Yevgeny Zamyatin’s novel “We” conspicuously places prominence on unity and conformation, as its title implies. Unexpectedly, however, throughout the novel particular interest is subtly placed on the contrasting term, “I.” The prime example of such contradiction is found in the name of the main character’s source of turmoil and love interest, I-330.
The spirit of the novel’s society favors and promotes unity, and more noticeably, conformation, at every opportunity, with all members of society following a strict time table that dictates their day, which consists of wearing identical uniforms and marching in organized ranks. D-503’s obedience is opposed by I-330 who seduces him, causes him to question himself and his environment, and most importantly, inspires doubt in D-503 about the strength of mass identity versus the power of individuals.
D-503 becomes enthralled with more than just his inexplicable emotions towards I-330, he also struggles to identify right from wrong, the leaders he has long trusted to control his life, or his new confusing love. Stumbling over expressing his emotions, D-503 stutters that he loves I-330, but he hates the chaos she churns into his thoughts. Love by many would be considered similar to the term we, representing harmony and togetherness, however this is questioned by love and hate being contrasted to “we” and “I.” This comparison is extended to a new extreme by D-503 who attempts to organize and condense his thoughts, “Humility is a virtue, pride a vice; We comes from God, I from the Devil (Zamyatin 124).” In this statement he is claiming that “I” is a product of the devil, but “I” is associated with the name of his love, confirming his divergent thoughts towards the significance of “I”. D-503 struggles because he cannot understand that ideas as enormous as love and hate and I and we cannot be narrowed down to a mathematical equation to identify a single, concrete answer.
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