Now here's a tricky issue: what defines happiness in this world? D-503 is happy before I-330 comes along and mucks everything up. Well, he's not happy, but he's content. And he doesn't seem to be alone. That changes only after things start going wrong. It's not that state that makes him unhappy, it's people's rebellion against it. He can't understand why people want to fight against the state, and he's troubled when they suggest that life under it can be anything but ideal. It's as if the people in We have lost the ability to define happiness in any way we understand. It exists only as a sort of mathematical harmony, and in attaining that harmony, we lose everything that makes us human.
Questions About Happiness
- Is it possible to be happy in the One State? What are the conditions for this happiness?
- What are some of the advantages to living in the One State that might make people feel happy? How does the wildness of individual thought lead to happiness?
- How does the intensity of individual happiness differ from that to the "happiness" earned by serving the State?
Chew on This
Happiness within the State is real and genuine. It just involves making sacrifices that most of us would not make.
Happiness within the State is a lie because you can never truly stamp out individual identity.