IB- JR English
Mrs. Wecker
April 2, 2009
The Balance of Civil Liberties and Security
Zamyatin uses the symbol of glass to reveal the restriction of civil liberties the people of The One State face due to the conflict which has resulted from the 200 years war. The glass serves as an example of how the society, in a time of conflict, gives up its civil liberties in order to feel secure. During D-503’s Fourth Entry, he talks of how, “At all other times we live behind our transparent walls that seem woven of gleaming air – we are always visible, always washed with light […] Besides, this makes much easier the difficult and noble task of the Guardians” (Zamyatin 18). D-503 talks of how all the citizens of The One State are always under constant surveillance, fearing that their security will be destroyed if someone’s civil liberties are given priority. This constant surveillance makes the Guardian’s jobs easier because without privacy, it is very hard to conceal things from The One State and the Guardians. Privacy is a civil liberty which should not be sacrificed during a time of conflict. Later in the book, when D-503 is talks about the transparency of the glass and its lack of privacy is during his Nineteenth Entry, where he says, “Through the sun-drenched walls I can see far, both right and left and down, the empty rooms suspended in the air, repeating themselves as in a mirror” (Zamyatin 108). The ability for people to see into other’s rooms removes the privacy of individuals, and thus removes a civil liberty for the addition of security. Also, Zamyatin uses the word “through” to convey a helpless feeling, knowing that people were unable to hide anything from others. This complete lack of privacy allows for The One State to constantly spy on people while still offering complete protection to its citizens. Has always been essential civil liberty, and The One State lacks any sort of balance between this civil liberty and the security represented by the glass. Zamyatin also uses the symbol of the Great Operation to show how the civil liberties of citizens can be eliminated for the sake of happiness and security in the most extreme of manners. When D-503 is speaking to a patient, the patient says, “Absolute happiness should, of course, carry a minus sign- the divine minus” (Zamyatin 184). The patient uses a euphemism, in the creole of the One State, that could mean absolute happiness and personal freedom are mutually exclusive. The minus sign in this euphemism represents the lack of personal liberty (more specifically imagination). Absolute happiness is the desired state which all individuals strive to achieve. Thus, in order to achieve the desirable state of happiness, individuals within a society must surrender personal liberty. Zamyatin reuses the symbol of the Great Operation later in the book. After the Mephi’s failed attempt to seize the Integral; “[…] everyone was to report for the operation” (Zamyatin 206). The quote uses the word “everyone” in order to emphasize the fact that no citizen can choose to escape the Great Operation. This passage also uses very forceful verb choice, such as “was to”, in order to emphasize the fact that citizens cannot decide whether or not to have the surgery performed, having lost this right. In conjunction, this shows that citizens have completely surrendered all personal liberties to the state for the sake of happiness and internal security, dangerously upsetting the balance between liberty and security.
Zamyatin creates a conflict between the one state and the mephi in order to offer the idea that societies have a scale which needs to balance security and civil liberties. The conflict Zamyatin creates is evident in the word choice used by D-503, a member of the one state, while he describes members of the mephi. D-503 has just entered the world outside the green wall, “In the clearing-people… Or-I don’t know what to call them-perhaps, more precisely, beings” (Zamyatin 155). Not knowing how to classify them, D-503 has just described these fellow humans as “beings” rather than as people. D-503 has just set himself, and members of the One State, apart as superior because they are people, separating the two societies. This passage displays a conflict between them, since D-503’s society would classify the other as less than them. Zamyatin attempts to reveal this idea of balance in society by creating a scale, and depending on what is happening in the society, the scale may tip towards security or towards civil liberties.D-503 has just announced his opinion on madness after someone in the audience regarded the rebellion as madness, “‘Yes, yes, madness! The sooner the better! And everyone must lose his mind, everyone must! The sooner the better! It is essential-I know it’” (Zamyatin 158). Members of the one state are taught that security and protection are essential for humans to survive, or else the people would stand up for individual rights rather than their security. This thought is imbued in their minds, it has become part of them, and D-503 is stating that the people must lose their minds in order to rebel against the one state, sacrificing security for civil liberty. Zamyatin attempts to communicate the idea that, in order to fight for liberty, one must give up the need for too much security, which assists in the idea that security and civil liberty need a balance both equal and opposite. This idea of a balance scale contributes to a warning against having a totally secure and protected society, since civil rights would need to be abandoned or heavily restricted. Instead, Zamyatin hopes for us to realize there must be a balance between both civil liberties and security.
The balance between civil liberties and security are essential to a society’s well-being. Zamyatin shows this throughout We by using the symbols of glass, The Great Operation, and the conflict between the two societies present in his book. He urges people to stand up for their civil liberties even in times of conflict where they could be restricted in the name of security.
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