In my stroll through the classics, I feel like I've gotten my fill of utopian literature, now thankfully out of style. However, in reading Yevgeny Zamyatin's "We" (1921) I filled in a gap in my knowledge of dystopian literature. I've read "1984" (1949) and "Brave New World" (1932) of course, and also "The Machine Stops" by E. M. Forester (1909 -- a brilliant short story, if you're interested). "We" stands out both for its power and also for its context: an early supporter of the Communist revolution in Russia, Zamyatin quickly realized the abuses that were being perpetrated by those in power. This work is a reaction to those abuses and a classic "If This Goes On--" style warning. However, it couldn't be published in his native land. It was published first in English after being translated. There was an attempt to sneak it into Russia by selling a version supposedly translated from the Czech, but the book had already been banned. Apparently it wasn't published openly in Russia until 1988. Zamyatin himself was forced into exile in France starting in 1931. Those very real experiences add a lot to the power of the novel.
The novel's narrator is D-503, the chief engineer of the first interstellar space ship. He lives in a completely controlled state, the United State: one government, a walled-off nation, no privacy, everything timed down to the minute. Because of his prominent role, he is targeted by the female head of a revolutionary movement, I-330. He falls in love with her and becomes very confused--anything that happens unpredictably throws him into complete cognitive estrangement. Up until the events of the novel, his life had in every way been circumscribed and regimented. This is probably the main strength of the novel, to ...
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...apitalist dystopia instead of a Communist one. So instead of having the sacred Time Tables of the United State based on a WWII fascist "make the trains run on time" idea, they are instead based on a broad expansion of labor efficiency management principles (which are often misapplied and inhumane, even today).
I can't say that I *liked* "We." Dystopian literature isn't usually the sort of thing that one *enjoys*. However, I appreciated the power of the narrative and the techniques used to convey it. It is a very effective piece that I think illustrates cognitive dissonance or estrangement about as much as anything I've ever read. If you only read two dystopian novels, I think they would still have to be "Brave New World" and "1984," just because they are such touchstones in the West. However, if you read three such books, I would recommend that "We" be the third.
Many people value the tangible over the complex. However, viewing the world solely through this definite lens is an oversimplification. Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We explores this flaw in a society founded solely upon its government’s definition of the “ultimate happiness.” To reach utopia, it eliminates inefficiency, crime, and despondency, by promoting state-led happiness. Despite these admirable goals, the One State’s methods sacrifice freedom, individualism, and, ironically, happiness itself, ultimately failing its mission. Zamyatin explores the emotionless routine within the One State to assert that happiness cannot exist when controlled and rationalized.
He comments on racism that it is easier to just ignore racism because everyone is equal. We as a high school seniors know about racism and the author makes it more clearly that we should ignore racism. This novel is a science fiction, also it switches the tone from first person to third or third person to first. On page 23 the author Kurt Vonnegut shift from first person to third person voice and On page 67 the author shifts from third person to first person because it makes the novel more real. This novel is not only about war this book is about how to write and how to make the novel more realistic. This novel is great example for people who wants to write books.
The obvious benefits of communism are shadowed by the dark truth that the ruling party and their agenda will effectively alienate the common people in order to protect the state. As history has shown, socialism on a large scale has evolved from theory to tyrannical regimes that embody the same principals of sustaining a dictatorship. “Omon Ra” by Victor Pelevin, published in 1992 by the Tekst Publishing House in Moscow, gives great insight into the structure of a Leninist hierarchy in a post WWII Russian setting. Throughout the novel the main character Omon is constantly and slowly separated from his family, friends, and peers until his mind has adopted a reality of complete isolation from the rest of his “comrades”.
I do believe that dystopian literature possesses some flaws because it could be unethical to the viewer; however, the dark and weary tone throughout the stories kept me wanting to read more. Even though the deaths of Harrison and Mrs. Hutchinson were brutal, it brought together the piece as a whole to make it a part of dystopian literature. In the future, if I were to write something, I now have some knowledge on the concept of dystopia which could allow for a better piece of literature.
Intro with Thesis: A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich is a novel by Alexander Solzhenitsyn that documents totalitarian communism through the eyes of an ordinary prisoner in a Soviet labor camp. This story describes the protagonist, Ivan Denisovich Shukhov, as he freezes and starves with the other prisoners, trying to survive the remainder of his ten-year sentence. In this story, Solzhenitsyn uses the struggles in the camp as a way to represent the defaults of the Soviet Union under Stalin’s regime. By doing this, Solzhenitsyn uses authoritative oppression in his labour camps to demonstrate the corrupt nature of the Soviet system.
