We story

novel: We (1920) · 1920 · Yevgeny Zamyatin

We is set in the future. D-503, a spacecraft engineer, lives in the One State, an urban nation constructed almost entirely of glass, which assists mass surveillance. The structure of the state is Panopticon-like, and life is scientifically managed F. W. Taylor-style. People march in step with each other and are uniformed. There is no way of referring to people except by their given numbers. The society is run strictly by logic or reason as the primary justification for the laws or the construct of the society. The individual's behaviour is based on logic by way of formulas and equations outlined by the One State.

5 total · 2 choice · 2 major · 1 minor

ThemeLevelMotivation
romantic love choice the main protagonist became besotted with I-330 and was in turn pined after by O-90
totalitarian dystopia choice One State is the definition of a totalitarian state: people have been reduced to mere numbers and must act almost entirely according to a state mandated protocol throughout their lives.
future point of view major the narrator frequently reflects on how different things must seem to him compared to the reader
love triangle major D-503 became besotted with I-330 and was in turn pined after by O-90 whose other lover was R-13, D-503’s best friend.
disintegration chamber minor One State removed problem numbers with a disintegration device