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Essay / Temptation and Surveillance in We
Temptation tempts people to succumb to repressed human instincts, but with surveillance, the opposing forces create a precarious balance between resurgence and restraint. This conflict influences the characters in Yevgeny Zamyatin's Us, which follows the experience of the cipher D-503 in the oppressed One State as he evolves, begins to reject indoctrination and give in to temptations. Zamyatin explores an interplay between temptation and surveillance that serves to suppress dissent to critique the oppressive structure within which this relationship develops. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Through the diction describing the Guardians, Zamyatin describes the effect of their constant surveillance of the numbers. Affirming the importance of supervision, D-503 addresses the “distinguished task of the Guardians” (Zamyatin 19). D-503 suggests that the "distinguished" Guardians' perpetual monitoring of the codes grants them honor and dignity, expressing respect for their work in maintaining peace and happiness. Rather than their actual task of eradicating disobedient behavior, D-503 focuses on the Guardians' role of capturing rebel codes to save those who are supposed to be honest. Through this, Zamyatin depicts the corruption of a government that manipulates citizens into complying with the restriction of freedoms. D-503 also describes Guardian S-4711 as a “guardian angel” (59). With this title, Zamyatin shows not only the ciphers' appreciation for the work of the Guardians, but also their belief that the Guardians are indeed guiding them to a better life - a utopia of the afterlife. Comparing the worship of numbers in government figures to religious faith, Zamyatin critiques this blind obedience to a higher entity that allows for distorted views of oppression and ignorance. D-503 further notes that S-4711 “lovingly protected” him from the “slightest mistake...the slightest misstep” (59). More than respecting the Guardians, D-503 feels an intimate connection with them, affirming their romantic relationship. Relieved rather than paranoid about the lack of privacy, D-503 expresses affection for the forced surveillance. To contrast with the distorted perspective of D-503, the repetitive phrase "least error" and "least misstep" emphasizes strict state regulations, with "least" emphasizing the limited scope for transgressions and hence the danger of even minor suggestions of rebellion. Through D-503's appreciation for the ban on freedom and independence, Zamyatin exposes his misperception to depict the dramatic irony of the figure's high regard for those who effectively extinguish their humanity. Zamyatin's juxtaposition illustrates the temptation that imposes conformism to criticize its power to oppress. During a musical performance, a speaker announces that the ancients, referring to a piano, "called this box 'grand,'" despite creating a "silly, fussy clicking of strings" (17, 18). The dismissive tone of "box" implies a crude and unsophisticated object, and the quotations around "big" suggest a mockery that indicates the opposite of the word. Coupled with the condescending description of piano music that devalues the instrument, this devalues the practices of ancient times. With music representing past humanity, the One State's manipulation of tempting influences through ridicule and slander discourages giving in to temptation and embracing human nature. While the Single State wishes to eradicate the creativity and passion that the piano represents, the need to attack early music shows the difficulty of succeeding in stiflinginnate human qualities. However, rather than inspiring revolution, temptation suppresses rebellious tendencies, as Zamyatin juxtaposes a comedic piano performance with the "Taylor and Maclaurin formulas" in One State's music, leading D-503 to exclaim: “What magnificence! (18).Unlike ancient peoples, the One State produces music with formulas and mathematics to which the numbers respond with admiration. D-503 even lacks precise words to describe such supremacy, describing One State's music with simply "what". By contrasting these two types of music, Zamyatin reveals the dangers of oppressing the instinct to succumb to temptation, as it rejects the human capacity for artistic expression and promotes the absence of emotion. Zamyatin also juxtaposes the mention of an “unforeseen” act of disobedience to the state by a cipher with D-503's view of Personal Time as a time “reserved for unforeseeable circumstances” (23). Along with the repetition in diction, this simile describes D-503's aversion to the single hour of intimacy. Faced with the temptation to lower the blinds to limit surveillance, he experiences dissatisfaction with the lesser protection that surveillance is supposed to provide, rather than relief at escaping constant scrutiny. This reveals the extent of the indoctrination of ciphers, who actually fear the freedom to pursue individual interests because they are taught to believe that privacy and independence amount to betrayal of the state. Through the motif of nature, Zamyatin describes the effects of a lack of supervision. to illustrate the dangers of the tool. After waking up to the fog engulfing the state, D-503 describes "everything... flying, melting, falling" (62). With fog obscuring his vision of the constant glass structures of the State, D-503 panics in an environment of chaos and disorder. With objects simultaneously rising in flight and descending in fall, this illustrates the confusion of the D-503. Nature interferes with his absolute dependence on the methodical, mechanized society of a single state, making him feel completely lost and directionless. Therefore, Zamyatin describes the figures' dependence on the state even for insignificant actions, criticizing their lack of individuality and independence. Towards the end of the novel, the figures who undergo the operation which erases their imagination act like "a jet of water expelled from a... pipe" (166). Just before machine-like figures surround those who retain their imaginations, D-503 notes the presence of clouds, which, like fog, limit surveillance. As ordinary figures flee to escape the operation, the chaos that materializes in the absence of surveillance disrupts the order of the One State. By describing this disorder as water, a universal and indispensable substance, Zamyatin affirms the natural state and therefore the inevitability of this need to resist the complete abandonment of one's individual spirit. When weather conditions limit surveillance, ciphers surrender to the temptation to reject passivity and instead protect their humanity. As the two groups of figures come closer together, Zamyatin juxtaposes the comparison with water with the unimaginative mechanical and robotic representation of the figures to demonstrate the dangers of interfering with human nature. Even those who obey the One State fear the complete abolition of humanity. Under oppression, the impulse to protect and preserve basic human nature becomes inevitable. Zamyatin therefore affirms the impossibility of eliminating individual thought, criticizing the society which attempts to erase the humanity which exists inherent in each individual. HAS.