The novel We features a dystopian society run, supposedly, by a figure named "The Benefactor." This character is described as stoic, lifeless, moving as if he wasn't a human, but a machine. This creates a level of doubt in the novel as to whether or not the Benefactor is a human, or some creation by the leaders of this society to instill fear into the hearts of the citizens.
Yevgeny Zamyatin gives the Benefactor inhuman and rigid qualities in order to reveal a truth about dictatorships and cruel societies. Onestate, the oppressive world to which the narrator belongs, operates on a strict and rigorous schedule, in which the citizens are allowed little free time to develop new opinions, ideas, or concepts. This rigidity is what allows such a system to exist without riots or any sort of resistance from the population. Thus, the figurehead for such a society must have similar metallic, robot-like qualities, so the citizens have some idol to pursue. While the people are preoccupied striving to be just like the Benefactor, along with worshiping him and having sex with whoever they want on their off-time, the government has all the ability in the world to rob them of their freedoms, and profit from their labor.
My favorite quote from this novel is "'You're in bad shape! It looks like you've developed a soul." In a society based on hard labor and tight schedules, embracing imagination or soul is considering an illness or a crime, and anyone who dares to dream of a different world is punished and ostracized from the pack of citizens in that society. In our world, too often are those with brilliant ideas considered insane or wrong, simply because these ideas are different.
I enjoyed this novel because of the perspective through which we view this robot-like society. D-503 begins to journal his experiences because he longs to express how wonderful Onestate appears to him. However, as the book progresses, he begins to act against Onestate for reasons he may not understand. Certain elements from our society, although dramatized, appear in this novel, such as oppressive schedules and distractions to prevent the citizens from acting against the ruling forces.
