LITR 5737: Literary & Historical Utopias
Final Exam Submission 2007
Tish Wallace
July 1, 2007
Utopian Literature within a Public School System
Topic B3b
Replacing our standard assigned texts in the dystopian tradition with utopian texts brings about problems and rewards within the classroom. Often students question the curricula because they do not understand how what they are learning could be applied to their life. Some students find it difficult to grasp concepts taught in subject areas because they simply can not form a connection to the material. The students’ school and living environments determine the quality and quantity of the learning experience. Thus, these environments directly influence students’ education. Teaching practices should be directed towards meeting student needs. One way to do this is to include texts in the curricula students may identify with thereby bridging the gap between home and school. One such text is utopian literature. Utopian texts are about people who are not satisfied with the imperfections of the world; and, subsequently, have a desire to create their own community to meet their ideas of perfection. Today, students are concerned with how school rules, politics and laws, freedom and equality, privileges, peers, sex, drugs, drinking, caretaking, neglect, isolation, etcetera affect their lives. Whenever students meet with resistance in the world they often say, “If it were up to me…” Students want to be able to be a part of the decision-making process so that they may ensure that their needs are met as well. Reading a utopian text allows students to be able to see what others, who have similar feelings, have done in order to address issues of perceived imperfections.
Utopian communities are centered on the ideal of working together to reach a shared goal. By reading this type of text students would learn the advantages of working cooperatively with one another instead of self-centeredness and the ideology that the world revolves around self. They will witness the pride community members have in their work and the care put in producing valuable and essential goods for the betterment of the community. Some students do not understand their responsibility within society. Nor do they hold an appreciation for contributions by their peers and others. In a utopian text, there’s no need for competition (sometimes brought on by this lack of appreciation or lack of concern). Everyone within the community uses their talents/skills for the betterment of the community not self, eliminating the potential for problems due to selfish desires.
Doing a close read of Bellamy’s Looking Backward, the description of servants’ role in the industrial army allows students to see that job titles do not matter. What’s important is dedication to the community and commitment to uphold the principles that allow the community to continue to progress. If everyone did not play their part then progress will be hindered. Ecotopia is a good example of this. Just think about it. If one of the citizens within this community decides to throw their plastic inside the recycle bins for paper it would slow down the recycling process. Or if a large group of people decide not to wear clothing or use products that can be broken down and reused to begin the food production process or bring an automobile within the community it would cause damage to the ecosystem. Consistent small problems become big problems as evidenced by the increase in pollution in our world. Upon completion of this text students realize it took the community working together for it to be successful.
Other rewards that might contribute to utopian literature’s success within the public school curricula include ideals for socialization, education, and sameness. In most utopian texts, everyone within the utopian community takes part in the preparation of the food and eats together. In Donny Wankan’s presentation over the Rainbow Gathering participants would go to the site where the food was being prepared and offer their help which could be anywhere from cutting onions to cooking the food. This practice encourages interaction within the family and the community and is a fresh break from current traditions in our society. Students today, eat at separate times or separate locations from the adults. Parents are either working, resting/sleeping, or away from the home. Or parents are attending school and using the time to study. In this case work not only becomes a means for survival, but also a means to obtain an education.
For the most part, in a utopian community, education is free and is an equal opportunity field. Community members have a right to education and may enter into fields without encountering obstacles because of gender or financial status. There is no waste in knowledge. Because there is no fee for acquiring higher learning, members do not have to concern themselves with taking extra courses that are solely for the purpose of funding the institution they are attending. Most utopian communities provide an educational experience that is concentrated on the specific trade/skill members want to learn or refine. This looks similar to our trade schools. Herland supported this theory. Children were encouraged to explore their environment learning everything they needed to know, mostly about agriculture, in order to survive. One of the children came across a moth that the community thought they had exterminated; the child went to an elder and inquired about the moth and her and the other children were given a brief lesson on the moth and encouraged to exterminate it because it was known to destroy some of their crops. Though the community was isolated from the rest of the world they had acquired knowledge necessary to educate them selves.
