Collectivity and Power In Yevgeny Zamayatin’s We and Jamaica Kincaid’s A Small Place power was used to enforce a collectivity among the people. The use of tone and the different psychological processes characters experience throughout the text help show the negative effects of collectivity. The irreversible consequences of collectivity suggest that forcing a group of people to conform to a certain way of life is inhumane. Kincaid used an angry and aggressive tone whereas Zamaytin used more of a modest tone. In both texts collectivity was a group of people who share similar ways of life. A collection of people ensures stability and belonging but when it is enforced too aggressively it leads to the loss of independence and the ability of people to make their own choices. While in We an inside power took control of the people, in A Small Place there was not only an inside power that caused permanent damage to the Antiguan society but also outside powers. The outside powers were first the colonizers who were aware of their supposedly positive effect on the Antiguans but also tourist who were blind towards the ways in which they caused the Antiguans to live collective lives. The many psychological processes that each books character goes through showed the degrading effects of collectivity. Everyone had no choice but to surrender to the power structure(s).
In We the government that is called the “One State” believed collectivity was the most sufficient way in ensuring their path towards an ideal life. The need to build a collective unit began after the Two Hundred Years’ War. Society before the war seemed too savage and unorganized a state to continue living in. In addition, “Man ceased to be a savage only when we had built the Green Wall, when we had isolated our perfect mechanical world from the irrational hideous world of trees, birds, animals….”(93). Clearly the wall was built to keep any imperfections from entering the flawless world that was rigorously built over time. An ideal world was one in which there was no freedom because freedom gave people the opportunity to run wild without any regards towards the chaos it may cause. The government was trying to prevent the past from happening because it was a time “when people still lived in a free i.e., unorganized, savage condition” and that was considered to be unacceptable. Once the “One State” noticed they were successful in securing an organized and utopian like world their next goal was to expand their ideology to outer space. The way in which they were able to build a structured world was through direct forces of action on the people that involved a variety of immoral methods.
The government of the “One State” used direct methods of force in order to execute their plan thoroughly and avoid any mishaps from anyone trying to disobey the law. The use of numbers instead of names to identify each person resulted in the loss of independence. There were no unique traits that made each person different from any one else besides the numbers given to them. In addition, “…nobody is ‘one’ but ‘one of’. We are so alike….” (7). This manner of thinking was due to the way in which the community was run. For example, “…I cannot imagine a life that is not regulated by the figures of our Table…Every morning, with six-wheeled precision, at the same hour and at the same moment, we-millions of us-get up as one” (11-12). There is no variety in the life of these “numbers” because they are made to function as one living organism. Their every movement depends on the Table, they know of no other way to live. The Table almost serves as an alarm clock that runs as a set schedule that the whole United States needs to follow. The way in which people go about living their lives is not only regulated but is also under constant surveillance by the Guardians who serve as a police force. However, the Guardians duty is not to enforce rules but to punish those who try to step over them by putting them