Character Clues

Character Analysis

Physical Appearance

In a world that strives to eliminate difference, little details go a long way towards creating characters. We is actually a brilliant example of how to find unusual physical traits as a way of establishing personality. Zamyatin continually stresses one physical trait in each character as a way of instantly identifying them amid a sea of people who all wear the same outfits and who look pretty much alike. Think of I-330 with "white, very white sharp teeth" (2.12), or O-90, with the "round, soft dimple on her wrist." (2.4). With only one trait from each of them we suddenly have a big idea of who they are: I-330, predatory and cunning, and O-90, gentle and lovable.

Not only does it establish their personalities, but it sets them in opposition to each other, providing a solid thematic base for the story very quickly. Suddenly, we can see the differences between each woman, mirroring their various outlooks and goals in life, as well as D-503's reasons to be alternately fascinated and repelled by them. Leave it to a Russian to pack so much into just a few quick words. They don't waste time, those Russians.

Setting: The Future

The setting actually does a whole lot to establish the characters who inhabit it. This is a world of total oppression and total transparency. Everyone can see everyone, and the citizens thus recognize how they are a part of a larger whole through it. We see this as D-503 looks "to the right and to the left as in mirrors, to the right and to the left through the glass walls I see others like myself, other rooms like my own, movements like mine, duplicated thousands of times. This invigorates me." (7.3) The denial of privacy—the glass walls that make everyone so visible—helps inform their characters.

So too does the presence of the Ancient House speak to D-503's long-dormant emotions: hidden in plain sight and holding all kinds of sneaky little secrets just beneath the surface. This is all in keeping with the book's tendency of have the society (and its physical setting) mirror the individual and vice versa.

Personal Description

You know why first-person narration is so popular? Actually, there are a lot of reasons, but part of it is that it's a way of conveying character. We find out so much about D-503 simply from the nature of his tone: the things he finds interesting, the words that he chooses, and the emotions he gives voice to. Pay close attention to the way his tone changes as the novel goes on: moving from very precise, clear language to more subjective, mood-laced thoughts to straight up dream state sometimes before finally snapping back to mathematical clarity. It's a bummer of a ride, but we know how every step of it affects this guy. Why? Because he tells us so.