We

"She was sitting in a low armchair... But she went on calmly smoking and calmly glancing at me... and knocked off some ashes on my pink ticket." (Zamyatin, 54)



"Yes, epilepsy is a mental illness–pain . . . A slow, sweet pain–it is a bite–let it bite deeper, harder. And then, slowly, the sun. Not this one, not ours, shining all sky-blue crystal regularity through glass brick–no: a savage, rushing, burning sun–flinging everything away from itself–everything in little pieces." (18)

The line is his thoughts, a transformation and poetry. He describes his enjoyment of the music and of I-330 as a mental illness. D-503 uses epilepsy because it is an illness of unpredictable attacks on the mind and body. To him that is I-330. She shows up often when he least expects her to in a way that takes complete control over him. She is, like epilepsy, “Pain… A slow, sweet pain––it is a bite––let it bite deeper, harder.” He uses the ellipsis because these are his thoughts, his words, and he cannot describe her. D-503 is unsure of how to even complete a thought about I-330. He has never felt the feelings he feels for I-330 before. Then as his thought continues he personifies the sun to symbolize his emotions. He knows these are not emotions his society intends for him to feel. They are “Not ours, shining all sky blue crystal regularity through the glass brick––no.” This signifies the the beginning of his changing mentality and his fall to the ways of I-330. He knows she is dangerous and his description of the sun, this other sun, foreshadows what I-330’s role in society is in his eyes. “A savage, rushing, burning sun––flinging everything away from itself––everything in little pieces.” 

This was my favorite passage in the novel due to its representation of the total emotional struggle suffered by D-503. The imagery, as it should, touches the senses with power. He writes about everything being flung away from itself it little pieces, providing the emotions that run alongside confusion and chaos. His syntax and diction are stunning. Particularly in this passage, his alliteration creates a poetic rhythm for what should be unorganized and sporadic thoughts. They embody the beauty of the mind this novel allows us to enter. 

We

Her bite. I-330 had a grip on D-503 that was like an animal clenches teeth on a prey. Only, her bite was not on his body but on his mind. She was able to use her seduction and intelligence to persuade D-530 to become rebellious against One State. Every time they were together she mocked the rules and influenced him to do more and more “illegal” activities eventually leading up to the takeover of the INTEGRAL. Fitting, considering the literal meaning of the word integral is something necessary to make a whole or completion. Her teeth sunk deeper and deeper until she had what was necessary to complete her revolution. 

On every incident that I-330 and D-503 have sex her bite is brought up. This is due to the fact that it is through her seduction and sex that she increases her power over D-503. Occasionally his bite will also be mentioned. This is symbolic of his struggle to keep his identity and values as she continually breaks them down and opens his eyes to the flaws of the society he held so dearly. His bite is followed by him on his knees begging her and acting on her physical desires. Her bites are followed by him falling in line in the direction of her smile and defined brow.