The Undenieable "I"

After pretty much finishing this book i thought of something very interesting. I think that D-503 had the capability of change and grow a soul all along. What got me most interested in this was the number of "I"s used. This peaked my interest because of the other literature mentioned in the book: Daily Odes to the Benefactor, Red Flowers of Court Sentences, and Stanzas in Sexual Hygiene. None of those books seem to have any reference to the personal feelings or doings of their authors. D-503's journal has almost all to do with that, which I didn't really notice until about the twelfth entry; it starts with " I have the constant feeling: I will recover, I can recover." After reading this I decided to go back through all the entries and just look for "I"s. In a society like the One State there should be no "I." D-503 makes a similar comment when he speaks of O wanting a baby of her own, or having D be hers. "My" and "mine" don't exist in the One State so why should "I." Here I think back to the borg who had a similar society. Once a being was assimilated it lost its lone identity and became one of them. In the Star Trek movie they are defeated when the assimilated remember their lone identities and fight back. D-503 has his lone identity from the very beginning. The very first words of the book are "I shall simply copy,...". He does not say "here are the words from this book" or " our beliefs lie in this" or even " the great benefactor has taught us"; D-503 introduces himself as a lone identity, an important identity. This should show us that from the very beginning D-503 is different from the rest of the "normal society" and that he has something or is capable of something that others are not. The run in with I-330 didn't cause D-503 to grow his soul or question his society, it just sped up the process. Left by himself D-503 would have started questioning things, eventually, but maybe in a bit of a different way. but that is just what i think.

Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

I am not sure that I have ever been quite so alarmed while reading a book. As D-503 describes the One State more and more, this feeling of disgust rises within me. It is very strange as I am generally quite open-minded and even if I do not agree with something, I can usually understand where a person is coming from. I do understand somewhat of where the idea of the One State comes from and what would motivate people to create such a place, but perhaps it is the fact that it is an entire society on lock-down that bothers me. The way that the One State is governed is now widely accepted, but I am sure that when it was first formed, the ideas were only supported by a minority.

The book draws you into the One State so well, making it seem plausible that is the future for the Earth, which just makes it even more upsetting as it is something I refuse to accept for the future. Such concepts as only two hours of free time per day and only 15 minutes of intimate time with someone you are "registered to" just seems to go against all that I believe in and enjoy.

In any case, I suppose it is a good thing that I am so personally disturbed by this book as that is likely what the author intended, meaning she did her job quite well. It is just so hard for me to imagine eliminating anything from my life that was purely aesthetic or frivolous as they can sometimes be the most enjoyable aspects of life and save us from the monotony and stress of every day life.

The Ascendancy of Man in We: Humanity's Quest for Control

History clearly displays humanity's persistent quest for control. From Adolf Hitler to Saddam Hussein, there are seemingly endless examples of leaders exploiting their power to control the people they lead and others. This quest can be observed on a macro level also by looking at the way man has pursued mathematical and scientific knowledge throughout history. These fields give man a sense of control over nature.

Why does man want control over his surroundings so badly? The things that he can control can't harm him. It is this fact that explains why the things that humans fear most are the things they have no control over: death, the unknown, tornadoes...

In We, this theme is by no means subtle. The One State is organized and governed for the most part by mathematical principles. In this society, man has "channeled all elemental forces--there can be no catastrophes"(23). All citizens live in glass houses. There are "Guardians" to keep watch on the happenings; they are to keep order. There is even a space ship (the Integral) being built for the purpose of integrating inhabitants of other planets into the controlled ways of the One Sate.

The citizens feel safe in the One State because everything around them is controlled. Although it is not controlled by them personally, it is controlled by an entity that they feel to be one with. It is apparent that D-503 values safety when he explains that "when man's freedom equals zero, he commits no crimes"(35). Protection from crimes is well worth giving up personal freedoms in D's mind. In fact, control and safety are so important to D that he can't stand the thought of i, the square root of -1. This is because it was "foreign, alien, terrifying. It devoured [him]--it was impossible to conceive, to render harmless, because it was outside the ratio"(39).

It is a sense of control, a feeling of safety, that sustains the "happiness" of the One State citizens. But it is only a matter of time before they realize that "[o]nly the unsubduable can be loved"(72).