The World of Energy and Entropy: A Study of E. Zamjatin’s “We” in contrast to G. Orwell’s “1984”

• Main Authors: Li, Jin-Chu, 李勁楚
• Other Authors: Sung, Yun-Sheng
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2019
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/273843

碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 俄羅斯研究所 === 107 === Amid the three main dystopian novels in the first half of the twentieth century, Evgenij Zamjatin’s “We” was the first one to be written and published, which is believed to have a significant impact on other ones. This novel has suggestive significance, inspiring people to rethink the alienation of human nature in the industrial age, and the theory and practice of Lenin’s ideology in the early period of Soviet Russia. By the use of Roman Ingarden’s theory of art, Paul Tieghem’s theory of comparative literature, Northrop Frye’s theory of literary criticism, Evgenij Zamjatin’s theory of energy and entropy, as well as the discourse of Zamjatin’s life experience, his literary thoughts and the general era background by the 1920s, a detailed interpretation of “We” was given in this thesis. Furthermore, a comparison of “We” with another influential dystopian work – George Orwell’s “Nineteen Eighty-Four” was made in general outlook and in matters of detail. Other than many alike worldviews, plots and details, “Nineteen Eighty-Four” was found helpful in understanding what Zamjatin wanted to express in “We”. In “We” Zamjatin epitomized his art of vivid satire. On one hand, whether the ideology of the Single State, or the thought and faith of Д-503 are completely in contradiction to Zamjatin’s own; however, in the end the Single State and Д-503 won; on the other hand, resting his hope on the heroine I-330, Zamjatin ironically arranged for her a thorough failure. This type of writing technique is not only relative to the neorealism and synthetism in definition of literature, which Zamjatin strongly advocated, but also, with serious possibility, is in connection with the era background at that time.