We the Living story
We the Living is the debut novel of the Russian American novelist Ayn Rand. It is a story of life in post-revolutionary Russia and was Rand's first statement against communism. Rand observes in the foreword that We the Living was the closest she would ever come to writing an autobiography. Rand finished writing the novel in 1934, but it was rejected by several publishers before being released by Macmillan Publishing in 1936. It has since sold more than three million copies.
12 total · 2 choice · 7 major · 3 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| communist dystopia | choice | Rand shows us an image of how collectivization leads to a horrible world. |
| totalitarian dystopia | choice | Rand shows us how governmental domination over all aspects of private life gradually established itself after the revolutions. We see for example that in order to have a job, people had to memorize propaganda from approved newspapers. The USSR gradually turned into a place where each person had to tow the party line if they wanted to have a decent life. |
| discrimination in society | major | Former bourgeois are ruthlessly discriminated against by the newly powerful proletariat and the contempt is perhaps mutual. |
| inherited liability | major | The characters are many times judged by whether or not they come from a "bourgeois" family, on one occasion formally in court. |
| love triangle | major | Kira, Leo, Andrei |
| realist vs. idealist | major | Andrei was a political idealist who became disillusioned when confronted with Leo's and Kira's realism |
| revolution in society | major | we are shown the consequences of the Russian Revolution according to Rand |
| romantic love | major | especially Kira and Leo |
| sacrifice for a loved one | major | Kira prostituted herself to Andrei in order to save Leo and the rest of the story revolved around the consequences of this |
| having a baby out of wedlock | minor | Sonia discussed with Pavel |