Does Freedom Equal Happiness

Throughout Yevegeny Zamyatin's We, numerous themes and ideas are presented to the reader, some of them more evident than others. Plainly dystopian, the book clearly addresses the possibilities of Socialism carried too far. Although We portrays this type of society in a very negative light, one cannot simply accept this disapproving depiction as fact without a close inspection of the story. In the beginning of the book, D-503 has only good things to say about OneState; any negative feelings attributed to his way of life are formed through the reader's opinion. One's opinion of the OneState lifestyle depends entirely on point of view. Without actually living in a similar society (and it would be fair to say that most readers have not lived in a utopian society), how can one make judgments on the lives of its people? Judgments aside, D-503's transformation throughout the book becomes undeniably evident.

Throughout the entire book D-503 grows increasingly more independent from OneState. Although he never attains true freedom, he does sample it through progressively breaking more and more rules and regulations. This freedom, however, comes at a cost. As D-503 rebels further against the state, the more stressful, and arguably unhappy, his life becomes. In his first few entries, he cannot seem to praise the perfection of his world enough. His days run smoothly, everything goes according to plan, and life seems perfect, or at least as close to perfection as currently possible. As the novel continues, however, one cannot help but notice a change occurring in D-503's demeanor.