Although How We Survived Communism and Even Laughed by Slavenka Drakulic and Memoirs of an Italian Terrorist by Giorgio are so structurally different, they both express a sense of anger and frustration through vivid imagery. The two novels reveal the pain of their narrators, who wish to live in a better world, democratic and free, nevertheless, a society where men and women enjoy the basics of freedom, equality, and free of a heavy political apparatus exploiting all to serve few. Even though Drakulic and Giorgio came from a different perspective and ideology about whether living under a communist - Marxist- Leninist political system, they share the key distinction of recognizing that 1970s Europe was about to see real changes. However, the word “communism” in the two texts is used to represent two very different ideas; dissatisfaction for Drakulic and idealism for Giorgio. In HWSCEL, author Slavanka Drakulic uses the word “communism” in its most general sense, describing the emotions of oppression, scarcity, neglect and subjugation (Drakulic, p.24 and p.51)…. In the MOAIT, the
We, written by Yevgeny Zamyatin in 1921 as a futurist depiction of protagonist D-503 living in a dystopian society controlled during the Russian revolution of 1917. It is the story of a head engineer writing in his journal who is living under the control of the benefactor, following laws in order to have the most efficient state and infallible happiness. The citizens are not given names they are given number and every hour of each of their lives are directed by a table. Zamyatin constructs the motif of machinery in order to convey the transition of the protagonist D-503 from a dehumanised cog in the OneState’s machine to an individual the readers could relate to. By analysing the tone, motif of machinery and diction to understand the transformation the characters reflective thoughts from one of a machine like to an individualistic.
Zamyatin's We, George Orwell's 1984, and Aldous Huxley's Brave New World." Extrapolation 48.2 (2007): 314-39. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 24 Feb. 2014.
America and Race have a long and entangled history. The concept of Race, like America is a recent invention. Race is an idea constructed by society to further political and economic goals. Race was never just a matter of how you look, it's about how people assign meaning toward how you look. It is ironic that a nation that takes great pride in one the foundation “All men are created Equal” can at the same time portray the idea of Race in such a scale that would repress and kill so many people. In this essay I will address what necessitated the creation of the story of race in American history.
In conclusion, Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place and Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We are notable examples of collectivity and represent the author’s efforts to fix the problems their nations face. The nature of collectivity in both novels is depicted both psychologically and physically and proves to be dangerous when taken to extreme measures. Through using rhetorical thrusts and embedding messages in their texts, the authors’ endeavors to correct their nations by using the theme of collectivity become clear: these texts warn against sacrificing human nature for the sake of planned utopias not only for the people in the time period in which the texts were written for, but also for present.
Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We and George Orwell’s 1984 demonstrate totalitarianism in fictional countries. Totalitarianism is a system of government that is centralized, dictatorial, and requires complete subservience to the state. A totalitarian government manipulates human consciousness by the use of propaganda that implanted dogma, that is living with the results of the Benefactor’s perspectives and Big Brothers’ theories respectively as incontrovertibly true. This overall idea of mind control over the people evinces the millennial generation which believed that will take over the world. In point of fact, people nowadays have been technologically orchestrated by those contemporary theories used by mass media. In both novels, human minds are controlled through the government's use of propaganda and conspiracy resulting in lack of freedom
Today we have several dystopian novels out, such as; Divergent and The Hunger Games. While we know all the different societies we still have trouble trying to decide which one we believe the most, which one is the most realistic. There is older novels that most people really haven’t even heard of, like Fahrenheit 451. In Divergent and Fahrenheit 451 we were showed both authors visions of our future and how it compares to our modern day. There are so many ways that these two novels are alike, through characters, authors, and the time difference, but I believe that Fahrenheit 451 is a better overall view of our world today.
Telling America's Story The three essays on rhetorical criticism, Telling America's Story: Narrative Form and the Regan Presidency by William F. Lewis, The "Promiscuous Audience" Controversy and the Emergence of the Early Woman's Rights Movement by Susan Zaeske, and Medicine, Rhetoric, and Euthanasia: A Case Study in the Workings of a Postmodern Discourse by Michael J. Hyde each employ a variety of strategies to examine the rhetoric of three distinct situations. This paper will attempt to dissect each of the essays in a comparative manner. Specifically, it will evaluate the introductions, how effectively they are constructed, and how the essays follow according to the expectations set forth in the introductions. In Telling America's Story, Lewis starts by providing a quick explanation of the country's status as Regan entered office.
When are ideas of our parents, teachers, and friends shaped into our own values and beliefs? As we grow up we are constantly faced with challenges that we sometimes overcome and other times we do not. Each time we approach a new situation we develop a plan for the solution, and whether we succeed or fail shapes how we approach the topic the next time it comes around. In this way, not only how we act around others, but also when noone is watching defines our identity. These actions are formed by our experiences and interactions in our lives, and it can easily change over time to better fit our desires.
Since 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell and Eastern European Communism came to an end, many of those who have lived through or bore witness to communism published their experiences to the public through media. These personal accounts tell, for the most part, of repressive and manipulative governments that constantly abused their power. Since the original goal for communism was equality, the East German government clearly corrupted the hopes that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels had for the future of the Eastern European government and society.