Jennifer Pham
Professor Blurton
Eng 101
10 November 2015
Essay #2: The Relationship Between Book 1 and Book 2 of Utopia
Thomas More’s Utopia conceptualizes a fictional island, Utopia, in which private property is eliminated, work is universalized, and punishments are equitable to the crime. In doing so, the eponymous island seemingly idealizes egalitarian society. More does this by splitting the novel into two parts or “books” which serve to distinguish between problem and solution, and reality and fiction. As a result, the discrepancies between the two books illustrate that while Utopia may be some sort of perfected society, it is ultimately fiction and thus unattainable. Book I sets up the premise for book II by introducing why a perfect
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The word Utopia, instead of being spelled as Eutopia, which means a place of perfection, actually means “no place.” A group of people on the island, Polylerites, translates into “much nonsense.” More means to stress how Utopia, for all its ideal qualities, simply doesn’t exist and will never exist. Taking Utopia’s true meaning into consideration, many of the sentiments about the island hold much more gravity. When Hythloday says that he “had never seen a well-ordered people anywhere but there,” More is actually expressing that there are well ordered people “nowhere”, as Utopia doesn’t actually exist. Even Hythloday is a victim to More’s rhetorics- Raphael’s first name is an angel from the bible who gives sight to the blind while his last name, Hythloday, means “nonsense.” He figuratively gives sight to Thomas More and Peter Giles by enlightening them with the knowledge of Utopia to parallel his first name, however his last name hints that such an island is impossible and doesn’t exist, and thus is “nonsense.” More’s description of Utopia and satirization of Europe does express a serious longing for a society similar to Utopia- one better than 16th century Europe with proper social justice and order- however his distortion of Utopia and play on words lament that such a place would ultimately
In all aspects a utopian society is a society that is place to achieve perfection, and that is the society that both the “Uglies”, by Scott Westfield and “Harrison Bergeron”, by Kurt Vonnegut, was striving for. In both of these stories, the government had control over the people’s choices, freedoms, and their natural abilities. Yet both government strive for a perfect society, the methods they use to achieve this goal were different from each other.
Whether the Utopians are being examined for their value of precious metals, the treatment of women, or how they worship, it is evident that there are some major inequalities within their society. However, any reader of More’s Utopia must have the ability to look past the tensions that are present, and read the work as More intended it to be read—satirically.
Thomas More’s Utopia and Aldus Huxley’s Brave New World , are novels about societies that differ from our own. Though the two authors have chosen different approaches to create an alternate society, both books have similarities which represent the visions of men who were moved to great indignation by the societies in which they lived. Both novels have transcended contemporary problems in society , they both have a structured, work based civilization and both have separated themselves from the ways of past society. It is important when reading these novels to focus on the differences as well as the similarities. The two novels differ in their views of love, religion, and the way to eliminate social classes. These differences seem to suggest that if we do not come closer to More’s goal in Utopia, we will end up in a society much like that of Huxley’s Brave New World.
A person’s image of utopia varies depending on their individual life experiences and the expectations of the society in which they live; utopia could be described as an ideal place where equality, comfort, safety, compassion, and freedom are important qualities. In Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, the elimination of property and money has all citizens working for the commonwealth and it is “where every man has a right to everything, they all know that if care is taken to keep the public stores full, no private man can want anything; for among them there is no unequal distribution so that no man is poor, none in necessity; and though no man has anything, yet they are all rich” (More 81). More’s Utopia also encourages a balance of power within society; where an individual in a position of power is not “as idle as drones, that subsist on other men’s labour” (More 7) and where that individual gives “more regard to the riches of his country than to his own wealth” (More 21). Equality of basic needs, elimination of poverty, and balance of power within society are features of Utopia that appeal to both Renaissance and modern readers; however, modern society may find the manipulation of the individual for the good of the commonwealth and the negative attitude towards women to be dystopic features of Utopia that hinder it from being an ideal place.
Yet another famous Utopian society that appears to thrive on the surface is that of Sir Thomas More’s Utopia. More’s society was ...
