D-503
D-503 is the protagonist in We who struggles with deciding what is morally right: the way the One State functions or the ways of the Ancients. In the beginning of the novel, D-503 believes strongly in the core values of the One State in which entails him to become entrenched within his society. D-503 is the Builder of the Integral and is the record-writer (meaning the book is written in first person point of view), thus showing how he has close ties to his community. As the story progresses he begins to question the world around him due to the inquiry and “outsider” ideas of I-330. This confusion causes D-503 to rethink what he knows about society and attempts to have an “outside” view on the One State.
D-503 jumps back and forth with his thoughts about morality, which is made apparent in, “I am like a machine being driven to excessive rotations: the bearings are incandescing and, in a minute, melted metal will begin to drip and everything will turn to nothing. Quick, get cold water, logic. I am pouring it over myself by the bucketload but the logic sizzles on the hot bearings and dissipates elusive white steam into the air” (Zamyatin, 119). Through this passage one can see how this conflict deeply disturbs D-503 as he wants to go back to the way he believes before, but can not due to the new thoughts instilled upon him. The passage also shows the strong link of the machinery and technology of the One State and the individuals. D-503 is so set in his ways and mindset that he compares himself to technology, rather than that of nature, which is not apparent the One State side of the Green Wall. As D-503 continues to struggle with the idea that there might be more to life than the society he was born into, he continues to revert back to examples in which he can rely on from his own knowledge.
D-503 jumps back and forth with his thoughts about morality, which is made apparent in, “I am like a machine being driven to excessive rotations: the bearings are incandescing and, in a minute, melted metal will begin to drip and everything will turn to nothing. Quick, get cold water, logic. I am pouring it over myself by the bucketload but the logic sizzles on the hot bearings and dissipates elusive white steam into the air” (Zamyatin, 119). Through this passage one can see how this conflict deeply disturbs D-503 as he wants to go back to the way he believes before, but can not due to the new thoughts instilled upon him. The passage also shows the strong link of the machinery and technology of the One State and the individuals. D-503 is so set in his ways and mindset that he compares himself to technology, rather than that of nature, which is not apparent the One State side of the Green Wall. As D-503 continues to struggle with the idea that there might be more to life than the society he was born into, he continues to revert back to examples in which he can rely on from his own knowledge.
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