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Happiness Vs Happiness

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Happiness. The only known definition to come from this word is, “the state of being happy”. Is there only one definition of what happiness truly is? As we indulge in the world of We, we are often confronted with this theme and must decipher the meaning ourselves. Constructed and constricted happiness follows this dystopian society as the protagonist records his daily occurrences in each chapter. Stripped of individuality, these people live in homes made of glass so they can be monitored with ease by the authority inside the walls. Notably, identical blue uniforms drape themselves over the bodies of each and every person, who is commonly known as a number. Scheduling their days by following an hourly advent procedure, these numbers only have two hours in a day of recreational activity. As assumed, this recreational time is structured in a way where numbers march along in groups of four while the anthem of the Single State plays triumphantly throughout the streets. During the weeks, a number is often given one hour every few days to engage in sexual activities with another number who owns a pink slip. In like manner, love and marriage do not exist in this society so quantities of pink slips are given out based on a number’s need for sexual interaction. These pink slips are used entirely for recreation and not procreation. According to the One State, happiness and freedom are incompatible within a society. Because of this, the State has removed freedom from these individual’s lives to provide an unlimited source of happiness. With their lives void of freedom, we find ourselves questioning if these individuals can truly express happiness. Through the perspective of D-503, we quickly learn that unity, conformity, and routines fulfill any desires. As written in record four, “Like everyone else, I heard nothing more than the stupid vain clattering of the strings. I laughed. Things became easy and simple” (Zamyatin, 18). D-503 expresses here that although it was only a mere moment, the simple belonging he feels with the state is enough for him as an individual. Finding this sense of serenity through belonging to the state has allowed him to become numb of any outside forces of happiness. The numbers in this society

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