We by Yevgeny Zamyatin

Analysis of a Symbol
The one symbol in We that I find interesting is the importance of the pink tickets.  The pink tickets were used to assign sexual partners for the night.  Anyone could choose who they wanted to be “assigned” to in this society.  When D-503 first got assigned to I-330 they continued to get their pink tickets for each other. They followed the law and only slept together on their assigned nights.  The tickets represent following and conforming to the laws of One State.  When I-330 and D-503 went into the house from the “past”, they break the laws of the pink ticket, and the laws of One State.  They get carried away and have sex; but this time, it was sex with emotion and meaning for D-503.  “There was no pink ticket, no accounting, no One State, there was no me”( Zamy-atin 73).  This marks when D-0503 really starts to go against One State and himself in a way, he used to follow the society strictly.  This statement also shows the importance of the pink tickets, or the laws of One State.  Without them and their followers, there would be no One State.  

Favorite Quote

“The only means of ridding man of crime is ridding him of freedom.” 

I found this quote ironic. Living in the land of the free, I am able to fully appreciate my freedom in this world. Discontent breeds crime, and so in the world of We, there is crime and rebellion that is hidden from the general public, and many of the citizens are brainwashed, just as D-503 is. Later in the novel, D-503 does find out about the rebellion, he is half willing to join, realizing that his lack of freedom is constricting. 

Thoughts

I did not enjoy reading We. I found it boring to read, hard to follow at times, and I didn't like how D-503 would cut himself off, not ending his sentences. I found this structure frustrating. It is not my least favorite novel that I have ever read, but it definitely was not my favorite either.  I found the story line to be very confusing.  I felt that D-503 would be talking about being in one place and then within the very next sentence he was somewhere completely different.  The other reason I did not enjoy the story is because of the fact that they did not succeed in their revolution.  They did not achieve the freedom they so desire and D-503 is brainwashed and turned back into a conformist.  This was just a disappointing ending.