The protagonist of We, D-503, relies on mathematical equations to understand life and rationalize every situation. The one portion of math that greatly bothers D-503 is the square root of negative one; an imaginary number. The square root of negative one is an imaginary number that cannot be simplified, which is something D-503 cannot deal with. To D-503, math provides answers to any and every question that could possibly fall in front of him, but the square root of negative one only brings up more questions, thus frustrating D-503 even more. Yet the square root of negative one can also be referred to as the letter i. This letter, in the form of the word I, represents the individual, which is something that does not exist in the society of OneState. Each citizen is given a number, and those numbers wake up, eat, and sleep at the exact time, making the society a machine. Individuality is not something that thrives in OneState, and makes no sense to the citizens, just as the square root of negative one makes no sense to D-503. This one portion of the mathematical language does not just represent the frustrations of D-503, but also of the individual person: a frustration of OneState.
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