Infatuation will make you do crazy things

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What started out as a very strict and studious journal, has now turned into a whirlwind of emotions and feelings. D-305 has taken a very dramatic turn from the character he is presented to us as in the beginning of the book, and now it is like I am reading a completely different story. D-305 has completely given into I-330 and by doing so has broken the mold which society had written out for him. I think this particularly represents how people would naturally react to something new and especially if it really has their attention. D-305 reacts this way because he has never experienced this before, and he doesn’t know how to think rationally about his situation due to the way he has been brought up in the society. At this point in the book, I am really seeing I-330 become the downfall to the story, everything about the current situation just doesn’t seem right to me.

” ‘Good. I promise you: after the holiday, if only…Oh, by the way, how is your Integral doing? I always forget to ask-how soon?’
‘No, what do you mean, ‘if only?’ Again? ‘If only’ what?
But she, already at the door : ‘ You’ll see yourself…’ ” (WE 134)

This quote shows how infatuated D-305 is, he focuses more on her than the actual things that she is saying. He does pick up at the end about her questioning the Integral, but doesn’t pay it as much mind as I believe he should.

 

New found emotions

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In the next section of “We”, the reader is exposed to the continued “humanization” of D-503 as his feelings grow for I-330 and as he gulps in these new found emotions he even develops feelings for O-50. “I lay thinking and an extremely odd chain of logic inbound itself in my mind” (Page 101). Through the entry we see that D-503, has been through core emotional changes as he starts “thinking” instead of calculating. Previously, he was only adept at mathematical progress and machinations, now the desires of the human heart has impeded that ability with real human emotions. We are witness to D-503s evolution as a caring and loving human being as he is slowly weaned off of the desired structure of the One State. He is asking questions about his purpose in life and what he purpose is as a human being…not just a cog in the wheel of the One State. He can’t escape his core human essence and the arrival of emotion is an unknown feeling inside his brain. An example of this conflict is exhibited when he states “I am saddened to see, that instead of a harmonious and strict mathematical poem in honor of the One State, I am producing some sort of fantastic adventure novel” (Page 103) He is fighting his lifelong conditioning by the One State. He struggles so much and finds his new emotions so unnatural that he believes he is ill. “It is my duty to inform that Number D-503 is all and incapable of controlling his emotions” (page 127).

The irony is that D-503 is sick but it is because the One State has made him repress basic human emotion, where ” humility is a virtue, and pride a vice;” We” is from God, and “I” from the devil”( page 128). Despite that we see hope in the “utopian” “We” for the first time and love based story. The irrepressible side of human nature is winning the battle against repressive conditioning. Although, D-503 also has feelings for 0-50, who is considered more of an appropriate choice for D-503. Further, we see a love triangle developing between the two girls and D-503. Even O-50 understood strong feeling and connection  between D-503 and I-330,”today you don’t need anyone ,anyone in the world expect her, the other one “( page 106). In essence, in the end D-503 truly follows his heart and chooses I-330 who would not be considered appropriate for him by the system.

The beauty of this section of “We” is that despite the overwhelming efforts of the system and the Overseer to condition the people to do its will, the human heart is even a greater force.

Finding himself.

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We began as a journal to show the way of life in the One State as seen through the eyes of its most prized mathematicians, but in these few chapters, I feel as if it has become a quest for D-503 to find himself. D-503 has developed into a troubled character and it is clear to us the readers that he in unsure of himself and his feelings towards the society. Although he understands the consequences that may happen if the One State were to find out his thoughts and actions, he carries on with caution and uses this “journal” as an escape into his own mind.

We realize that in his eighteenth entry D-503 states “I was alone …. It was essentially an unnatural sight: imagine a human finger cut off the whole, from a hand -a separate human finger, running, stooped and bobbing, up and down, along the glass pavement. I was that finger. And the strangest, the most unnatural thing of all was that the finger had no desire whatever to be on the hand, to be with others [. . .]” (103) D-503 is clearly accepting the fact that he was alone, and wanted to be alone. He had no desire to be a part of this society any more. Is this because he has realized all the restrictions that were put upon the society in order to maintain happiness? Or is it because he longs to find out more about himself and the only way this will ever happen is breaking free from the One State. Either way, we now know D-503 is unhappy in a place he once spoke to highly of and would rather be separate from it; alone.

