We

A) The common theme of choice and individual freedoms is often found in Zamayatin’s novel We.  In D-503’s society, the day is planned for each citizen. Everyone does the same thing at exact times, with absolutely no diversion from what is expected of you. If you want to meet with someone, you must follow protocol and get a slip of permission. Once D-503 discovers freedom and how it feels to do what he wants, he desires more freedom. Through the theme of freedoms, Zamayatin shows the crucial need for individuals to make their own choices and to do what they want.  Freedoms are so crucial in life that if people are deprived of them, it leads to a dystopian society such as the one D-503 lives in.

B) My favorite passage from We, is from record 31: “IMAGINATION. This is the worm that eats out black wrinkles on the brow. This is the fever that drives you to run farther and father, even farther that “farther” began in the place where happiness ends. This is the last barrier on the path to happiness” (Zamayatin 173). The passage describes imagination as a bad thing. Zamayatin says that it is in the way of happiness. I like the irony of it because many times imagination leads to and builds happiness, intelligence, and success. Imagination is not a “fever” or a “worm.” Imagination is medicine to lift you up and often keeps us striving for better things. It is not a sickness that needs to be corrected with a surgery, like a tumor. It is what creates ideas and new innovations.

C) I did not appreciate Zamayatin’s We, because the style was not my usual choice. However, the diary entries were short and quick to get through. We included passages that created reflection on our society and the reader’s personal beliefs and aspects. I enjoyed seeing D-503’s development as a character through his change in diary entries between speaking logically and rambling. 

The Handmaid's Tale

Extremist views were a common topic found in Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. Extreme religion, extreme government, and extreme corruption can all be found. In the society of The Handmaid’s Tale, extreme religion takes place when the society picks and chooses what they want to worship. They select what parts they want to follow and what fits to their way of life. Extreme Government in the society leads to women being treated as sex slaves and having no freedoms. Even Commanders, the heads of the society, are corrupt. They don’t follow the rules by having secret meetings with their Handmaids and by visiting prostitutes in a club. Through the corruption and extremism of government and religion, Atwood is trying to illustrate that even if things are done with good intentions, everything has consequences and even terrible results. Although the originators of the society thought they were making things better, it led to a dystopian society with corruption and unhappiness.

   
One of my favorite quotations from The Handmaid’s Tale is: “It’s lack of love we die from. There’s nobody here I can love, all the people I could love are dead or elsewhere. Who knows where they are or what their names are now? They might as well be nowhere, as I am for them.  I too am a missing person” (Atwood 103). This quote is upsetting because Offred hasn’t seen her family and those who she loves in so long that she is starting to lose hope of ever seeing them again. She feels as though because she hasn’t seen them in so long, maybe they too are starting to forget about her and losing faith that they will ever see her again.  Offred feels like she is lost and worries Luke and her daughter won’t remember her or that they will never see her again. Sadly Offred is missing her family.  
 I loved The Handmaid’s Tale, as Atwood’s extremist theme was put forth in a quick and easy read. It was very easy to understand. The format of the book kept me wanting to read more about Offred. At the end of the book I felt as though I had a relationship with Offred, and I wanted to make sure she was okay. I was rooting for Offred while she played Scrabble and my optimism for her continued into the end of the novel as I hoped was able to make it out of the dystopian society, able start new life.