Isolation of utopian communities is like segregation. Since everyone is generally treated the same isolation is beneficial. The community does not have to deal with acts of discrimination; instead there’s a sense of intra-culture sensitivity, compassion for those within the utopian community. Isolation/segregation usually implies a society that is uniculture. A lack of distinction may exist among the culture because of the melting pot theory, or in their case, sameness. But segregation has its drawbacks. Uniculture or segregated communities usually hold the belief that they are better than the rest of the world. This may build some resentment within the populace towards those who are not a part of the community. Students can read between the lines. Every time Terry and the other guys in Herland tried to prove that their world was better than Herland their guides kindly explained to them, in a condescending manner, why their ways were better or they found faults in the guys’ arguments. This might encourage students to foster anti-culture or anti-racist attitudes: discrimination, bias, degradation. In some cases, it could incite or lead to acts of violence (slavery) or the finding of political organizations (Black Panthers, KKK) in order to address concerns or prejudices held by the community.
Utopian texts sponsor more free-will activities which could also be detrimental to impressionable students. The free-love practice within the utopian community would not be accepted by the general population of our world. Laws exist to deter this type of practice when it comes to marriage, the age of consenting sexual partners, etcetera. However, the media indirectly supports ideals that go against these laws. Television programs, commercials, songs/raps, movies all include sexually explicit images/lyrics that promote promiscuity, homosexuality, violence, hustling, unemployment, abuse, and the list goes on. Reading about communities that actually allow these forbidden practices that teenagers are exposed to without meeting resistance could have a negative impact on students. The old adage “adding fuel to the fire” applies here.
Naturally, the public school system hesitates when deciding on texts that go against American tradition. But as our world progresses so must we. Students need texts that they can relate to; texts that show the rewards and consequences of their actions; texts that allow them to think critically thereby expanding their knowledge. This includes keeping up with the fuel of the media even when we’d rather put the fire out. Even dystopian texts written in the past contained a seed that went against the grain.
Reflection of Multiculturalism in Utopian Literature
Topic A2
If all utopian texts follow the tradition of the texts that we have read this semester than addressing multiculturalism seems to be a problem authors have not either been willing to deal with or have limited experience in dealing with.
Presentation of Multiculturalism
The majority of the texts we have studied refer to utopian communities that are Anglo or of Aryan stock. There’s a possible allusion to African-Americans in Herland. Based on class discussion, some students think the slaves mentioned in the text are African-American. If this is true, then the only time multiculturalism is addressed is during the story to explain Herland’s unique history. On the other hand, if these slaves were Aryans then the text does not address multiculturalism at all. For the moment, let’s assume these slaves were African-American. The slaves were a part of the war and revolts that ensued after the secession of Herland (due to the erection of land mass), and they were killed by the women in the community. Does this execution mean that the author’s idea of a perfect community was one that included only Aryans? Callenbach decides to keep the old beliefs of segregation and relocation when incorporating multiculturalism in his novel, Ecotopia. African-Americans were mentioned in association with the problems that occurred in the city. They were presented as citizens who were barbaric and primarily unsuccessful and unproductive. These seemed to be the only citizens who had the highest crime rates, imprisonment, and drug/alcohol abuse. There was even a scheme to relocate this population to the outskirts of the city. The narrator points out that the “most disheartening development in Ecotopia” was the “admission that races could not live in harmony.” I wonder which view is Callenbachs’, the narrators or the community of Ecotopia?
It seems that the Ecotopia’s view is held even in realistic dystopian accounts written by African-Americans. African-Americans were segregated within communities, schools, and public places/transportation. It was commonly believed that African-Americans were inferior and should be treated as such. Their experiences were recorded in biographies and autobiographies (slave narratives) such as Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl or Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass and in speeches such as Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream or Chief Seattle’s1854 Oration. These texts did a better job of presenting a multicultural approach (mirroring African-American life as compared to Anglo-Saxons providing the reader with insight on both cultures) than their counterparts, yet the texts are not classified as utopian literature though it shares some of its qualities. African-American characters identify a dream of equality, both socially and politically, respect and integration, a hope for a better world, to be treated as human beings and not animals or property. These dreams are set against a backdrop of dystopian ideals such as racism, discrimination, and degradation which caused slaves to seek the north (with the north being synonymous to heaven) to obtain freedom. This is ironic because this search leads to freedom from slavery but not racism, discrimination, and degradation. Unfortunately, events discussed in these dystopian texts support the ideas stated in the utopian literature examples above of non-Anglo Saxons as a slave race, criminals, who will eventually be executed and/or relocated.