We’ve also noticed on several occasions that D-503 he sees himself as being sick/ill. I believe he wants to make himself and others think he is sick to sort of compensate for acting or thinking abnormally. He wants to believe that his feelings towards other characters like O-90 and I-330 are not real but effects of this “illness” he has. When in reality, D-503 has grown apart from the One State, mentally. “My dear, you don’t look normal, you look sick – for abnormality and sickness are but the same thing. You are ruining yourself, but no one, no one will tell you that.” (131). Here we have some evidence that this “sickness” is not real. Nothing is wrong with D-503, he is simply growing into his own person, or rather, growing out of the One States’s norm. The One State is covering up his individuality by calling it a sickness. A lie that even D-503 believes; this can be evidence of his loyalty yet to the One State, by believing what he is told with no questions asked, yet.

What I feel makes D-503 human is I-330. She is his weakness and the only way we see happiness in D-503 is when they are together or when he speaks/thinks/writes of her. The journal is meant to speak of the “grandeur” and “extolling” the beauty of the One State but instead D-503 speaks this way of I-330. An example is found when D-503 says “And I am a crystal. I dissolve in her. I feel with utmost clarity how the polished facets that delimit me in space are melting away, away – I vanish, dissolve in her lap, within her, I grow smaller and smaller and at the same time even wider, ever larger, expanding into immensity […] Darling, forgive me! I don’t know – I talk such nonsense, so foolishly. . .” (131-132) This excerpt shows the creative and heartfelt way D-503 writes about I-330, something we have yet to see him do for the One State.

This Week: Two City Tech Literature Events (with Extra Credit Opportunities)!

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As we discussed in class, there are two exciting events happening this week. I’ll be at both of them, and I hope to see many of you there!

I strongly encourage you to attend either (or both!) of these events, & to blog on our OpenLab site about them (you will get extra credit for your participation/response!):

1. Wednesday, 4/9, 11:30am-12:45pm, Namm 119, Literature Roundtable

The Spring 2014 Literature Roundtable is on Lynn Nottage’s play, Intimate Apparel. This event (sponsored by the English Department in conjunction with the African American Studies Department) includes student performers from AFR 1321: Black Theater, ENG 1121: English Composition II, and a conversation and discussion on Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel with Professor Jeannine Foster-McKelvia (African American Studies Adjunct Instructor) and Dr. Marta Effinger-Crichlow (Chair of African American Studies).

If you attend the event and blog in response (W 4/16), you will receive extra credit (it will replace a missing blog if you missed some blogs, and it will count as extra credit if already you did all of your blogs).

You can also read the play (it is short) for free, as an eBook, though the City Tech Library Website. If you read the play and blog in response, you can earn additional extra credit.

 

2. Thursday, 4/10, 5:30-7:30pm, 240 Jay Street (Midway Auditorium), Literary Arts Festival

This year is the 33rd annual Literary Arts Festival, and will feature guest speaker Cornelius Eady. The Festival is a long standing tradition that celebrates student writing and features a special guest author, along with student performances. This is an event to see and be seen.

***To keep up with the latest about the event and learn more, join the Festival OpenLab Project, and keep up with festival news via the Festival OpenLab site and by following @CityTechLitFest on Twitter.

If you attend the event and blog in response (Th 4/17), you will receive extra credit (it will replace a missing blog if you missed some blogs, and it will count as extra credit if already you did all of your blogs).

 

*There are only two grades for these extra credit blogs (100 and 0). If you attend the events and blog your responses/reflections completely (in terms of length and content) and thoughtfully, you will receive 100% (an “A”) for the assignment. If you do not turn in the assignment (or if it is too short/not fulfilling the purposes of the assignment), you will receive a “0.” Don’t forget to take notes at the events, so you can include concrete details from the events in your blogs.

Irrational

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D-503 seems to be having a difficult time with his dreams and emotions that revolve around I-330 and his WE manuscript. He has started to use his pink coupon time to sit alone and record his thoughts instead of using the pink coupon for his sexual time. This might be the reason why he is having a difficult time managing his life and manuscript at the same time.(pg98) “plunging a sharp sweet needle deeper and deeper into my heart,and we walked together, the two of us-one…” This statement makes me believe that I-330 has his heart and he thinks that they both are meant to be together as one. I think I-330 might not feel the same way and is probably just messing around with him….

