LITR 5439 Literary & Historical Utopias
Midterm Submission 2009
Felicia Byrd
The Value of Utopian and Dystopian Literature
The traditional definition of utopia is either “no place” or “good place.” The contradiction itself shows the complexity of defining a word, so defining the ideal will be will be just as difficult.
While most use the term utopia for ideal place, it could be used with a much broader application: utopia is a synonym for any ideal. As a society, we are constantly looking for utopian people and values. Why? Because we know that there must be something better in our world. It is our motivation to have a better life, which for our country began with Thomas Jefferson and the constructors of the Declaration of Independence. Leaders are voted for because of the belief that they can make our county, city, state and nation a better place. We don’t vote for them to leave our life the way it is; we seek change whether we are cognizant or not.
The difficulty of definitions is that there are no absolutes. There is no pure example of a utopia; perhaps, it is because perfection is unobtainable. Depending on belief, there was one perfect man on this Earth, and we are to try to follow His footsteps. Some members of society trust their faith, and others do not believe that this world can ever be perfect, so to read of a Utopian society is like reading a sci-fi or fantasy novel – it can never happen. What is interesting is that many technological innovations imagined in sci-fi and fantasy have come to be. Yet, we cannot imagine our world to be a good place. Even though Jefferson wrote: Americans were entitled to have “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” we as a nation have realized that there is a sacrifice in order to have that Utopian country, and traditionally, many are not willing to sacrifice individual freedoms for the good of the nation. As a result, attitudes towards utopian texts have traditionally been negative.
The purpose for reading and teaching utopian and dystopian texts should be for understanding. Whether is it understanding something about ourselves or the art of writing. When addressing the art of writing, sure literary devices are there and can be taught, but the art of argument and the art of persuasion are also there waiting to be discussed. The craft of writing can be lost if it is not taught; there is a method of construction that needs to be taught, so that present and future writers can emulate or improve. By understanding the construction of utopian/dystopian literature, elements can be discussed and used. The art of argument is all but lost today. Persuasion takes place between characters, but it also takes place between the writer and the reader.
Using utopian and dystopian texts can add insight into our world. The patterns in texts are useful in understanding motive. Cross-text analyses are equally important. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” has been a useful text as it too deals with a utopian ideal – that the truth can be realized and shared with others. In comparing the allegory to the texts in class, it can be discovered that before an appreciation for the truth can be realized at least one character must have a limited perspective. This is true in all four texts. In Utopia, Sir Thomas More has a limited perspective; in Looking Backward, Julian West; in Herland, the three male travelers’ as well as the women of Herland; and, in Anthem, it is Equality that has a limited perspective.
Another comparison of the texts yields that all of these protagonists with their limited perspective have a helper. In the allegory, the helper is a guard. In Utopia, it is Raphael Hytholday; in Looking Backward, it is Dr. Leete; in Herland, it is the female mentors; in Anthem, it is Liberty. These characters directly or indirectly aid the protagonist into understanding their place in the world. Each of these characters are faced with an internal conflict that makes them choose the comfort of what they know or venture out for a new opportunity. Depending on the author’s motive is the direction the character chooses. Thomas More character is static; he listens to the story and thinks for a moment it can be true. However, he decides while Utopia must be a fantastic place that he must save the rest of his questions for Hytholday for another time. Therefore, his character is not ready to leave the cave nor is he ready to sacrifice to journey to Utopia to experience it for himself. Julian West is the polar opposite of More; he wants to stay in the future and embrace the changes in the “new and improved” world and is appreciative for the information that Dr. Leete provides. The male adventurers in Herland have mentors that teach them the ways of the new land, and they in turn teach the women of their ways. Vandyck and Jeff accept the ways of the women while Terry cannot. The women are slightly more balanced as they look for ways to use the information the men provide into their society. Even though Equality learns in isolation, it is Liberty who ultimately helps him to escape the world of conformity. For all of these characters, a sacrifice must take place to send the reader a message. Whether the message is conformity is good because it betters our world, such as in Utopia, Looking Backward, and Herland, or conformity is not good and individual rights must be maintained as in Anthem; the author wants the reader to contemplate what it is he or she wants.
Also, in all texts, there are extreme situations presented. While the extreme can be a distraction on the surface, reflection proves this to be necessary. The extreme gets our attention. People living on an island, such as in The Lord of the Flies or Utopia; while how these people arrived in their situation can seem a bit farfetched, the circumstances in which they exist is what causes a controversy. Through the controversy, we talk. By discussing what we read, we can begin to understand the point. The purpose for utopian and dystopian texts is to promote a discussion of how we live and the choices we make in this life. All of these texts caused a stir in their time period. While some texts prompted other writers to create continuations and refutations, many of the texts inspired other writers to draw attention to social issues of their time. In 1921, Yevgeny Zamyatin wrote We, which is thought to have inspired two dystopian novels: George Orwell’s 1984 (written in 1948) and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World (written in 1932). As written in The Boston Globe:
Written a decade before Aldous Huxley's ``Brave New World," its influence can be seen in George Orwell's ``1984," and it has been hailed as a warning of the totalitarian dangers inherent in every utopian scheme. (Orwell, who believed Huxley had read ``We," wrote in 1946, three years before ``1984" was published, that Zamyatin's ``intuitive grasp of the irrational side of totalitarianism-human sacrifice, cruelty as an end in itself" made the novel ``superior to Huxley's.") (Glenn, July 2006).
