Notes on We the Living by Ayn Rand

The first book I finished this year was We the Living by Ayn Rand. It's actually the first novel she published, and it's a strong statement against communism, collectivism, and the horrible conditions individuals faced in Soviet Russia. I know that I enjoyed this work less than her other fiction (it seemed to drag somewhat and the plot turns were somewhat random, with less clear explanation). However, for me, the most interesting aspects were actually the details of Soviet life, like ration cards, propaganda slogans, and bribery techniques. I got a really rich sense for how horrible things were.

I drew a lot of parallels in the general tone of the work to 1984, which was similarly a description of drab and at times unbearable life in a socialist state.

I also saw inklings of a lot of the individualistic philosophy she would later expound on in other works a lot more clearly. The heroes definitely displayed a lot of similar traits and behaviors as in other works, like clarity of mind, focus, attention to posture and how they used their bodies, and generally an orientation that's aiming towards life rather than death. I also found it interesting how much the heroes and plot focused on love, and the power of love to carry someone through unimaginably difficult experiences. Kira, the main character, is at the same time inspirational and hard to really believe.

Foreword
Life in soviet union
Desire for life
Romantic school, human values, choices men should make
Evils of any dictatorship or collective system
Man existing for sake of state
Autobiography in loose sense, of an idea
Protagonist ideas are hers but plot different

Part 1
Ch 1
Kira
Train ride
Separate social classes
Nationalization of factories, confiscation of private safe deposit boxes
Petrograd

Ch 2
Proletariats of world unite
Wants to be engineer
Doesn't believe in duty to society definition 
Line of zeroes is still zero

Ch 3
Spirit physical, body spiritual 
Geometric precise movements
Learned as child joy of being alone
Your own life, a reason in itself
Likes rising bridges, skyscrapers
Got communist passport
Loved joy and art

Ch 4
Bribe to get apartment
Long lines for food
Some private stores allowed
Inflation
admitted to tech institute
meets man on street whom she understands

Ch 5
Just studying something because she likes it not for toil for proletariat

Ch 6
not living for sake of state or others
Living for sake of self
Things inside us that are precious because they're ours
Ok to do something just because want to when know its right
Soviet Men existing for plumbing not plumbing existing for men
Just want to be left alone to live
Sacrificing the best for less capable masses
People aren't born with equal abilities 

Ch 7
Private enterprises failing

Ch 8
Andrei student communist but not really
Complex family background

Ch 9
do u believe in gd or life
If put highest thing u care for above ur life then u don't believe in life
runs away with Leo, counter revolutionary

Ch 10
Moves in with Leo
Two fighting against the country and the century
Confidence in what she does

Ch 11

Ch 12
Music John gray
Studying philosophy because most useless to communists

Ch 13
Can't get job unless party or union member

Ch 14
Need communist connection to get job
Foreign or bourgeois or capitalist stuff best and smuggled but considered evil

Ch 15
Desire to live, inner fight even with outer suffering

Ch 16
Questionnaires on social origin
Reverse discrimination against achievers
Kicked out of college because not children of proletariats but of business owners

Ch 17
Leo tuberculosis, getting money for sanitarium


Part 2

Ch 1
Petrograd became leningrad
Lenin applied marx communism to soviet situation
Communism taught as logical maturation of capitalism
Petrograd as monument to spirit of man
Beautiful city, designed by man

Ch 2
Love of andrei communist friend who is not real communist but real life-lover
Leo returns
Strength of Kira's love

Ch 3
Living for what you think is right with objective your own joy

Ch 4
Fantasy of abroad
Illegal business when legal not possible

Ch 5
More oppression than under the czar except now boot is red and senseless

Ch 6
right to own happiness
Counterrevolutionaries

Ch 7

Ch 8
all about influence and connections
Party loyalty over family 

Ch 9
Leo losing his self to drink and wasting money and parties

Ch 10
Ppl double crossing and trying to make money secretly

Ch 11
Leo investigations

Ch 12
Andrei arrests Leo
Kira torn between lovers
Soviet is on premise of death not life

Ch 13
Live for that which you want
Kira inspires andrei
andrei does speech for living finally
No one can tell men what they must live for
Man's mind and his values
Living still for your own cause
Cannot enslave man's mind
Cannot sacrifice the living for apparently the living

ch 14
Leo released due to andrei
Leo gets freedom but doesn't want life
Wants to be let to fall into mire
andrei tells him to get a life
Andrei thinks will be thrown out of party
He is grateful now
Understanding between Kira and andrei
andrei transferred to be librarian
andrei realizes no hope for soviet life
Burns Kira's stuff in fireplace, black chiffon
Said no one is to be responsible for his death and commits suicide when realizes nothing left to live for

Ch 15
party lauds him as tribute of party work, totally fake message
party hero
Why does Kira keep loving Leo?
Kira comes to funeral
"Communist party spares no victims in its fight for mankind"
"Gave all u had for ppl u loved"
"most evil of human words: I"
Only honor is of serving the collective
unselfish service of the collective
Kira wondered whether she had killed him or the revolution or both

Ch 16
Leo drinking too much
Silence between them
Her fight was lost
Kira was his last hold on self esteem
Loses belief in sublime of human being
Through with attempt for life
Leo decides to go away with richer lady even when Kira loves him
Kira against 150M people but she lost
She still loves Leo and andrei even when they die or go away
Walks away in dignity
Kira decides to leave abroad, only goal to get out

Ch 17
Kira trying to leave illegally when denied foreign passport

Ch 18
Running away through snow in white clothes
shot by border patrol
Last thought at death of life as what could have been possible, potential of human being

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