Munira Omari

June 26, 2013

Perfecting Utopia

Before taking this class, I did not know much about utopia or dystopia. I only thought that utopia was perfect place and dystopia was the opposite. As I grew older, my understanding of utopias was mainly through fiction in films and TV shows, as was mentioned in my web highlights and in which were concentrated on objective 3, “they don’t work.” However, through reading and analyzing utopian literary text, I have found their richness and an opened-mindedness towards the different utopias and their potential for actually working.

The main theme I have noted and is exemplified in utopian texts is the idea of community and oneness with one another. I have found that it is something I admired about utopias. The thoughts of caring and sharing things with one another seemed to work for the community living there.  Being able to help one another and be there for each other is an understandable desire. In Islam, Muslims are encouraged to share food and help one another because we have grown to know that we don’t possess the world. Sharing is a sign of unselfishness and empathy. This characteristic is seen in Utopia by Thomas More and it is sought in Ecotopia, although I believe this idea of a sense of community (objective 1).  It has seemed to work in Ecotopia.

However, I am not going to say that Thomas More had the best conventions and ideals about his community. There is always something that will be wrong. It is true that he covered many aspects of human life, such as war, food, labor and money; however, he did not cover the basic part of life, which is individualism, and that is where dystopia comes in. Dystopias are seen as a hell, a life of persecution and ignorance. With that, we see a fall of a utopia and a rise of dystopia or individualism as seen in Ayn Rand’s Anthem. In which Prometheus was living in what the others believed it to be a utopia; whereas he had knowledge and individualism to stand up against it and create his own utopia. In this sense of understanding, I believe that dystopian novels would never exist if utopian novels did not set an appearance for them.

Our everyday lives can be considered a utopia and a dystopia. We cannot have a perfect life; however, we can work hard and learn from our mistakes to never repeat them again or try to manipulate the situation to fit the understandings that were used previously. This is something like history books would give us. However, it is also seen in Ecotopia, where they have used their knowledge from the outside world to fix and perfect their current life, from recycling, commitment and family life; they have all seemed to worked and make them a better community.

What becomes quite interesting is the style of how the author involves the reader in their storyline or the novel. For one, the importance of dialogue and the journey is what attracts all readers. Going into a place where no one has been before and reading about it first hand is something that pulls the reader into the plot. Another thing I seem to have enjoyed about utopian novels is the guide idea. As adults we have learnt many things about life from guides. Our mothers, fathers, family members and friends are all considered guides in our life and give us a safety and that is what made utopian literature convey with this style. After all, it is propaganda and the authors are basically trying to sell successful and unsuccessful utopias. They are trying to show the public which ones work and which don’t.  In a perfectly clear example on that is Atwood’s Oryx and Crake. She provides us with firsthand knowledge of what will happen if we continue to do what we do. Mother Nature was created in a perfect manner; however, here we are pretending to be god. Nothing good ever happens from that.

When I begin to infuse myself in utopian literature, I realize that I have many questions involving the different genres. I have read about utopias that lack advanced technology, such as Anthem and dystopias that are advanced in technology, such as Oryx and Crake.  They have taught me that no matter what time you live, you could be living in a utopia or a dystopia. It is a matter of understanding life. When we began to discuss speculative fiction, I was confused and as I started reading her novel, I became amazed about the conventions that she used in her work.  She used an intruder as a main character and in an unknown place with a corrupt and yet uncorrupted past. The fact that Atwood used speculative fiction just blew my mind. She connected various conventions and genres without going overboard. She has a unique style of using the novel, journey, adventure and escape to fully get the reader involved. She was able to draw a clear line between science fiction and speculative fiction. Snowman’s journey through the forest and remembering his past utopia is a journey of self discovery. He does not have a guide; however, he is the instructor guiding the reader into the rise and fall of his or our world.

My understanding of teaching dystopia to high school students or middle school has changed, from disputing the idea of teaching them to accepting the individuality that students gain from reading it. I am not a high school or middle school teacher and I do not think I will ever be. But what I know is that if students are benefitting from something that will make them better people, then why not. Our world would be a better world if we work hard enough to preserve it. And this is what utopias and dystopia do. They give us an idea, a type of scenario, in which we know what will happen if we follow that path. It is an idea of fictional history that will guide our successors in the future.

The one objective I have had a difficult time understanding is Objective 1d. I could not understand how to view an author. It was something frustrating because some authors were only known for one utopian or dystopian work. However, reading these novels and understanding the author has led me to believe that these authors are more than writers. They are guides and activists, historians and visionaries. They not only try to entertain the reader with fiction and unrealistic goals, they try to educate and enhanced the learning of the futuristic possibility and that is where these novels come in.

The class was somewhat of a challenge for me in the beginning. However, returning to the objectives and trying to identify the conventions in utopian novels helped me understand learn new things. It might be that I cannot express my learning quite well in writing; however, the knowledge I have acquired is becoming a part of my everyday life and I am proud of myself.