LITR 5439 Literary & Historical Utopias
Final Exam Submission 2009
Bridget Brantley
A3.
According to Merriam Webster’s Dictionary, a utopia implies a place of ideal perfection, especially in law, government, and social conditions. Teaching about utopian communities can be challenging because they are similar in ways, but different in others. Sometimes, the concept of what defines a true utopia is confusing. At the beginning of the course, my first impression of a utopia was that everything was perfectly structured, but then I started to think about what the word “perfect” really means. I have arrived at the conclusion that utopias have good as well as bad points. A class that may be studying Thomas More’s Utopia might view the community he describes in his novel as a paradise for all human beings. In his novel, there is communal ownership of land. The social conditions are described as good. Men and women are educated equally. Religious toleration is also addressed in his novel. People are allowed to exercise their religious beliefs. In Charlotte Perkin Gillman’s Herland, the women are viewed by the three travelers as an inferior species. From the male perspective, they should not be allowed to achieve their full potential.
In reading Utopian literature, Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia shows how people can work together in a communal environment. The novel stresses the importance of human contact for existence. Everybody is in the relationship together. The text states, “We don’t think commitment is something you go off and do by yourselves, just two of you. It has to have structure, surroundings, you can rely on. Human beings are tribal animals, you know. They need lots of contact”(35). The people of Ecotopia stress the importance of social balance.
While Utopian literature does express the importance people living in harmony, it also raises some questions as to whether or not Utopian societies truly exist. In Ecotopia, Callenbach questions whether different races can live in a community harmoniously. In chapter of his novel, the black community occupies their own territory, preferring to live in their own separate areas while the text says, “others argue for full independence as the long range solution” (107). In our society today, various nationalities of people prefer to live in communities with others of their own race or religious beliefs. Callenbach, I believe, does emphasis the importance of bridging the gap among races so that we can move away from segregation. According to Callenbrach, “this admission that races cannot live in harmony is surely one of the most disheartening developments in all Ecotopia, and it clouds the future of our nation” (110).
When we are reading literature, we’re reading a representation of the world. In other words, we’re putting the facts together in a picture. Literature concerns conflict, so there is the potential that some texts will motivate or alienate students. In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, she writes about collectivism. The members of this society have lost their individualism. The text refers to them as “we” instead of “I.” In contrast, in Herland, Gilman expresses that individualism distorts the most intimate human relationships. She offers a world in which a genuine sense of community triumphs and is expressed in riches, more gratifying in human relations. Collectivism can be a good thing in a utopian society. Throughout this course, we have seen examples of collective-housing, a place where people continue to live together and share their common goals and ideas. Most utopias have some kind of collective dining. These communities are socially, economically, and ecologically sustainable communities. The communities share their lives and everyone works and lives peacefully with one another.
In Anthem, Ayn Rand identifies man as a heroic being with his own happiness as the moral purpose of life. In today’s society, children are taught to be individuals. We each have our own gifts that God has equipped us with. Each individual must use his gift(s) to enrich society as a whole. In Anthem, this right appears to be taken away from society. We have a free will to make our own choices. When we lose our own identity, we become nothing more than robots where we are unable to function on our own. There does not seem to be a reason for existing any longer.
The utopian concept is all about togetherness. According to Charlotte Perkin Gilman, “most utopias create worlds that are elevating but bland, a paradise without sparkle.” In Herland, we see that Gilman’s utopian aim is to value education. Most utopias neglect the central role of education. In Herland, there is nothing but women in this society who value and love their children. These women never put anything or anyone above their children. “To them the longed-for motherhood was not only a personal joy, but a nation’s hope” (57). In our society today, we stress the importance of education, but we fail to provide the funds and necessities for children to get the best education they can get. In Herland, the women recognize that a greater society means having more educated and nurtured children. Also, in Herland, there is no competition in their educational system. There is only sisterhood. In our society, people are discriminated against because they may have the finances or the education as someone else. Also, the women in Herland know the importance of continuous learning and growing. “They had early observed the value of certain improvements, had easily inferred that there was room for more, and took the greatest pains to develop two kinds of minds-the critic and inventor” (76). The children are given “special training” to develop their minds and bodies.
Utopias do expose social problems in societies. In Looking Backward, Bellamy does recognize the feminist concerns that women are not given equal treatment as men because of their physical differences. This disparity hampers their economic roles in a technologically advances society. In Herland, Gilman shows that women are superior to men in so many ways. The athleticism of the women in this text is evidence of this. The idea that women are inferior and men are superior to women is entirely stereotypical of our real-life society.
Works Cited
Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backward
Callenback, Earnest. Ecotopia.
More, Sir Thomas. Utopia
Rand, Ayn. Anthem
The Ideal Education in Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s Herland
www.kobec-c.ac.jp/~watanabe/seminar/2000/takano.htm
Topic B2 -
Focus Topic-Evaluate Millennialism
Millennialism is a belief held by some Christian denominations that there will be a Golden age or Paradise on Earth in which Christ will reign prior to the final judgement and future eternal state( the New Heavens and New Earth).
First, in the book of Genesis, at the beginning of time, the Garden of Eden was created by God. This paradise can be compared to a utopia in the sense that it was a perfect place. The bible speaks of the Garden of Eden as a place "without sin." Everthing that Adam and Eve needed was in this place. It was only after Adam and Eve disobeyed God-eating fruit from the tree- that they had to suffer bitter consequences.
Many utopian societies are highly structured. In the Garden of Eden, God, who is all-knowing and perfect, also designed a perfect place for Adam and Eve. When Satan entered the Garden, destruction followed. Adam and Eve were banished from this beautiful paradise, their son turned into a murderer, and God ultimately destroyed everyone on earth except Noah and his family. Joseph Smith, prophet and founder of the Mormon community, set out to establish an ideal community. Today, there are millions of Mormon baptized believers.
In the Mormon community today, the word "Zion" is often used to mean a utopian association of righteousness. Zion also refers to the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is a physical millenial city also spoken of in the bible. Jerusalem has spiritual and historical significance. In the last days, the Jerusalem of old is to be rebuilt. Jesus will appear at this location, Also, the final battle of the Second Coming of the Son of Man are to be at Jerusalem.
In the book of Acts, we see how Christianity was founded and organized. Because of man's disobedience, there wasopposition. This opposition which consisted of beatings, plots, and riots became the driving force for the spread of Christianity.
Revelation is a book of hope in that God will return to Earth one day and make things right for all of those who have been faithful, and he will punish those who have been wicked. The book of Revelation is also a book about warning people to live righteously. This book also speaks about the Anti-Christ, who will reign on earth for a period of time, causing evil , but in the end, Christ will restore order.
The new city of God-Heaven- with its utopian characteristics will be something majestic and beautiful. This city has been designed to perfection by God. "The walls are 144 cubits thick; there are 12 layers in the walls, and 12 gates in the city; and the length, width, and heightare all the same, 12,000 stadia." The New Jerusalem is a perfect cube. There will be walls made of jewel, which suggest that this place is something durable and that will last forever. God, who is perfectly holy and righteous,will illuminate or light Heaven.
Works Cited
Life Application Study Bible. New International Version.