(Pg103) “I was alone ….imagine a human finger cut off the whole, from a hand -a separate human finger” although at one point D-503 was at one with the One State now he feels that he is no longer apart of the One state. He feels like he has started to disconnect from this society since he has gotten deeper into writing this book for the unknown readers in a distant part of the universe.

(Pg106) The Letter “I cannot live without you-because I love you. Because I see,I understand” O has poured her feelings into this letter for D-503 to read and from the looks of it he can’t return the same feelings to O. I think that O is weird for writing that letter when she could of just voiced her feelings to him in person. She wasn’t afraid to ask him for a child so why be afraid to express your feelings towards D-503 then?

(pg110) “She I -330, needs someone to think she is with me.And I need her,and what do I care for her”need”. I will not be a blind for someone else-I won’t.” Has D-503 final realized that I-330 probably isn’t into him at all and just needs to use him for her own benefit? Will he still let her use him or will he decline to assist her in what ever she needed from him?

(pg118) “iam afraid that if I lose I-330 , I will also lose what is perhaps the only key to the disclosure of all the unknown quantities….” Is D-503 deeply in love that he will break his concentration of recording this book if he happens to lose I-330? May be he just needs her as guidance for the answers he is searching for.

(pg124) “can’t anyone invent a remedy for this dream -sickness? Or turn it into something rational, or even useful” D-503 dreams hasn’t made sense or helped him figure out anything about his book… He Is aggravated at his dreams just as much as he dislikes the irrational numbers he keeps running into. Maybe if D-503 can accept the irrational numbers as if it’s a rational number maybe he could figure out what his weird dreams are telling him? It might be giving him clues that he will never bother to look into since it seems useless to him, until then he will just be irritated….

Crowdsourcing D-503’s Transformation As Writer, Thinker, Individual

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As part of our reading of We, we are exploring the un/reliability of the narrator/narrative, the conflation of fact/fiction, the revision of memories, the reconstruction of experience, the ways in which storytellers attempt to portray their own, individual, personal truths (which may not be the same as the “objective” truth or the dominant view of the State). As a dystopian novel explicitly written in the form of a journal, We is a rich text for performing a close reading around these “self-conscious” moments in the narrative.

I am particularly interested in us tracing how, through the act of writing itself, D-503 moves from merely recording the values of the One State that he has already internalized, to developing an individual, rebellious, free-thinking understanding about the world and his place in it. Consider the journal entry titles and headings, D-503’s comments on why he is writing/who he is writing for (and how/why this changes), conflicts, competing sets of values, etc.

In preparation for Thursday’s class (4/10), everyone should post at least two comments (one for the reading, Entries 1-16, from Th 4/3, due by Su 4/6; one for the reading for Th 4/10, Entries 17-26, due W 4/9) as a reply to this post (though I encourage many more) that provides places where D-503 explicitly draws attention (in a meta-fiction way) to the fact that he is carefully/consciously constructing a narrative and controlling his reader’s reception of the text. Your comment (reply) can be just a few sentences: provide the quote/citation and a quick explanation of how/why it functions. Feel free to post multiple comments, and also to respond to others. If you’ve already discussed some of these instances in your previous blogs, you should feel free to draw on that material.

We’ll add to these comments with the final section of the book we’ll read during spring break, until we have a class-generated archive of all of these instances in the text.

Thoughts.

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The first diary entries of the book “We” by Yeveny Zamyatin we really confusing , until the third entry. When D-503 explains a little more in depth of what is taking place in the novel.  Although some of the entries were hard to understand i did catch on to a few similarities from “Brave New World.” One of the first ones i was able to see was the fact that where D-503 lives is called “One State” while in brave new world it was called “World State”. The world state probably has a very big meaning to these name to these place. When i wen further on to looking up the definition of the actual word “State” , the definition was “the particular condition that someone or something is in at a specific time” (google). It made a lot of sense that these places had incorporated the word within there name, because of the setting and also how each book created there settings.

Another things i also found similar to World State is how in One State they also have assemblies where they sing  and kind of get together. Just how in world state they had those gathering where they would take soma and have orgys. In One State they also worship one thing as a whole. In World State it was Ford, and here its math and music; but mostly math. The word savage is very commonly use through the diary entries of D-503. One State’s setting in located away from earth and everything that they there refer to savage is mostly people in the old times.

