Dystopian Novel: We, Topic A

"According to old custom, a dozen women adorned the unif of the Benefactor-not yet dry from the spray-with flowers. With the majestic stride of a high priest, he slowly descended, crossing slowly among the stands-and, after Him, the soft white branches of female hands and a uni-million storm of cries arose. And then those same cries were raised in honor of the assembly of Guardians, invisibly present somewhere here, in our rows. Who knows: It may be that the Guardians were foreseen in the fantasy of the ancient person, which conceived of gentle-terrible "archangles," assigned to each person at birth." (Zamyatin 44).

An element of dystopian society that can be seen in the text of this passage is the way in which the Benefactor is revered with a God-like appreciation. One way in which this is demonstrated is that “His” is capitalized, which is also done when referring to God. Another way in which Zamyatin demonstrates the public’s deistic view of the Benefactor is describing him as having the stride of a high priest, which again has religious imagery. Finally, Zamyatin describes the thousands of adorning civilians that cry out as he walks by, accompanied by twelve women, another way in which the Benefactor is personified as having God-like reverence.

In accordance with this, Zamyatin goes on to describe how these cries also are given for the Guardians, who are essentially the secret police of the society in We. It is mentioned that they are “invisibly present”, which gives the feeling to the reader, and perhaps someone living in the society itself, that they are always watching. Zamyatin goes on to compare the Guardians to archangels, again using religious imagery in the text. In doing this, the reader again has the feeling that the Guardians are an ever-present force, always watching the civilians, which is a strong characteristic of a dystopian society.