Utopia remains a succinct summary of the human condition in both past and present. More's Utopia details the flaws inherent to all societies no mater what the social order, whether democratic, totalitarian or communist. Utopia itself is an imagined and intangible world of human ideals, at the heart of Mores description of Utopia lies the idyllic concepts of all moral human beings. The prospect of the future perfect republic which More dreamt of four centuries ago and is barely closer to fruition today. The fact that Mores Utopia is discussed allegorically and topically in the literate world of the present really shows that not only is it a product of Mores experience of his society and time but a product for all times.
Moore, Thomas. "Utopia Book 2." Utopia by Thomas More. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2014. .
Thomas More’s Utopia is a work of ambiguous dualities that forces the reader to question More’s real view on the concept of a utopian society. However, evidence throughout the novel suggests that More did intend Utopia to be the “best state of the commonwealth.” The detailed description of Utopia acts as Mores mode of expressing his humanistic views, commenting on the fundamentals of human nature and the importance of reason and natural law while gracefully combining the two seemingly conflicting ideals of communism and liberalism.
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin describes the critical balance in maintaining a utopia. According to Jefferson Flanders, author of “Herald Square”, argues that Le Guin wrestles with philologist Willam Jones’ idea that “one could not accept a happiness shared with millions if the condition of that happiness were the suffering of one lonely soul” (Flanders). Le Guin argues that success, for a society, comes from the achievements of the fortunate. This success is balanced by the misfortune of a few in the world. In the story, “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,” Le Guin uses metaphors, imagery and symbols to illustrate society’s need for a scapegoat and the struggle to maintain balance in a utopia.
Utopia is a reflection of More’s thoughts, feelings and opinions on politics and society at the time. While it may appear that Utopia is a representation of More’s ideal society and world, only some aspects are supported and agreed upon by More. He generally opposes and objects to certain trends of the Utopian society which he feels are ‘ridiculous.’ Despite this More still provides a comment on the social standards, ethics, operations and functions of the time. In doing this he presents his passion of ideas and art.
In his famous work Utopia, Sir Thomas More describes the society and culture of an imaginary island on which all social ills have been cured. As in Plato's Republic, a work from which More drew while writing Utopia, More's work presents his ideas through a dialogue between two characters, Raphael Hythloday and More himself. Hythloday is a fictional character who describes his recent voyage to the paradisal island of Utopia. Throughout the work, Hythloday describes the laws, customs, system of government, and way of life that exist in Utopia to an incredulous and somewhat condescending More.
Because they are described in a detailed manner, the Utopia book itself seems to be enough to be a blueprint for the future. However, Thomas More clearly stated that he just wishes Europeans to follow some good qualities of the Utopian society—“there are many things in the Utopian commonwealth that in our own societies I would wish rather than expect to see” (97)—because he himself knows that it is impossible for any country to be like Utopia. This is apparent, because Utopia is possible on the premise that every factor comes together to create this ideal society. Even the geography has to contribute to this premise, as Hythloday explains the geography of Utopia as the place where strangers cannot enter without one of them (39). Moreover, from diligent and compassionate Utopians’ characteristics and their ways of life, they seem to be successful in reaching the fullest of every aspect of their life including physical, intellectual, social, spiritual, and emotional, when it is hardly possible to even have one person like that in real life.
"I don't know where a utopia is supposed to be, or where one could be found. I sometimes think that it is the place where fear and doubt end with the realization that around you is everything you need, and there is nothing else to find" (Kira Salak).The late 16th century held a period of religious conflict within England. This was due to the fact that King Henry the VIII wanted a divorce and the Pope denied his request. Eleven years prior to this occurrence, Sir Thomas More, who was an important advisor to the king wrote Utopia. More's purpose was to simply demonstrate to his readers what a utopia would be like because what they were living in was actually the opposite; a dystopia. Henry the VII came to the decision of taking over the head
Thomas More is a humanist and creates the island, Utopia. Utopia is fictional work of Thomas More.
More's utopia was completely unexpected by him as little as five years ago. He always had utopian visions, but the utopia that was reality was different. It is important to keep visions of utopia in our minds. They give us hope and something to work toward. Even if we never reach the utopia we dream of, it can put us in the right direction for improving our