We Journal Topic A

“He had given us certificates that we were ill and could not report to work. I was stealing my services from the One State, I was a thief, I saw myself under the Benefactor’s Machine. But all of this was as remote and indifferent as a story in a book…I took the slip without a moment’s hesitation. I-all of me, my eyes, lips, hands-knew that this had to be” (Zamyatin 73).

                This passage from We has many important yet subtle elements. First, it reveals a few aspects of the dystopian society that Zamyatin has created. The first is the idea of the certificate, or slip. In this society, “numbers” get slips or coupons for almost everything: if they are too sick for work, if they want to have sex, and if they are doing anything out of the ordinary. The second aspect of this society that is evident in the passage is the idea of the mechanized One State. D-503 recognizes that he is part of one giant machine, and that his actions are threatening both to the One State and to himself (“I was stealing my services from the One State, I was a thief”). Also in this section of the novel, D-503 is becoming “ill”, i.e. he is starting to go off the beaten path and do unusual things.  This is the beginning of D-503’s rebellion. Finally, in the last sentence of the passage, D-503 describes his body. He mentions lips countless times during the novel, and this is an important aspect of his character-he is very observant of his own and others’ features, especially their facial features. He is noticing the “numbers’” individuality, which is part of his epiphany that people are different. He realizes his society’s ideas about everyone being exactly the same are wrong.