neat ruled of science. Works Cited Zamiatin, Eugene. We. New York: E. P. Dutton, 1924. Print. Read More