Jacob McCleese

No Place is a Good Place

            Utopia is a very unique word. In one sense a utopia is a purely fictional world separated from dominant culture, with a society purified of all cultural defects. Yet the word utopia has a meaning extending far beyond fiction. Real world applications of utopian dictums can be seen in cultures as old as the Greeks and as modern as Twin Oaks. The ambiguity of its definition, gives utopias the ability stretch its limits beyond that of normal fiction.

            The word “utopia” generally means “no place” or “good place.” A rather curious definition coined by Thomas More, it welcomed various expressions of utopian cultures to be created over time. However as much of the literature discussed in this class exemplifies, a utopia that meets the needs of everyone is impossible to create. For example, Herland is an isolated civilization, located in a mountain pass, and populated by women. This civilization is “no place” because one cannot literally travel to Herland, but the novel also presents it as a “good place.” Herland is the fictional unity of both definitions for utopia, a trend that extends to most fictional treatments of this word.

 The same is true of most historical utopias. The Europeans stumbled upon America, and set it up as a haven for religious freedom, financial prosperity, and a natural amalgamation of cultures. The sad reality is that this utopic vision cannot apply to all members of American society. As a capitalist and free market economy, America struggles to uphold the utopian vision for which it was founded (Obj. 3b). Historically, capitalism appears to be anti-utopian but not in the critical sense that dystopias are. By this I mean that capitalist societies are driven by individuals striving to climb to the top of the social ladder without regard for communal well-being. This is the opposite purpose of utopian communities. All utopian communities, fictional or actual, function as a unit with community prosperity as the motivating force. This raises some very difficult questions about the practicality of studying utopias. What’s the point? Why spend so much time studying a system that only seems to work on paper? If America and many societies around the world are capitalistic, then doesn’t that make the ideas of utopias obsolete?

This is the general dismissal that utopian studies receive (Obj. 3). Admittedly, I had the same opinion at the beginning of this semester; I did not understand the value of studying literary utopias. However, through further examination, I realized that utopian studies had value in fields beyond literary analysis (Obj. 4).

I’ve already given some support for the historical credence of utopian studies but a little more can’t hurt. Most Utopian authors create their fictional worlds based on imperfections they observe in their own communities. This may explain why some literary choices seem dated to modern audiences. Callenbach’s creation of “Soul City” seems like an unnecessary addition to his novel Ecotopia, but when viewed from his cultural vantage point, the addition becomes more than necessary. Soul City is a fictional city within a city. It is Ecotopia’s black district, where black people voluntarily segregate themselves from the rest of the populace. This appears unnecessary, possibly even a little insensitive to the modern reader. However, Callenbach’s creation of Soul City becomes necessary when analyzed by the historical culture of the early 70s.

The early 70s marked the genesis of Black Nationalism. Many black intellectuals encouraged the voluntary relocation of black Americans to Africa, the motherland. There are several reasons for this, but the main purpose was to end racial tension, something that doesn’t have a place in any utopia. Callenbach was more than aware of the shifting cultural tide within 70s American society (Obj. 3c). Soul City is a reflection of his attempt as an author to move with the tide. Looking back, Black Nationalism would not have worked for a litany of reasons but Callenbach obviously would not have known that.

Utopian authors also espouse ideas for sociological improvement. This is one of the most obvious interdisciplinary uses for utopian fiction (Obj. 4a). Sociology is the study of the origin, development, and organization of human development, and the typical structure of utopian fiction suits this field perfectly. Utopian fiction is often structured like a tour guide, but in this kind of tour questions are posed by the guide and guided. For example, Gillman’s Herland takes three men and places them in unfamiliar territory. Immediately upon their arrival, the three men are engaged in a social study that occupies a large portion of the novel. Van, the narrator, writes, “We explained as best we might. We talked of social duties…All the time we knew that…limitations of a wholly personal life were inconceivable” (9.23). The women of Herland are intensely interested in the culture of these newly arrived strangers and for the most part, the men are equally interested in the culture of Herland. Each side benefits from the question and answer format of this novel. Gilman’s novel demonstrates how both parties in a social exchange benefit from the give and take format of utopian fiction.

Perhaps the most unexpected field of study that utopian conventions apply to is psychology. I was pleasantly surprised by the introduction of B. F. Skinner’s Walden Two into the assigned readings. Skinner is best known for founding the psychological school of Behaviorism. Proponents of this psychological practice believe that an individual’s psychological state is tied to the observable, physical behavior. So teaching someone to behave a certain way has a direct effect on his or her emotional or psychological state.

In chapter 13 of Walden Two, Frazier and Burris are discussing the need to regulate the emotions of Walden Two’s populace. Burris states, “When a particular emotion is no longer a useful part of the behavioral repertoire, we proceed to eliminate it” (13). Here we see a synthesis of psychological conditioning applied to an entire utopian community. It’s easy to view this practice as brain washing, but Skinner’s methods have more to do with shaping behavior and observing physical responses, than with controlling brain activity. Shaping observable behavior can be seen in all of the utopian novels discussed in this class, it is another common theme in utopian fiction. Controlling the populaces behavior would eliminate crime, reduce unwanted behavior, and provide a community with a general sense of uniformity. Which is exactly what utopian communities want. I definitely want to give Walden Two a closer examination after this class.

There are several areas of research that I want to continue for my final and possibly after this course. The psychological aspect of utopian fiction is something that I did not consider before this course, but it is definitely part of what has sustained my interest in the subject. Although I didn’t discuss it much here, Rand’s objectivism definitely deserves further attention. Her philosophical assertions sparked a generation of dystopian authors, and anyone with that much influence warrants a closer look. My recalcitrant attitude toward utopian fiction has definitely shifted and hopefully my analysis of this genre will continue to develop into something worthwhile.