What i find strange about this place is how they are all sort of like robots and are numbered instead of named, how we would find normal. Although this seems like a very strict and tight run society, they also seem to have a bit more freedom than World State. This society is definitely more controlled because here they all wake up, eat, go out and got to sleep at the same time.  The way they use time is more of a at 21, or at 22 etc. This is military time, which can be seen as a symbol of strictness just like in the military everyone awakes, eats, and goes to sleep all at the same time without other options.

It seems like in every utopian theme book or story the idea of sex being very common is never lost. We are able to experience this agin in this story with the Sexual Department pg 22. The characters of this novel seem to have more knowledge of life and our current life than the characters of Brave New World, who seemed ignorant to everything except World State.

There are still many ideas from the book that i don’t seem to quite understand like when D-503 talks about the X in the eyes of I-330. But in general its very easy to see what many believe a utopia is like. Technology a lot of rules or at least strictly run, and  equality.

What is your ID number ? ” for I am you and you are I”

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In the reading “We” by Yevgeny Zamyatin take you back to the reading Brave New World these two story are very similar when it come to the values states. They both lived by a code which determine how the people are allowed to live their day to day lives. In the reading “We” goes by the One State and in Brave New World they value the world state. in these two reading happiness seem to be define as a bad thing , but when one has happiness it allows them to feel a since of comfort for self. I think in both reading ignorance seem to be a big factor because if anyone has any knowledge of what’s right they are punish or executed. as I begin to read ” We ” I got a since of someone who is trying to get there thought out though telling his story though a journal entries describe his version of how happiness can be if only D-503 seem to be the one who is carrying us though the story line. in his first entry he is telling us about the ship he build to ” soar the cosmic space” he stated from the first entry describing his detail of how the machines is going to operate on an another planet. he stated from (pg1) one thousand years ago your heroic ancestors subdued the entire terrestrial globe to the power of the one state. Yours will be a still more glorious feet: you will integrate the infinite equation of the universe with the aid of the fire breathing electric glass integral. he feel that once he leave the one state in the ship he build he will be able to live like other figure on other planets, he feels that him and his ship is going to bring happiness to those who want to accept it. my understanding of what is going on so far is that D-503 is obsess with getting his machine out of the one state and into space. in his third entry he start to explain to us the reader how he need to express himself clearly cause he wants us to  understand what the integral will bring to those who are not so sure. he is also informing us while reading his entry to be prepare to be taking for loop. as the story goes along D-503 meet I-330 now I-330 seem to be a little bit different from the other numbers. in entry six I-330 take D-503 to the ancient house where her grandmother stays form what it seem like D-503 doesn’t like her , but somehow he will stop at nothing to prove her wrong when it come to the one states rules. while in the house D-503 say to I-330 ” trying to be original” , but don’t you” what does he mean by she trying to be original? is this his way of saying trying to be human or what consider human , but I-330  stop him and start to stated the one state code ” to be original is to be in someway distinct from other hence, original is to violate equality, and that which in the language of the ancients was called ” was called being banal” in other words no one should be wishy- washy. I–330 seem to be the rebel the one who is against the one state just like Bernard in brave new world they both had their own idea of how they want things. I think they are to rebel  because they want to know how it feel to live a little and not have to follow rules. she even goes as far as sneaking the “soma” to D-503. the soma in this story is nicotine or alcohol. I-330 is trying to get everyone addicted to the soma. in brave new world soma was allowed to take it what kept everyone happy. once D-530 start to realize that he had to go cause it was time for all number to be at their assigned location once he reach strange things start to come over him ,D-503 realize that he has been drug. I can say that this story is a little better read then the first story just why is everyone label as a number

 

One State + Mathematics = No freedom

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First and foremost I find the novel We by Yevgeny Zamyatin very refreshing as it is written in first person unlike the novel Brave New World. The decision to write in first person really helps the reader, like me, to feel and understand exactly what the protagonist was thinking and feeling during a particular time. It is refreshing to read a story that feels like we have the access to read the protagonist’s diary… Now, onto my analysis…

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The One State is an example of what I call an organized society, period.

Before any assumptions are made, I am a supporter and believer of everyone pertaining their own freedom, but I feel that this particular world is very structured and seems like everyone is equal. Not free, but yet, equal.

