We

A - The rigid regimentation, which lends significantly to the broader theme of insufficient individualism, is prominently presented in Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We.  Humans lack names in OneState; instead they are “numbers”.  Numbers follow in line and synchronize in time.  Every act is based upon the strict Table of Hours.  Virtually every moment is filled with expectedness and unity.  To ensure order and harmony after the Two Hundred Years’ War, every aspect of life has been regulated.  A man, D-503, living in OneState, adores the lifestyle within its glass walls.  He is a gifted mathematician trying to spread the collectivist, regimented societal rules of OneState, until he encounters a woman from the outside world, I-330.  She seduces him with her unfamiliarity and intelligence.  Additionally, she causes D-503 to question his society.  Math and superior structure had previously explained everything in OneState, but when I-330 asks him questions that he cannot answer, such as “What is the final number?,” D-503 is utterly perplexed.  Has math and his supreme organization failed him?  He questions the unaltered order, and begins to see himself not as an entity of “we,” but rather, as singular being of “I”.  I for individualism.  However, OneState’s collectivist, mathematical regime does not allow for individuals, and thus D-503 “hope[s] we’ll win. More – I’m certain we’ll win. Because reason has to win” (Zamyatin 225).  Unfortunately, this closes the novel, and despite D-503’s insecurities with the system, he falls under its control once more, but this time for good.  The relentless regimentation has reigned supreme, and because of it, “We” will always be the answer.

B – “But isn’t it clear that bliss and envy are the numerator and denominator of that fraction known as happiness? … The denominator of the happiness fraction has been reduced to zero and the fraction becomes magnificent infinity.”  (23)  This passage aids in the obvious theme of the lack of emotions, and ultimately, humanity.  The “Numbers” lack names.  Math is implemented into every particle of life.  In mathematical terms, if a fraction has a denominator of zero, it is undefined.  Fittingly, D-503 states that the denominator of the happiness fraction has reached zero.  Due to the Two Hundred Years’ War, OneState has resulted, and its members do not know happiness.  For them, it does not exist if freedom exists, and vice versa.  Happiness, and perhaps life, has become undefined.

C – We, written in the early 1920s by a Russian man who had experienced the Soviet oppression, shines a light on the hardships of conformity and the inner struggles of a totalitarian society.  Zamyatin describes D-503's difficulties, showing his growing confusion.  On every page, ellipses and broken sentence fragments and thoughts disrupt any possible unity.  The syntax follows the leaps of his mind.  He tries desperately to understand what is laid before him, but alas, he cannot.  The totalitarian society wins in the end.  D-503 does not escape the conformity of OneState’s structured regime.  Their imaginations, individualisms, freedoms, and most importantly, souls, are stripped from each member by the final record.  They are taken out of the equation for life.  Resulting is a denominator of zero.  The message is that life is difficult to follow, people search endlessly in vain for perfection, and in that, life has become undefined.

I enjoyed the mathematical integration into the piece, a commentary on political systems and social standards.  Combining humor with sincerity, the syntax aids tremendously in the exploration of D-503’s journey and his immense internal afflictions.  Zamyatin’s We is bold and revolutionary, showing that intelligence can account for much, ignorance can account for more, rebellion is expected, but conformity and the sacrifice of individualism is never an option.  WE are in control.  I can do it.