The novel “We” of Yevgeny Zamyatin deals with the description of the totalitarian state – the One State, which emerged as a result of the development of the humanity. This novel is a warning because it shows the possible tragic consequences of the realization of the humans’ ultimate goal – the happiness. Thus, in my opinion, the One State is a dystopian character which stands for the totalitarian ways of making people happy through the dehumanization. However, it is at the same time a symbol of the utopia which always transforms into dystopia in the practical life because the reality cannot be the same as the idea. This paper will show the ambiguous nature of the One State as the idea and as the real political organization.
At first sight, the One State is the embodiment of the deepest humans’ desire – the happiness. It is the guarantor of the society’s stability, progress, welfare, and joy. It creates felicity for all people. Its motto and aim are the common good. Initially it seems that it is the peculiarity of a utopia which is the project of the common good. The utopian society is always a complex system where every person lives in harmony with others and does not lack anything that brings happiness.
Such state creates the conditions, in which people forget about the death and pain. The ability to experience sorrow and pain has atrophied. As D-503, who is the main character of the novel, writes: “at the time of the first explosion about a dozen loafing Numbers from the docks stood near the main tube – and nothing was left of them save a few crumbs and a little soot. With pride, I now write that this occurrence did not disturb the rhythm of our work for even a second” (Zamyatin, 1952, p. 102).
It seems that people are so happy that all existential controversies are not significant for them because they have everything they need. The One State embodies the idea of the perfect society without problems and sufferings. In this meaning, the One State is utopian. However, in the reality it transforms into the dystopia. The One State uses a totalitarian system which removes existential dimensions of humans’ life and makes it anonymous and similar. It transforms “me” into “we”, where every person can replace another one. D-503 expresses the collective representation of the triumph of the crowd, where there is no individuality, uniqueness and freedom of thought: “and the natural road from nothingness to greatness is to forget that one is a gram and to feel that one is one millionth of a ton!” (Zamyatin, 1952, p. 109). Thus, the One State is the underside of the great utopia of the perfect reason. Being the underside, it becomes a dystopia – something that is too terrible to be true.
The reason of such dehumanization lies in the desire of the European civilization for the total rationalization. The power of the calculative reasoning causes the transformation of people into the tokens with numbers but without names. The personality vanishes in the sea of numerals. There is only the crowd left that marches along the direct routes with the glass buildings. Such dystopian world does not know love, friendship, creative work, and freedom. The individuality does not matter because the person is no more the value but a function of eulogizing the One State and the dystopian society which does not understand the absurdity and despair of such a situation.
The dystopian nature of the One State creates the unification of the time inside the society. All people do the same things at the same time. They resemble the mechanisms which possess no fantasy, soul, or will to change the world. Such obedient machines are the perfect citizens of the One State because it is easy to manipulate them. Those people do not want to have any opportunities or situations of choice. They want even to decrease the level of their limited primitive freedom. Every day the citizens of the One State have two personal hours when they decide what to do without the imperatives of the government. However, the people do not appreciate such a concession due to the absence of the critical thinking. D-503 is sure that “sooner or later we shall somehow find a place in the general formula even for these hours. Somehow, all of the 86,400 seconds will be incorporated in the Tables of Hours.” (Zamyatin, 1952, p. 13). He wants to refuse even from this right to have a personal time for the sake of the One State.
The people in the One State do not experience the meaning of life. They eat artificial food, have sex with random people, listen to the mechanical music with no emotions and feelings, and are sure that the power of logic makes them happier. Such self-deception witnesses the dystopian character of the society in the novel. This dystopia is the technological one because it assumes the ways of the development of the technological civilization. In such a state, everything is a tool to maintain the power and stability of the totalitarian order. Even the poetry becomes an instrument to prevent the collapse of the One State.
People cannot use their fantasy to express themselves. The inner life is prohibited in this society. The One State considers those who endeavor to have doubts to be sick. When D-503 understands that he has some feelings, he is not so sure in the dogmas that the One State produces; the doctor tells him: “Yes, it is too bad. Apparently a soul has formed in you.” (Zamyatin, 1952, p. 84). That means that any gleams of the critical thinking are dangerous for the State. There cannot be democracy due to the servile reasoning of people.
To sum up, the One State as an idea before its realization may be considered as a utopia due to the ideals it has as its purposes. However, the ways of the construction of such a paradise on Earth are totalitarian. Thus, the One State is the demonstration of the dystopian reality, which may be possible if people do not pay attention to the inner life, subjectivity, and personality. The technical outlook may be dangerous due to its totality and a will to destroy the plurality. Therefore, the One State is a warning to the whole humanity that has to revise the values so as to have a better future which does not resemble the novel’s scenery.
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