padishar123's Full Review: Evgenii Ivanovich Zamiatin and Clarence Brown - We
The book "We" is incredible. Bypassing the circumstances under which the book was written and the events that take place (for these have already been well written about), I have searched for a deeper meaning and understanding.
Being a rather young and ignorant college student reading this book for the first time, I found new meaning in the country I live in today (USA). As Yevgeny Zamyatin strives to impress upon us what a truly totalitarian society consists of, can one not compare what his world was like to what our world is becoming?
As one of my generation, I have no knowledge of the freedoms the government strips from us everyday. In the society in "We", the people have no freedom, and are content. Why? Because that's the way it has always been. This is how our society is evolving. The book "We" has opened my eyes to what this country is becoming; mainly, a totalitarian society. Now of course, I don't think our society will ever evolve to what Yevgeny pictures for us, but I do think we are allowing/permitting the government to dictate more of our lives everyday.
The main character, D-503 is a mathematician. By the use of this math, his more "public" profession chains him to the "machine"; the universal clock in this book. It keeps him on track. As he strays from math and indulges himself in things like the love and use of color, personal expression, making love (verses pure animal/mechanical sex), etc... his metamorphous to an individual slowly but surely enfolds. As he continues in his newfound passions, he breaks free from the system from which he used to love.
How does this apply to us?
We (citizens of the USA) do just the opposite. We freely invent and participate in all types of activities that limit our freedom and constrain ourselves to society rules. Employee number, Social Security number, Time Clock, WristWatch, credit cards, civil rights/liberties, etc.... Take this book as a message to ensure our individuality still exists as a separate and unique entity.
John Galsworthy (1910) illustrated this perfectly in his short story "The Japanese Quince" where he illustrated two very different men enjoying a beautiful morning in a park. Each man believed he would enjoy the morning in his own special way. As the story unfolds, they keep running into each other in the park and surrounding area. At the end of the story, they realize that no matter how hard they tried, each copied the others ideas, movements, etc.... Case in point: "I" am not unique. More importantly, the more we try to be unique, creative and special, the more we realize we are ordinary and normal. How terrible!
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.