The imagery found in We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin, is by far the most interesting part of the novel, I think, because of its relevance in relation to the style of writing. We is written as a collection of records, or journal entries, from D-503’s daily experiences, therefore, most likely, D-503 had to have written his journal entries at the end of the day, that is after everything that the audience knows happened has occurred. As such, the imagery found in the novel had to be of great relevance to D-503 to have been lodged into his memory, and it also shows much of D-503’s character growth. When D-503 witnesses the disintegration, one could call it, of a man by the cast-iron hand controlled by the Benefactor. D-503 describes the scene, saying:
“The hand fell, loosing the current. A sharp blade of unbearable light. A shudder in the pipes of the Machine, crackling that you could hardly hear. The spread-eagled body was covered by a light, sparkling little puff of smoke, and then before our eyes it began to melt, and melt, and it dissolved so fast it was horrible…Still, every time it happened, it seemed like a miracle.” (Zamyatin 48)
Though he described the scene of a man turning into pure water in the blink of an eye as horrible, he also believed it beautiful and a mechanical marvel. Any person with a soul would feel utter disdain and supreme fear from this sight, but, as he is soulless at this point in the novel, D-503 sees beauty in it. He lacks emotion, thus clouding his ability to process that which is happening in the world around him. The first truly troubling image that D-503 describes is when he visited I-330 for the first time, armed with his pink ticket. I-330 leaves his presence to change, and when she reappeared, she wore, “…a light dress of an old-fashioned cut, saffron-yellow. This was a thousand times more evil than wearing nothing at all. Through the thin material you could see two pointed tips that glowed pink like coals seen through ashes” (54). This is the first taste of real emotion that D-503 experiences, and he has no idea how to react to the “evil” seduction which he faces. It is highly significant that images, such as the two aforementioned, are the images that are written in his journal. It is the imagery that shows the most significant change in D-503’s character; that is emotion. At first, D-503 is an emotionless, generic being; soulless to all extents. Then, after being introduced to I-330, and having his eyes opened to new images, new experiences, he becomes more alive and unique. Thus, I feel imagery is a highly interesting topic in the book.
My favorite line in the book is most certainly from D-503’s last meeting with the Benefactor. The Benefactor says to D-503, “Remember: In paradise they’ve lost all knowledge of desires, pity, love–they are blessed, with their imaginations surgically removed” (207). Then a little bit later, D-503 contemplates on humanity, mentioning if he had a mother. He says, “And if for her I could be–not the Builder of the INTEGRAL, and not Number D-503, and not a molecule of OneState, but just a piece of humanity, a piece of her own self–trampled, crushed, outcast” (208-209). This compilation of passages, to me, displays the true meaning of the novel. The Benefactor, resembling a totalitarian, bent on generating a population of synthetic happiness and ignorant bliss, attempts to take away that which D-503 discoveries is most important in his life; humanity. This humanity, represented in the book by imagination, is what I-330 has brought to D-503, and is what D-503, inevitably, must give up. The central meaning of We is that in order for humanity to function adequately, individuality and emotion must be encouraged, not discouraged. In this dystopian society, the Benefactor discourages all individuality and emotion by giving those under his rule a false sense of paradise, ignorant bliss. D-503 represents humanity attempting to emerge from the darkness of the false paradise; searching for human imperfection.
Overall, I disliked the novel simply because it was far too weird. That may sound rudimentary, but there were too many aspects of it that I found difficult to grasp and enjoy. The main aspect I disliked was the animals, or furry humans, whatever they may be called. The concept of the animalistic creatures holding more just ideals than a dystopian human society bothered me, for it posed evolutionist notions, I thought; meaning that primal beings, the ancestors of humans, are superior intellectually and in societal aspects compared to human beings. This disturbing thought compels my deep disdain for this book, for the most part. The frightful image of the cast-iron hand disintegrating the man to pure water was the only part of the book I liked. Is it frightful? Most certainly it is, yes. Is it unreal? As unreal as anything can possibly be! Cool? So, so very cool. Such an interesting science-fiction type of anomaly in a book is the only aspect that could keep me entertained throughout the two-hundred twenty-five pages of dry insanity, as it left me sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting for the next person to be vaporized. Aside from that, not a very good novel.
