LITR 5439 Literary & Historical Utopias

Final Exam Submission 2009

Cana Hauerland

Overview Topic A2:

The Complex Existence and Assistance of the Multi-Cultural Utopia in Western Civilization

In this essay, I will examine texts of multicultural utopias in comparison to western texts of utopia to explain and highlight the differences and similarities of the two types of utopias. During these explanations, I will reveal that defending utopian studies as “Western Civilization” does not rule out multiculturalism, using the slave narrative of Frederick Douglass and the “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King. Next, I will explain the utopian impulse as a universal dream using Equiano’s and Douglass’ narratives. Finally, I will address that the term utopias is appropriate to discuss multicultural texts that do not follow the western traditions using American Indian narratives. In Conclusion, an analysis of a modern Western utopia will be compared to the multicultural texts to describe utopia as a universal term. 

When we discuss utopian studies as “Western Civilization,” this does not rule out the multiculturalism aspect in utopian texts because many multicultural utopias consist of a forced entrance into the Western civilization or a forced barrier to enter the western civilization while still living in its atmosphere. The slave narrative of Fredrick Douglass reveals the struggle of being forced to slave in the Western civilization without belonging. While being forced to work hard in slavery, Douglass is seeking life as a western civilian. Learning to read and write is one of Douglass’ first steps to living the utopia of western civilization. Douglass created a school utopia for other slaves, which “were great days to [his] soul,” fulfilling part of his utopia dream (FD 401). Douglass reveals he “had at one time over forty scholars, and those of the right sort, ardently desiring to learn” (401). Desiring to learn as the western civilians did was a utopia for the African American culture. This small act commonly overlooked by western civilians who knew how to read and write was not considered a utopia to them, but to the African Americans it was an entrance into a utopia world. Dr. Martin Luther King expressed the further pain of the African American culture being denied the Western utopia even after emancipation occurred. Regarding the Western utopia promised by the western civilians after emancipation as a note, King speaks, “this note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the ‘unalienable Rights’ of ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.’ For the African American culture, being able to pursue their dreams and being equal in Western civilization after emancipation was their utopia. The African Americans were forced to migrate into Western civilization, but they had no rights to the life of a Western civilian upon entering the new culture. When utopia studies is defended by using the term, “Western Civilization”, this does not rule out the multicultural utopias because multicultural utopias are the ideas of gaining acceptance from the western civilization and being allowed to live in the same manner.

Continuing with the narrative of Douglass and entering a new narrative of Olaudah Equiano, this paragraph will explain that the utopia impulse is universal, but not specific to Western civilization. Other than western civilization, there are additional parts of the world where the utopian impulse exists. Equiano actually lived in a utopia kingdom “divided into many provinces or districts: in one of the most remote and fertile of which, called Eboe.” Equiano was born in  “a charming fruitful vale, named Effaka.,” and he describes his kingdom as “the manners and government of a people who have little commerce with other countries are generally very simple; and the history of what passes in one family or village may serve as a specimen of a nation.” Although far away from Western civilization, the qualities of Equiano’s community were utopian. When Equiano was taken away from this community in African was where he began to experience a dystopia that carried him into the Western culture. It is experiencing this Western dystopia life of an African American slave that Equiano began seeking his lost utopia. The utopia now sought after in the new Western culture compares to Douglass’ quest as both African Americas sought “duties responsibilities of a life of freedom” in Western civilization, which was their utopia (FD 425). Equiano’s previous life in Africa proves that the utopia impulse is not specific to Western culture, and that the Western civilization actually disturbs other utopias in the universe that forces the disturbed, such as Equiano and Douglass, to seek after the Western culture as their utopia.

Although the traditions are different, the African American culture and the American Indian culture (as well as other non-western cultures) may exercise the use of the utopia term just as the people who follow western tradition. The multicultural civilians actually experiencing the Western culture engage the idea of utopia in a more complex idea than western civilians. Indians from the Western Culture play a huge role in this claim because they were they the original Western civilization before arrivals to America interfered with the new Western culture. Chief Seattle’s speech reflects on the utopia occupied by his people before the Western government proposed to buy their land. Chief Seattle responded with a voice that could not fathom how the government regarded the home of his people as just land instead of their utopia. Chief said, “Every sandy shore, shining pine needle, every mist in the dark woods, every clarring and humming insect is holy in the memory and experience of my people.” The declaring of Chief’s land as “holy” resembles a utopia that the Western civilization did not create or live in. Although not a multicultural text we studied in class, Pat Mora’s poem, “I Have Not Signed a Treaty with the US Government” reflects the disruption of the American Indians’ utopia. In the poem, Pat reveals the disruption of her utopia corrupted by the new Western Culture who forced American Indians to move from their utopia. These multicultural texts prove that the new Western culture projected its identities and values on former Western cultures that were already living a utopia. The new Western culture in turn continues to create new utopias in literature while other multicultural texts claim to have already owned utopia. 

