Introduction

The novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin shows just how much a person can be influenced by those around them and how it can drastically change ones values and beliefs. The changes the main character D-503 goes through due to being influenced by I-330 who has a different way of thinking than that of the One State is a prime example of this. His actions, his mentality, and how he perceives the One State all change due to the influence of this one person.

Claim 1

D-503 is at first just like everyone else. He believes in the values of the One State completely above all other ways of life, and the logic of math plays a huge role in his values.

“Yes, to unbend the wild primitive curve and straighten it to a tangent…for the line of the One State is the straight line” (2).

Claim 2

D-503 starts to question everything after meeting I-330, and beings to wonder if his way of life is truly making him happy.

“What if he, this yellow eyed creature, in his disorderly, filthy mound of leaves, in his uncomputed life, is happier than we are” (97).

Claim 3

D-503 finally feels free, and he doesn’t embrace the ways of the One State anymore. Moving beyond the Green Wall has given him a sense of a different life.

“And I feel that everybody breathes together, and everybody will fly together somewhere, like birds over The Wall that day…” (122).