When I read the first couple of pages of the book, the first thing I thought was “Hmm, if the One State is structured mathematically, then it means that there isn’t a mistake with its concept.” What I mean by this statement is, in most of our math courses we are given an equation to solve, once we think we found the right answer, we have to “check” to make sure it is indeed correct, free from any flaws. There is always an equation for another equation. This applies to the One State since they believe that if they live in a mathematical, structured, organized world, then everything will have a meaning (same as checking your answers.)

I found this extremely intriguing, perhaps because I enjoy math, because the thought never crossed my mind to associate mathematics to become the solution to a “perfect” world. But it makes perfect sense. The residents of the One State live by the hours, everything is scheduled in their lives. Personal hours, work hours, all is based on one particular hour. There isn’t much difference between the residents except that everyone has a particular letter and number that will identify them.

I initially thought they believed in the whole mathematical-structured life so that things are equal with everyone in society but I soon learned that the concept of using mathematics in the One State is to prevent individuality and freedom from entering the society. I couldn’t understand the concept at all and how it would prevent such actions, but the further I read, the more I understood. I-330 stated, “‘To be original is to be in some way distinct from others. Hence to be original is to violate equality.'”(Zamyatin 28). As I stated before, everyone who resides in the One State lives in a structured world in which everything is based on a time schedule. Which means, when someone works, so will the others, at..the…same…time… Which indicates that if someone were not to work at the time accordingly, they are considered to be violating the rules since they are the only ones who decided to do something different.

It’s interesting to learn that if someone doesn’t do what they are supposed to do at a particular hour, then they are violating the rules and are considered different from the others. I guess this means that D-503 and I330 will be considered individuals in the next few entries. We shall wait and see…

 

Numbers Define Everything

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Going into the first few pages of the book, I was expecting it to be maybe a utopian society but once again, we are dealing with a dystopian society. I find it interesting that the book is actually a diary and that we’ll be seeing the story from a first person perspective. From the very start of the book, we can already see similarities between “We” and “Brave New World”. Like in Brave New World, We has a all knowing force in the name of the Benefactor. In the One State, it seems there is also a dress code just like in Brave New world, “The numbers walked in even ranks, four abreast, ecstatically stepping in time to the music-hundreds, thousands of numbers in pale blue unifis. And also like how the World State was the running force of the world in Brave New World, the One State is the all powerful society. I think this book gets into a more darker theme, where this society forces others to think like them and if not, they are harshly punished. From the first entry we can see the goals of the One State, to go to different planets to subjugate the unknown beings on the planets. I find it interesting here where it says “If they fail to understand that we bring them mathematically infallible happiness, it will be our duty to compel them to be happy.”(Yevgeny 1) because it shows how much power the One State is asserting and stating to the people.

They’re basically saying that if you do not side with us, we will force you to. They say they will reason with words first but I find that unbelievable. I also think its interesting how they don’t call it just happiness but mathematically infallible happiness. Everything in this society has to do with numbers, especially their names. D-503 to me is a interesting and confusing character to me. At times it seems like he embraces the ideas of the One State but at times it seems like he doesn’t. In the first entry where it says, “And then to myself, why is this beautiful? Why is dance beautiful? Answer: because it is unfree motion, because the whole profound meaning of dance lies precisely in absolute, esthetic subordination, in ideal unfreedom.”(Yevgeny 4) shows that he believes in the idea of controlled actions and on page 34 we can see that he doesn’t like what he’s doing but I’m not sure if he was complaining about the overall assignment or the eyelash or person hes referring to is unpleasant.

I am also assuming that in “We”, love is something that is ignored and unimportant to the society, just like in “Brave New World”. I say this because on page 8 D-503 talks about sexual days here, “She had come to me only he day before, and she knew as well as i did that our next sexual  day was the day after tomorrow.” It seems as if they are assigned days perhaps to have sexual intercourse. D-503 seems like the character to like the idea of being with a girl but not the actual idea of love. On page 4 where O-90 comes to pick him up for their daily walk at the sight where the integral is being built, D-503 expects her to talk about the machine he built but instead talks about how nice spring is. “Marvelous, isn’t it? I asked. Yes, marvelous.” O-90 smiled rosily at me. It’s Spring. Well, wouldn’t you know: spring… She talks about spring, Women..I fell silent.”(Yevgeny 5) I found this part funny because it’s how expectations in real life are shot down. This part also seems like he wants to get with her but is uninterested after seeing how shes not paying attention the machine he built.