We by Yevgeny Zamyatin is a story about the magnificent power of emotion on a human being. The main character, D-503, is just another member of OneState, a society where everything is planned out and explained. Everything in his life appears to be simple, and he believes he is happy in this “non-freedom.” In the beginning of the novel, D-503, only understands things that can be explained with facts, logic, or mathematical equations. He even compares the physical appearances of people he meets with geometric shapes and letters. However, after he meets I-330, he starts to feel something that he cannot explain with logic. He wants to be with her, and only her, even though they can get a pink ticket for whomever they please. He wants her to be with him, and only him, and feels jealous at the thought of anyone else embracing her. He feels like he hates her at times because she made his life confusing, but yet he longs for her all the same.
Most members of our society would call this feeling love. However, since he cannot explain it, D-303 is deeply disturbed by it. He says, “Maybe that nonsense about love and jealousy is not just in stupid old books. And me, of all people! Equations, formulas, figures, and now… I don’t get it. None of it” (Zamyatin 63). He does not understand what he is feeling because it is an emotion that goes way beyond the certain facts and logic in numbers.
Because figuring out feelings and emotions is far more complex than just adding two plus two, he believes he is ill. His stream of consciousness quickly changes from simple thoughts to unorganized and complex thoughts filled with emotion. When filled with jealousy at the thought of I-330 being with anyone else, he screams, “I won’t stand for it! I don’t want anyone but me to… I’ll kill anyone who…Because I lo…I…” (57). There are an abundance of ellipses, which illustrate how he does not know to describe his feelings. In these cases, what isn’t said is almost more powerful than what is. (And for the record, no, he is not talking about frosty doughnuts and how much he loathes them.)
Developing emotion was a major part of D-503 developing a soul. This soul made him an individual that was unique and stood out from the rest of his conformed society. It made him an “I” instead of part of a “We.”
My favorite line of We describes one of the moments where D-503 feels emotion and love. He says, “The heavy, squeaking, opaque door closed and at that instant my heart opened, painfully and wide, still wider—all the way open. Her lips met mine, I drank, drank, tore myself away, silently, looked into the eyes opened wide on me…and again…” (Zamyatin 73). In this moment, D-503 not only has sex with I-330, but for the first time in his life, he makes love. He experiences feelings of passion and desire, of yearning and emotion… and all of this without a pink ticket to give him permission. He longs for her because it is what he is feeling. He opens his heart and allows himself to be enveloped in feelings he did not completely understand. He performs this act with I-330 not because he was assigned to her, but because he felt emotion. This line is overflowing with emotion, and it is a crucial part of the character’s gradual development of a soul. I-330 shows D-503 what it is supposed to feel like when you make love with someone, and this line perfectly illustrates those feelings.
I enjoyed reading this novel. For me, the most interesting aspect was the stream of consciousness. It allowed me as the reader to know exactly what the narrator was feeling, which aided in getting into the story line. I almost felt like I could connect with him, even though he lives in a society much different from our own. Although at times I was confused by D-530’s apparent “madness,” overall, it made the novel more interesting. It also made the emotional change in his character much more prevalent. I tend to enjoy anti-Utopian novels, because they make the reader think “what if…” What if I was just part of a We? Scary thought, scary thought indeed.
