Dystopia

The topic I plan to write my paper on is the Dystopia that is occuring in the One State.  I choose this topic because my original topic I could not find much research on and this themes comes up repeatedly throughout the book.  I find it interesting how the people are trying to create this perfect utopia, but instead are creating a dystopia.  In most of the books that I have read, this happens.  No matter how hard people to try to create the perfect world, it is impossible to do.  If the dystopia was not a theme, this book would be very boring and there may not have even been a WE.

The Ending

I found the ending of WE interesting.  It ended a lot different than I thought it would.  I figured in the end with D-503 being free and with I-330 or O-90.  Instead he had the Operation and returned to being a "machine" of the One State.  He also turned in I-330 as being part of the group trying to destroy happiness.  I believe that D-503 wanted to be a good citizen all along and that he was just dreaming about corruption.  Without the structure of the One State, I feel as if D-503 will fall apart.  I still am left wondering what happened to O-90 in the end.  Did she actually escape or was she caught and D-503 just thinks that she got away?  This ending kind of left it up to the reader to decide the final outcomes for some of the characters. 

State of the Union Address

   One of President Obama's main points from the address was about the jobless rate and how he hopes to improve it.  He talked about how tax cuts are being extended in hopes to improve the economy.  He also wants to eliminate tax payer money that is given to oil companies.  I agree with his ideas to extend tax cuts and eliminating money given to oil companies.
    He also talked about how important education is, since in the near future many jobs will require more education than just a high school degree.  He believes that education needs to start in the home, parents need to do more to encourage their kids to get good grades.  I really like his idea about Race to the Top.  If the government pushes school to come up with better education plans, the student benefits.  The better the kids are educated the better jobs that they will be able to fight for.
   President Obama addressed the issue of illegal immigration, but I wish he would have went a little more into how he plans to address the issue.  I agree that the US should try and keep foreign students who come for a college degree here in the US after they graduate.  These people could greatly improve our labratories and we maybe able to improve our research even more.
  The main point that President Obama kept stressing throughout the address was how he is going to trying to improve the economy and create more jobs.  He has many good ideas, but if they will really work or not, we will have to wait and see.

One State: The Hardest Part

The part of living in the One State which would be hardest for me is not having family around.  To me, family means a lot.  They are the ones who support me and are always there for me.  After college, I want to get married and start a family of my own.  I could never imagine having a child and have it be taken away from me.  I would have a hard time not being able to see it grow up and achieve all its milestones.  Also, if my child was taken away from me I would always wonder what they look like and if maybe it was them that I just passed on the street.  Without my family I know I would not be the person I am today. 

Biographical Strategies

I believe Yevgeny Zamatin based We off of what was happening in his life.  You could somewhat compare him to D-503.  While they both had different jobs, their jobs both focused a lot with numbers.  D-503 was a mathmatician, while Zamatin was an engineer.  You could also compare One State to what was happening in Russia during the early 1920's.  One State is the perfect utopia where no one is different and Russia was "entering into a singlular Bolshevik utopian rigor mortis" (Zamatin, xi).  The One State is what Russia was aiming for.  Without these events happening in Zamatin's life this story may have been different or maybe not have even been written.

Relating Elements of Fiction to We

1. Style- The style of writing is very descriptive.  While we are never able to get a clear picture of the characters, we can get a sense of what One State is like and how the people act.  He describes all the people as shapes to take away their individuality.

2. Tone- D-503's tone towards the people is that they are all the same.  Everybody wants to be the perfect citizen who never breaks any rules.  He also describes One State as the perfect place where no rules are ever broken.

3. Irony-  One ironic part of this story is that D-503 keeps telling us that he hates I-330 and can't stand her, but he keeps meeting up with her and ends up having sex with her.

4. Plot- The plot of this story starts with D-503 being the perfect citizen who only has feelings for O-90, and as the story progresses we see him start to become more rebellious and have "feelings" for I-330.

5. Characterizations-  The characters we have met so far are D-503: the main character and narrator, O-90: "D-503's girlfriend", and I-330: who makes D-503 rebell against the One State

6. Setting- We is set in the future in a place known as One State where there is no individuality or problems

7. Point of View- first person point of view. ex:  "As I write this, I feel something; my cheeks are burning." 
The narrarator is a big part of this story and uses the words I, my, mine, etc. 

8. Symbol-  I-330 symbolizes the rebellion that D-503 has inside him, but is not willing to show 

9. Theme- I believe the theme of this story is that no matter how hard a community tries to achieve the perfect community, there will always be that one person who is willing to go against the community.  In this case th rebellious person is I-330.

Who I Am!

My name is Alyssa Pfeifle.  I am a freshman majoring in Health Science and Psychology and planning on going onto grad school for physical therapy.  I am the oldest of three girls.  I am from Brandon, SD.  In high school, I was a football manager, cheerleader and on a club dance team; I was also in National Honor Society and Senior Leadership Team.  In my spare time, I volunteer with the Sioux Falls Miracle League as a ball buddy for my cousin and also volunteer in the NICU rocking babies.