LITR 5737: Literary & Historical Utopias
Final Exam Submission 2005

Devon Kitch

LITR 5737 2005 final

Topic 2

            Parable of the Sower plays a major role in our assessment of the Utopian idealistic fantasy because it forces us to measure heaven against hell, or perhaps one hell versus another form of hell.  Parable emits a ray of light enshrouded in darkness; it is both death and rebirth.  It travels through Eden and passes through hell before it can return again. Similarly, Revelation also exudes these horrors of hell that must be endured if one is to return to Eden.  It is in these texts that my sensitivity was assaulted, where the peaceful ideals of Utopia were magnified and the horrors of dystopia were realized.

            The early texts presented in the course were excessively mild when compared to Parable of the Sower and Revelation.  As mentioned in class, the extensive, detached observances are similar to that of travel literature, thus, we never truly feel a part of the characters.  The main characters in both Herland and Ecotopia, comment on how boring the literature seems to be when all expected forms of conflict have been removed.  (I rather enjoyed Herland and Ecotopia and did not find myself wishing for much more plot, except the absence of sexuality in Herland was getting tiresome.) 

With the infusion of Parable and Revelation into our syllabus, the dullness of Utopian life is obliterated.  The dystopian conflicts of Parable push the reader to continue turning the pages, to discover what will become of Lauren.  Even the reader who is sickened by the vivid imagery of severed arms and roasting legs can’t help but continue the story.  Butler’s plot is driven by this extreme violence and utter breakdown of society, two things that are wholly removed from the Utopian literature and historical events we have studied.  However, the characterization also creates a bond between Lauren and the reader, something that was missing from the previous texts.  We enjoy the idea of Utopia, but human nature seems to be set on creating conflict and thriving off its energy.  Parable presents a world that no one would wish to be a part, however, Herland’s peacefulness and serenity would also be considered dull to some.  It seems that Utopia and dystopia both have their place in literature, but we seem to live in a delicate balance between the two.  Too much of either becomes stifling. 

Parable can  be compared to the terrifying accounts of the apocalypse found in Revelation.  The village burns in fire, death is a way of life, and Lauren’s faith in God is collapsing while her faith in earthseed grows.  It seems that Lauren’s journey marks the beginning of the tribulation and the reader feels that the apocalypse must be near.  Since we are introduced to Lauren, know her thoughts, feelings and fears, the apocalypse is brought to life in terms with which we can better relate; whereas, Revelation, like much of the Utopian literature, emits a feeling of distance between the reader and the narrator.  There is a lack of characterization and an obvious plotlessness.  The reader is being spoken to, but is not invited to enter the story, although, due to the horrible visions the story calls to mind, I would rather be an outsider looking in.  Thus, I have come to understand, it is not merely the dystopian/millenial elements of Parable that make it so intriguing.  Rather, it is the combination of a driving plot, near death experiences, and religious/apocalyptic undertones that make the dystopian fiction more interesting than the warning of apocalypse that we see in Revelation. 

            If the Parable/Revelation comparison makes up the dystopian/millenial novel and both Herland and Ecotopia are utopias, then the anarchistic and intentional communes can be compared to dystopia and utopia, respectively.  In Parable, the rules of society, of citizenship, have been forgotten.  Likewise, the anarchistic communes did not survive because they also did not uphold the unspoken and mandated rules of society.  Each person was interested in themselves, with little or no respect for their neighbor.  The Farm and Twin Oaks  intentional communes survive because they follow a certain code of behavior and acceptance.  They strive to make a difference, even if they are the only ones who reap the benefits.  Ironically, like Lauren, they survive because they adapt to the changes around them; they adapt and grow.  Stephen Gaskin, the leader of The Farm, is a prime example of this ability to grow and change.  His movement began as an acid-laced voyage across America, but ended in soul-seeking spirituality through monogamy and childbirth.  Perhaps he could further be compared to Lauren, in the sense that he embarked as one man and collected more than three hundred followers along the way.  If they did not have cars, the group would have walked, men, women, and children, all the way from California to Tennessee.  Haight-Ashbury would then be the burning village, the apocalyptic element he was leaving and the beautiful woods of Tennessee are his Eden, his salvation, just as Acorn becomes Lauren’s.     