Speculation of Presentation of Multiculturalism
I understand that utopian novels have to fit a lot of material within a short amount of space so multiculturalism isn’t usually dealt with at least extensively. Authors want to focus instead on the core of communal living which often leads to the introduction of other studies such as ecology, sociology, and religion. Descriptions of millennialism, freedom of expression, male domination, education, and family dominate the texts. This leaves no room for an adequate introduction to multiculturalism. However, texts may still address this issue by alluding to a utopian community that houses people from various ethnic and religious backgrounds. This could be said in three to five sentences depending on what the author deems important to report. Would that be enough though? This approach would at least allow for a more positive note on multiculturalism but it would be limited to that respect: a note. This would perhaps leave room for more criticism because of the author’s choice to touch on the topic.
Would it matter that the author briefly introduced multiculturalism since the utopian idea is sameness? It could be argued that with sameness you would no longer need terms that distinguish ethnicities. It would then be acceptable to coin a term that eliminates this barrier and refers to the population as if they were all one race. It appears that Lois Lowry attempts to deal with this issue in her utopian novel, The Giver. Lois Lowry introduces genetics in her utopian ideal. Characters in this novel do not see color. This is effective because if one can not see color then one can not use ethnicity as a basis for inequality. In other words, ethnic backgrounds would not be a potential for problems because everyone is the same. Yet, after reading further into the novel, one has to wonder if this trick in genetics is to serve other purposes? A literary device, perhaps, to just make the read more interesting? When one of the characters does begin to see colors it is the red color of a peer’s hair. African-Americans do not have red hair. So, are there any other cultures in this novel? During a dream, the text mentions people who had darker skin. Readers can infer that the character is white because he focuses on this difference and seems to be in awe of the difference as well as the environment. Where in his dream did he see this darker people? In a jungle along with images of war. Again, non-Anglos are described in association with war and presented as savage-like.
Possibilities for Expression of Multiculturalism
Can multiculturalism be effectively represented within a utopian text? It would be difficult, but I believe it can be done. Authors could allude to aspects of various cultures when describing homes, foods, beliefs, etc. which paint an image of multiculturalism. In order to keep with the tradition of the utopian ideal authors could have people with different ethnic backgrounds living in the inner city, suburbs, and countries. This could be achieved by lowering the costs of living so that everyone has an opportunity to purchase a home wherever they like. Education could be free or affordable lifting the unwritten restrictions placed on minorities who do not seek further education because of affordability. The rate of pay for jobs/careers could be based on job requirements not ethnicity, gender, or degree. Entertainment and other hobbies that appeal to various ethnic backgrounds could be placed within a reasonable distance of neighborhoods. This might prove to be difficult since every culture realistically can not be represented. However, if my memory serves me correctly, I remember reading a book, 21 Balloons, where the characters on the island built restaurants that represented the different cultures of the island. Citizens were encouraged to eat at each restaurant by those who governed the community. This was done through the creation of a schedule citizens followed. So, it is possible to address at least 50% of the population needs.
Authors could have characters from both the minority and majority populations narrate the story much like contemporary texts of today. This brings the minority point of view to the forefront. Or authors could allow people from both populations to be the major characters. This too could be a potential problem because the author then has to decide which minority group(s) he or she wants to represent. Readers from minority groups not represented may feel excluded and thus begins the cycle of criticism. Either way, the introduction of more than one character allows the utopian text to extend beyond its boundaries. With characters comes dialogue. Authors thus should not limit the presentation of the story to didacticism and allow the story to develop. Taking the narrative approach usually offers a little more freedom. Another way this could be handled is for the author to present sequels or series to the multicultural utopian text by focusing one novel on the point of view of one culture and the following text on another culture and any other subsequent texts on other cultures. Authors would have to remain true in equal treatment in care of presentation and representation of events while writing. This could be an extensive work because of all of the detail involved. Thus it could prove to be more of a problem.
Final Thoughts
So is it worth it? It is not feasible to assume that a text could adequately represent multiculturalism because of the vastness of cultures in the U.S. However, a medium has to be found. Let’s face it; we can not please everyone. Criticisms reflect this. In a nation where equality and freedom are what we stand for, where various cultures reside (thus the reference to America as a tossed salad) multiculturalism has to be addressed. But it has to be addressed on a positive note. If we are going to write a novel about perfect Anglos we must include in this description perfect non-Anglos.