We the Living by Ayn Rand is a novel that shows us how easily the state can break the bravest, the most courageous, the best of us. People often ask themselves what they are, what the purpose of their lives is, what the right is, what the wrong is, for we often feel the need to get the exact and reasonable answers. Kira, the protagonist of the story, rarely asked those questions. She knew that a life was the most valuable gift that one could be blessed with and that was enough for her. She wanted to live no matter what, no matter what others thought of her, but – as it turned out to be – a state might not want a certain person to continue to live the way he/she used to and that conflict of interests would definitely cause a lot of tragedies.
The Argounov was one of many families who were accused of the crimes they had never committed. According to the Communists, they stole workers’ money, used them as slaves, and had no mercy for the poor working class. Was it like that? The Argounov family wouldn’t confirm that. Alexander Dimitrievitch worked hard to give his family a good life, but we couldn’t know how he treated his workers. Was he that cruel and heartless as the Communists said? Were all of them that heartless? The answer was no. Did the Communists have any right to destroy so many people’s lives? Kira tried to prove that it was a barbaric act. Unfortunately, her voice wasn’t heard, her death meant nothing, the state that killed her, destroyed Leo, exhausted Andrei, turned many others into monsters, continued to exist for many more years.
Leo and Andrei were opposites. Leo was a son of an old admiral who was shot by the communists without a trail. Andrei was a son of the pair of workers. One of them went to the best school, the other had no time for it, for his parents couldn’t afford the school. Who was the better person? No one, for they were not responsible for the families they were born in. Two different men, one of them resented the revolution, the other one was among those who helped the revolution to happen, who risked his life for a prospect of the better future. In spite of that, the revolution destroyed them both. Leo lost his trust in purity, love, genuine happiness that had nothing to do neither with money nor with a social status. His and Kira’s last meeting showed that his transformation was a painful process for him too, that the life he had to lead was the complete opposite of what he wanted. Kira might blame herself for Andrei’s death, but it wasn’t her fault. Sooner or later, Andrei’s noble soul would sink in the ocean of blood so richly nourished by the revolution.
We the Living by Ayn Rand is a novel that is not suitable for “light” reading. It leaves a reader with a bitter feeling of despair, sorrow, and even tears. It is like a reminder that the state can break even the toughest ones.