Topic 1      

            The most natural way  to discuss Utopia is by comparing its social structures in both fiction and in practice, to similar or opposing elements in our own lives.  Our introduction to Utopian fiction built a view of Utopia that, at times, seems to be enforced by the historical representations we have studied.  We can see elements of Ecotopia, Herland, and Genesis in the communes, The Farm and Twin Oaks where marriage, sex, child-rearing, and the work ethic manage to prevail without external pressures. 

            For some, Utopia is a state of mind, or an active state of “doing what is right”, in their everyday activities.  In Herland, the women banded together and created a utopian environment in order to survive.  They hint at difficulties, but quickly pass them off before the reader has a sense of what the transition from male/female culture to all female culture would have been like.  The commune movements of the 60’s reflected a similar desperation to survive, though the move was by choice and participants wanted to learn to live off the land in order to be more self-sufficient.  In fact, Herland, Genesis, and Ecotopia all have the element of living in harmony with the earth.  The people in them live off the land, using only what they need so as not to be wasteful.  The land is a blessing that can be taken away, as seen when God forced Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. 

            The women of Herland have returned to a sort of Eden.  The land produces plenty of food, the rivers produce plenty of water.  They have to work, but Gilman does not give the impression that their work is extremely difficult.  Like Adam and Eve, they live in innocence, the land is theirs to have dominion over, and they tend to it well. With the setting of Eden as a backdrop, the characters of Herland and Ecotopia do not have to toil.  The Ecotopians have the same love for their natural surroundings, but the image of Eden is broken by the book’s modern setting.  Ironically, though Herland and Ecotopia have elements that remind the reader of Genesis, both countries are seemingly indifferent to God.  They do not believe in the God of Christianity, but instead hold a reverence for all that is natural.  Another important distinction lies in the fact that Adam and Eve took for granted all that was given to them, whereas the women of Herland and the people of Ecotopia seem thankful for what they have. 

            This attitude of anti-materialism flows into the real world utopias, where hippies wore little to no clothing, or whatever they could find.  The picture called “Eden” in my presentation is a reflection of this anti-materialism, but also of their desire “to get back to the land”.  In their nakedness, they are one with nature. They seemed to adopt a very Emersonian view of nature, perhaps sometimes bordering on worship.   Ecotopia runs with the idea of tree worshipping as they say a prayer before the tree is to be cut down.  I still find it ironic that so many texts have Eden-like settings, but do not acknowledge God.  The authors seem to imply that the only way to reach an Eden is to reject God altogether.  Even The Farm did not worship God, but created their own sense of spirituality.

            Along with being cold toward God, the Utopian novels/cultures sometimes seem cold toward the idea of a family unit.  The entire group is a family, but the traditional nuclear family is lost.  Herland’s children were only raised by a group of highly respected women, while their mothers merely visited.  Ecotopia presents the nuclear family in an expanded version that opens up to outsiders with similar interests.  Children become adults who, in turn, become part of these little support groups bound together by their similarities.  The idea is intriguing and almost exciting, to be surrounded by people with whom you could discuss your common interests.  None of my friends have a clue about anything in literature, making it difficult to discuss.  In Ecotopia, the tree people mix with other tree people, but one is always welcome to switch groups.  

            Utopia’s try to create a major societal change, but perhaps these changes are not necessary.  Perhaps we can have a Utopia where the nuclear family lives together, but regularly associates with neighbors in formal and informal settings.  Perhaps the idea of major social reform is outdated.  Callenbach’s views seemed the most modern, though they definitely came up lacking in some aspects, but we mustn’t disregard him entirely.  Perhaps the hippies that were taunted for their desire to “get back to the land” really knew what they were talking about.  Callenbach was of this era, he wrote with a new vision of Utopia, one in which the nuclear family could still exist, where people were open to one another, where mankind lived in harmony with nature rather than robbing her of her resources. 

            Utopia forces us to ponder the family unit, the preservation of earth, and the importance of meaningful relationships.  Like the people in Ecotopia, we do not always have to agree,  Eden does not always have to be a sacred place, and Utopia may be lurking in our own backyard.  Once again, this brings me to the underlying subject matter of my midterm.  Utopia is a state of mind.  It is made of many “I’s” but flourishes under “we”.  The “we” must not be restrictive, but must encourage cooperation and commitment to the future.   Ecotopia and Herland are the new Eden, with real-life success stories in the small, but ever-trying Dancing Rabbit and The Farm.