We

Confusing, at points, rambling, consistently, unfinished… And then those pesky ellipses.  No matter how it starts rambles or cuts off syntax possesses a significant purpose in We.  Presented as a continuous stream of thought dictated by the novel’s narrator, syntax parallels the main character D-503’s internal struggle with knowledge.  Unaccustomed to emotion, or anything undefined by logic or reason, D-503 struggles to analyze his emotions.  Failing to do so D-503 is tormented by the human desire to comprehend the world, and expresses this conflict in reflective internal argument.  Undeveloped and unrefined D-503 consistently is unable to articulate his state of mind.  Thoughts are abandoned midsentence, only to be picked up again before being contradicted pages later.  In this abridged manner the irrationality of emotions is established, further accentuating the impossibility of comprehending the world and the central conflict.  Forced to outwardly conform to society, D-503 is unable to outwardly express this conflict.  Instead the novel places this focus on the internal questioning which is represented in the books text.  No tangible answer can be achieved as none exists, instead leaving it unfinished open to future examination…   in addition, long conjoined sentences run together showing the fluidity of thought, outpouring unrefined by any filter and unlimited by imagination, while ideas begin to contradict one another tumultuously within the narrator.  In this manner, syntax produces a vivid and accurate representation of thought and its inconsistencies, embodying the novel’s central theme and conflict and the inability to explain rationally our world.

D-503’s struggle to understand his world and emotions is expressed vividly through his own words and reflections.  Yet, however skilled an analytical thinker D-503 may be, he lacks any ability to articulate clearly his emotions.  With no knowledge outside the literal he instead relies upon the only thing he knows, mathematics.  Trying to rationalize the unknown emotions he is experiencing and their affect, D-503 compares his situation to the imaginary i as “that irrational root grew in me like some alien thing, strange and terrifying, and it was eating me, and you couldn’t make any sense of it or neutralize it because it was completely beyond ratio” ().  Just like the irrational root of -1, D-503’s, emotions lack any rational basis and cannot be explained.  Literally this root is defined as imaginary, nonexistent in the literal realm yet still existent in some unexplainable sense. This number parallels D-503’s fascination with emotions, determined to explain what he cannot.  This torments D-503, as he is unable to accept anything that cannot be explicitly defined.  In a society where love and happiness have been derived through equations, this conflict strikes at the fundamental structure of D-503’s life.  Math is fittingly the only way D-503 can hope to express his struggles, purposefully and ironically the very reason why he cannot cope with his emotions.  Additionally, once the single break in conformity has entered D-503’s head he is forced to call into question everything in his life.  As conditioned in life, he must solve the problem or search for its answer forever.  This single mathematical analogy embodies D-503’s internal conflict, and further accentuates the mindset that has produced it, embodying the meaning of the text in the single most profound quote of the novel.

Surely a collective groan is audible to all students the moment the word “Utopian” is uttered in a literature class.  Quite simply, behind love and death authors seem to have a disproportionate affinity for writing novels about these societies, and English teacher seem to have an equal if not greater affection for these books.  However, despite the overwhelming multitude of works on this subject, the commentaries and plotlines are not nearly as numerous.  Therefore, the most intuitive and, well, interesting works develop a focal conflict that relates not only to utopia, but to human nature within that society.    A prime example of this is We, in which the author places the human desire to comprehend the world and the inability to do so as a focal point of the novel.  This broader relationship with human nature is what separates We from the otherwise endless stacks of utopian literature.  In this manner connections can be drawn between the book and modern life, provoking a more purposeful contemplation of the author’s intent.  Furthermore the novels conflict is intricately woven into the utopian society.  The main character, D-503, representing the ideals of “One State” is characterized as mathematician, highly esteemed, and charged with the construction of a space vessel that shall spread the ideals of the society.  Like his society, D-503 serves singularly in a literal capacity, defining everything from love to happiness in finite equations.  Centered on these mathematical principles the Utopian society manifests the conflict with certain knowledge, and as the main character begins to rebel he not only questions utopia but the ability to understand the world.  Additional characters and action within the novel tactfully develops this conflict that is expressed in its entirety.  Written in the first person the novel is a continuous stream of consciousness, reflecting upon D-503’s inner turmoil.  Passages are often confusing, left unfinished, or blatantly contradicted before being reaffirmed.  In this manner the conflict is accentuated and the struggle for understanding is expressed as the central theme. It is this focus on human nature that makes We a fantastic novel, with a thought provoking and unique premise hidden within “just another utopian novel”.