While the timeline of Ayn Rand’s life does not show that she read this work. It is quite possible since she was still living in the USSR when We was written, or perhaps, it is just a concidence that Zamyatin’s characters are named in a similar manner. Zamyatin’s main character is named D-503, and Rand’s main character is Equality 7-2521. As suggested in class, the name and number could be a reference to the procedures from the Jewish Concentration Camps. However, that appears to be unlikely while the first concentration camp was completed in March of 1933, Rand was living in the US. Communications in the 1930s is not as it is now. Anthem was published in England in 1938 prior to the US involvement of WWII; besides, it is also during 1937 and 1938 when the Nazi’s begin moving large numbers of the Jewish people into the concentration camps, and it is not until 1944 when the Soviets first discover one of the camps (Chen). It seems more likely that Rand came across Zamyatin’s work to inspire her. The point remains that each of these writers desired to gain attention towards a social issue. These novels are worth teaching.
Think about a small child; parents constantly tell the child “No, don’t run with scissors” or “Don’t put that in your mouth.” But, the sad, unfortunate truth is that most children must learn through experience. I know my son did; I told him not to eat anything he found in the yard, but he knew better and took a bite of a wild mushroom. Fortunately, it was only a bite so his mouth burned, but the lesson was learned. The reality is that even as adults we do not learn or truly understand the complexity of a problem without pain or suffering. We have to be shocked into understanding. To go back to the allegory, the freed prisoner is pulled and dragged from the cave – it is painful. As if that pain was not enough, he has to contend with the pain of not using his legs and the sun is blinding him. It is not until the pain and suffering are over that he understands that the sun is the true source of all he sees. Similarly, Equality must understand that his society does not have a place for his knowledge or invention. He must break free (pain) and journey (suffering) through the woods in order to understand his circumstances. When his pain and suffering are over, Equality like the freed prisoner is able to see his truth that there is more to life than conformity. Interestingly not only are these lessons learned with helper, in extreme situations, and contain a social issue, but utopian and dystopian texts occur in isolation.
The locations of utopian and dystopian texts involve isolation. The isolation, interestingly, is not always geographic – an island or an out of reach valley – but a psychological isolation. Utopia, Herland, and Anthem all have settings that are physically isolated from others, but Looking Backward is more of a psychological isolation. Another interesting observation is that in all the texts there is some part of the setting that takes the protagonist below the ground which is where the prisoner in the allegory is kept until forced to change realities. In the cave, he masters the knowledge of shadows (false realities); the journey out of the cave (pain and suffering); the knowledge outside the cave (world of light and source of shadows). While it is a bit of a stretch, Utopia has characters that must dig trenches to create the island. A detail that is overlooked is the fact that the men must go below the surface level of the land. By penetrating the surface, these men are going into a “cave” and coming back out to establish their new society. Some of the men may parish in the process, but many had to have survived or else the society could not have continued. Herland has the men travel over a mountain and below to a valley. Their pain and suffering while not as harsh as the prisoner is still a shock to them. The knowledge that Vandyke and Jeff acquire are similar to the experiences of the freed prisoner. In Anthem, Equality is in an underground tunnel in his quest for knowledge. Rand seems to juxtapose the allegory by having Equality learn in darkness; however, by the end of the novella, Equality has become Prometheus, the source of light to the society that he will begin. Knowledge is significant to these utopian/dystopian texts. The saying “Knowledge is power” seems trite, but it is true.
The knowledge gained from the “Allegory of the Cave” is to define reality and perception by looking past the shadows (one person’s perception) and find the true source of knowledge. Each of the four texts read have this idea as well. Hytholday has knowledge of Utopia; he desires to share what he has learned to others (More), so that they know that there is a better way to live. Dr. Leete knows that his society is better than the one Julian is from and shares that knowledge with him. Julian agrees. In questioning the men, the women of Herland teach Vandyke and Jeff that the ways of Herland are better than those the men left. Terry rejects the knowledge and ways of Herland. And, Equality’s knowledge while he learned on his own he tries to share it with his community and is rejected.
Utopian and dystopian texts have a place within
our culture. They should be read, discussed, and analyzed. When reading these
novels and reflecting on our country’s forefathers, there is a sacrifice to be
made if we truly want happiness. The decision that needs to be made is how much
each individual is willing to sacrifice for the betterment of society? Does
that sacrifice really have to be made? Does everyone have to sacrifice for the
entire society? Does everyone in the society truly have to experience
happiness? Well, that one we know the answer to…“the pursuit of happiness.”
Therefore, as long as the opportunity is available for happiness, we are living
in a utopian nation. Would we know that if we didn’t read these works?
Outside resources:
Chen, C. Peter. “Discovery of the Concentration Camps and the Holocaust.” World War II Database.
http://ww2db.com/battle_spec.php?battle_id=136
Glenn, Joshua. “In a perfect world.” The Boston Globe. July 23, 2006. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2006/07/23/in_a_perfect_world/
The Ayn Rand Institute. Biographical Timeline.
http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_timeline