When examining Utopian literature for westerners and multicultural people, it is all about finding a better, unified place; however, the intentions of each place are different. The multicultural narratives of Equiano and Chief Seattle prove that utopia is a universal term in that utopia experiences were achieved before the Western culture intruded. Dr. King, Douglass, and Mora reveal the effects of being forced to live in a utopia created by the Western culture in which the multi-cultural people are unable to become a part of. Western utopias usually seek to unify people into a sharing and equal community such as in Looking Backward and Moving the Mountain by Gilman, where everyone is equal in the Western civilization. The multicultural utopias also seek this shared community idea in Western utopia, but they also have a utopia that is an acceptance into the Western culture, which they perceive is already a utopia—as is. Or, multicultural texts seek to return into what was perceived as a utopia before the Westerners interfered. Although the Western and multicultural texts share the utopia term,  these distinctions between their texts illustrate a more complex utopia for the multi-culture as a result of a type of interference from the Western culture. Nevertheless, the multi-culture is not ruled out when studying utopia, the multi-culture proves that utopia is a universal impulse, and the utopia in multi-cultural texts should be shared with, but distinguished from the Western utopias with regards to the complex multi-culture utopia.

B. Focused Topic-B5

Feminism-Utopia: as a Sub-Genre, It Matters

Based on my last research posting over the utopian genre in the works of Charlotte Perkins Gilman, I imagine larger research projects involving the utopia sub-genre of feminism-utopia. In the sub-genre of feminism-utopia, we could study the application of utopia for women.

After reading more of Gilman’s utopian narratives, short stories, and novels, I realized that the majority of her texts had utopian elements. Gilman’s utopian texts that I wrote about in my research posting were Moving the Mountain, Herland, and Ourland. These texts were centered in utopian and/or dystopian worlds and contained all of the elements we studied in class, which allowed entrance into the utopian genre. However, I also included another story of Gilman’s, “The Cottagette,” because I found that the atmosphere description was a utopian community. Although allowed or not allowed into the utopian genre, all four of these texts included utopian elements and topics related to feminism. The females in each of the texts were seeking unity, equality, and peace among all people. I then began thinking of a sub-genre to utopia titled “feminism-utopia” in which the female rights (or lack of) in a utopian world, and what women seek as their utopia are examined. This idea is a result of noticing that even more of Gilman’s works have feminism-utopia qualities.

To extend this new idea, I propose to examine more of Gilman’s texts that have the feminism-utopia elements. For example, a story of Gilman’s, “What Diantha Did” consists of a young woman who proposes her freedom to her father. Instead of remaining in the house to complete the housework that her father feels owed to him for raising her, Diantha proposes she is allowed to leave to begin her own business. Diantha feels she had a right to leave to begin a business in a man’s world because she had paid for things herself over the years that her father could not, and she had also earned far more than her keep. After reviewing the figures that Diantha presents to her father, her father is outraged claiming that Diantha is a “disgrace to the family” (CPG 135). Diantha leaves anyhow to find the utopia she is looking for: living life as a workingwoman to allow herself equality in a male dominated society. After achieving the feminism-utopia, Diantha “gives way to an overmastering burst of feeling,” and she thanks God for her acceptance (CPG 140). 

Feminism-utopia texts that compare to Diantha’s do not rest solely in the hands of Gilman’s works (although Gilman has many), but they appear everywhere and are just as frequent as multi-cultural narratives that we study as utopia or dystopia texts. I believe the narratives of Sojourner Truth, Harriet Jacobs, and The Grimke Sisters also fall under the category of feminism-utopia because all women are in search of equality. These searches of equality are results of inequality from being a person, but even more so for being a woman. An achievement of this feminine equality is evident in the novel studied in class by Gilman, Herland, which portrays a community of women who share equality of “sisterhood” and “motherhood.” In addition to the qualities of the utopia community, I believe this novel is a cry out for equality among women in a Western society.

Feminine equality (or feminism-utopia) can also be examined in utopia texts that would otherwise go unnoticed. When feminism-utopia is examined in Looking Backward, we have a woman, Edith, explaining to Julian the new methods of the equal world where everyone is allowed an equal part of production and a chance at the job of their wishes. In a utopian novel that follows complete equality, such as Looking Backward, I believe feminism-utopia can be discussed as women having achieved an equal status to that of men. If we were to study feminism-utopia in a utopia novel such as Utopia, we would find that women are still not equal and are expected to remain in roles of certain domestic job assignments and are underneath the order of man. Feminism-utopia in the Utopia novel can be studied as women having and unequal utopia as compared to men.

I believe that the multicultural texts of utopian literature that we studied are no different than the feminism texts that I have referred to, for both sub-genres of utopia fall under the Historical objectives. In fact, both sub-genres all portray objective 3f according to structures that utopia exposes or frustrates. The utopia genre is often found as frustrating in multicultural texts and feminism texts. Just as we examine the differenced in the multicultural texts concerning utopia, I believe this can be done with feminism texts. 

In the future, when I discuss or read utopian literature, I will pay attention to the feminism quality of each to examine where women stand in the utopia texts. I believe feminism-utopia matters just as multicultural utopia matters because they each allow us to address more elements of utopia literature that would otherwise be forgotten.