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.