We Analysis - D-503 as a human character

We conveys deep human individuality through a character thought more machine than man in the beginning of the novel. D-503 evolves throughout the book from an entity to a character readers can more easily associate with.

In the beginning D-503 hails OneState, and triumphs it above all others governments. Daily happenings are insubstantial because every day functions like the next; there is even a hope in D-503’s mind that one day OneState will be in control of every second of every day. What makes D-503 a complex character is that despite his faith in OneState, he still allows himself to be controlled by intangible emotions when he falls in love with I-330. She instantly causes D-503 to feel things he had previously never experienced. She is overwhelming and devoted, not to OneState, but to her own passions. As D-503’s infatuation with I-330 increases, his writing strays from the orderly fashion of his earlier entries. As his passion grows his writing becomes more confusing. This alone identifies him more as a human character than a machine because no longer is he in control of his thoughts.

As D-503 tries to capture every emotion he feels, Zamyatin uses ellipses as a way of truthfully portraying a wandering mind. The constant flow of ideas helps establish a connection between the reader and D-503. D-503 tries to catch his thoughts and emotions on paper, however, like any human being, writing emotion is a difficult task.

Because of D-503’s unbridled passion for I-330, he becomes a comparable character to the reader. As the story progresses we can feel empathy with him, even in his last entry. Becoming everything that is inhuman, D-503’s fate seems horrific in our eyes due, in part, to how much emotion dictates our very existence.