We Journal #2

The passage I selected from the book to be significanat is on page 86-87 when D-503 discovers the secret underground tunnels of the MEPHI. Prior to this passage, D had been suspicios of I-330 when she dissapeared at the ancient house. This time, D went into the ancient house in search of I-330 but  could not find her, so he began searching. He ends up stumbling upon the closet that leads to the underground tunnels. He is stunned when he falls into their hideout. The excerpt begins with "A corridor." and ends with "Why, then, isn't it audible?". Quotations are cited using line numbers beginning with "A corridor..." as line 1.

Significance: Characterization. D-503 almost always has a reasonable answer, but when he stumbled upon the doctor he is at a loss, "But I-it was as though I had never known even one human word- I was mute...[I] didn't understand anything he was saying to me" (19-20). This shows a shattering of D's logical world, and a change in his character. By creating an enviornment where D has nothing to say, it suggests that he is learning maybe there is not an answer to everything. Towards the end of this passage, there's a key line in which, again, D questions his own logic. D finally finds I and he trembles at finally seeing her after such a long excursion but he can't stop thinking that "Vibrations produce sound. A tremble must make a sound. Why, then, isn't it audible?". This questioning his own reasoning suggests that D is realizing that things don't always have a physical reason. He's struggling with how two things that he knows are true can coexist if they contradict each other. This also symoblizes bigger ideas later on, such as his love for I-330 that he knows in his heart exists but he cannot understand why.

Significance: Setting. The passage begins with D in "a corridor" with "a thousand-pound silence", it's narrow and not made from glass but from "some ancient material" (1,5). The corridor changes the previous setting of the book since in most of the novel it's set in the glass city where everything is open and visible and clear. Now, he's in this skinny, opaque corridor that's completely opposite of what he is used to. By doing this, Zamyatin creates a more intense and ominous mood and the image of corridor, since it's narrow and encloses you unlike the open glass, could suggest pressure on D-503. Such as the pressure feels and the tight spot he's in between wanting to be a good citizen, but falling in love with I.

Significance: Motifs. When D knocks on the door, the "blade-nosed" doctor greets him. Blades and scissors and knives are a motif throughout the book. A blade often represents something strong, that can be destructive, but also just powerful. By using blades, Zamyatin suggests that there is destruction necesary in order for the movement to be powerful. This can be seen through the MEPHI because they are trying to have a revolution and do something powerufl, which cannot happen without destruction of the current society. The motif of blades in this passage makes it significance, because it is D's first glimpse into this coming destruction.