"What's going on? A soul? Did you say, a soul? What the hell! Next thing you know we'll have cholera again" (88).
I chose this quote because I found it very humorous. I think it is funny that the leaders of OneState compare having a soul to having cholera which is a deadly disease. They pretty much make it sound that if one were to have a soul one is doomed to die. In reality, a soul is what makes up each and every person. It is what makes them their own individual. OneState cleary is trying to rid its society of individualism by convincing its people that having a soul is considered bad. Not only that, but they threaten the idea of being an outcast with it. And like any human being noone wants to be considered an outcast in a society.
I thought that the novel We was ok. I enjoyed anthem a lot better out of the two but this was bareable. I think the reason as to why I did not like the book as much might be because it was very confusing to read. The story also required the reader to think more outside the box then usual when forced to complete D-503's sentences. Overall, I did not hate the novel, but I simply just did not enjoy reading it. However, I might have enjoyed it more if I did not have Anthem to compare it to.
2 comments:
I feel that the quote you pulled out was appropriate in furthering your purpose of D-503's struggle. You did a nice job in analyzing the breaks within records.
I think it is humorous that most people prefer Anthem to We. We was written much earlier than Anthem, yet Anthem is generally more popular. Rand's idea was not as original, however Anthem has had more popularity.
Personally I enjoyed We more. I found the language more interesting than Anthem, which is probably due to my love of language.
Well, I canNOT agree that Anthem was better than We, personally I preferred D-503's character to Equality's. The story seemed to have a little more life. However, I do admit that I am a wit and sarcasm person and have less patience for serious books, even if they are written far more eloquently and thoughtfully. I would prefer Monty Python's version of King Arthur over any historian's facts any day.
That being stated, I actually will comment on the post here. I am not just running my mouth off. I feel that D-503's constant pauses signify not only his struggle as a human and his desires vs. fears, but also as a computer trying to comprehend something not in its programming. OneState citizens function like computers; they all perform the same function, they all run the same diagnostics, they run like absolute clockwork. However, an anomaly has entered the system. Anything that the computer does not understand, and especially causes it not to function properly, is a virus and a threat. Thus, the comparison to cholera reflects the fact that the soul is a virus that can cause the system of OneState to crash. Eventually chaos ensues near the end of the book, when the fellows outside the wall break in and then OneState begins to force the Operation on everyone. The soul nearly killed OneState. It is a very real threat to them. That said, I will also state that, like a computer, OneState will never succeed in anything because computers suck and never work properly. There are more anomalies in the system than actual programs that run it. Any society that tries to act like a bucket of bolts is destined for failure. Thus do I have absolutely no faith in OneState and I laugh at the Benefactor quite heartily.
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