Joseph Bernard

28 June 2015

Part 1: Delving into the archives of history

          Belonging to a category of people who intently analyze literature for intellectual merit, I find that one of the more fulfilling exercises that one can partake of is the act of reflection. In order to understand the powerful development of a character or how an author employs a particular motif throughout a work requires reflection upon past reading. Similarly, one can glean a bevy of knowledge from analyzing work written by other esteemed peers. Through an analysis of three mid-terms, one can comprehend the power of honesty in writing, how structure influences the flow and tone of an academic assignment and the benefits of appealing to a broader audience.

          Beginning with Jacob McCleese’s essay entitled “No Place is a Good Place”, one can gather from his style that he employs honesty as a powerful way to convey his message. His argument centers around the notion that the “ambiguity” of the word utopia gives the word an “ability [to] stretch its limits beyond that of normal fiction.” This focus on ambiguity leads to the author asking piercing questions that the reader may have asked themselves before entering the course(“What’s the point? Why spend so much time studying a system that only seems to work on paper?”) These questions coupled with his full-on disclosure that he “had the same opinion the beginning of this semester; [he] did not understand the value of studying literary utopias” gives the reader insight into Jacob’s reservations about the topic; even better, this approach has the potential to strike a chord with those who are taking the course themselves. They can relate to someone else who struggled, who grappled with the concepts presented. This honesty continues in the next sentence: “I realized that utopian studies had value…” Now Jacob’s honesty gives the reader hope that they too can gain insight and knowledge like their predecessor, that they can succeed in wrangling their own preconceived notions and learn powerfully.

          Amy Sasser’s assignment written in 2013 allows analysts to understand how structure and tone can influence the reading of an academic endeavor. While the literary community strives to formulate their essays in academic language and sound logic, the structure can be accused at being dry and uninviting to anyone else other than a literary scholar. This is where Amy’s structure enters into the picture as a refreshing change of pace. Her decision to structure her mid-term like journal entries is reminiscent of novels such as Ecotopia and Anthem that seek to help readers understand character development by allowing audiences inside the minds of the narrators. In this sense Amy provides an enjoyable narrative in which the reader can be absorbed by the structure. Instead of “I was hesitant to analyze the significance of utopias before in my intellectual journeys”, she provides a confessional: “It’s crazy to be a literature major and have almost everyone you talk to seem more well-read than you. I don’t know if I’ve ever read a utopian novel. . . .” This personable style and form engages the mind and asks us as the audience to follow her along her journey rather than sit through a lecture.

          Michael Luna’s “The Ever-Evolving Utopian Novel” attempts to reach out to other audiences, which can help bridge the gap between literary study and relevance to the general populace. Michael writes in his first essay: “I found myself drifting off due to the constant barrage of information…The best solution around this portion of utopian literature is to look at the bigger picture.” If one were to pick up a utopian text, more than likely one of the first reactions would be very similar to Michael’s(and he studies literature!). Why bother reading this litany of words when I can just as easily go to youtube and watch a distilled version of all this rubbish? His answer is simple: don’t get caught up in the minutia and attempt to see what the author is attempting to accomplish. I believe that with this exhortation, Michael tries to inform his audience that while authors can do things are strange and uninviting, there are larger messages in the works that can apply to any and all people.

          Reflecting on these assignments is a rather pleasant exercise, seeing as it can shed light on things that I can work as a writer. Jacob’s honesty is energizing and “hooks” the reader into his writing. Amy’s structure allows for a different kind of reading experience that is accessible and friendly. Michael’s approach allows for those who may not want to read a utopian text to reconsider. All of their work serve as a fantastic example for those who continue to pursue the study of literature.

Part 2: Navigating with the Utopian compass

          Possessing little foreknowledge on the subject of utopias, I entered this course with the disposition that we would be traversing through what I felt was the stereotypical notion of utopia. Every need would be met, crime would be a thing of the past and all those within the utopia would exude the positivity that humans so desperately crave. However, my notion of what utopia actually “is” shifted drastically to a much more enlightened understanding through the analysis of texts read in class and riveting discussion. By analyzing the works of Rand, Gilman, More and Callenbach, the definition of utopia is laid out along with what defines the genre and how the concept of utopia can carry forward into other fields.

          So then, what exactly is a utopia? As foreshadowed in the opening paragraph through my personal example, the definition of what a utopia is can vary from person to person. One may claim that a utopia features very paradise-like elements with crystal clear waters flowing through verdant landscapes and kingdoms composed of precious metals that gleam in the sunlight (Revelation 20,21, Eze 40-48). Another envisions total freedom from oppression, a place where one could truly be “themselves” rather than be chained to an overarching societal philosophy such as Rand’s Prometheus: “My home will become…a world where each man will be free to exist for his own sake.”(12.23) Dramatic examples in history such as Mao’s “Glorious Revolution” or Hitler’s vision for a new Germany were utopias in the minds of those men, albeit Western Civilization(for extremely good reason) have rejected such ideas. While the definition of utopia can be subjective, there are two common elements that run through any utopian ideal that can serve as a rough outline for what utopia means.

          One such element is that of a shared goal for the improvement of society. That “improvement plan” can take a number of forms, such as the focus on sustainability and harmonious living with nature in Ecotopia or the gender equalizing community that Gilman focuses on in Herland. There is a sense of continual progress in a utopia, a desire for all those within the utopia to take on the burden of reshaping their surroundings into an appealing place to exist. This of course implies that previous living conditions were not acceptable nor conducive for the proper functioning of man. Without the nightmares of what it was like to live in the “old times”, there would be no drive or purpose to continue with the goal of progressive improvement. A small example of progressiveness to leave behind the “old ways” occurs within the first twenty pages of Ecotopia: “ ‘Our system is considerably cheaper than yours…Many of your costs are ignored, or passed on through subterfuge. We on the other hand must acknowledge all costs. Otherwise we could not hope to achieve the . . . life . . . which [is] our fundamental ecological and political goal.’” (Callenbach 19) Discussing the “stable-state” concept with the assistant food minister, Will is treated to the contrast that partly defines what a utopia is. The food minister points to their efficient and cost effective lifestyle as a wonderful example of progressiveness in contrast to the ugly and backward system the United States implements. Utopias are about change, progress and shunning any previously held notions as inefficient to the working of the new.

          The other element that can contribute to the definition of utopia is the sense of belonging that occurs from participating in the community within. Utopias are not focused so much on the individual as they are on the communal experience. Cohesion, unity and comradery are the building blocks for a stable community within a utopia. Take the description of Thomas More’s Utopians: “There being no property among them, every man may freely enter into any house whatsoever. . .all is so well ordered.” (2.4c) Locks and bars on the windows should not exist in a utopia, seeing as the community trusts each other so much that security comes from mutual respect of self and property rather than weaponry or electronic systems. Gilman’s Herland also discusses the bond of community shared within a utopia: “The power of mother-love. . . was theirs of course, raised to its higher power; and a sister-love which, even while recognizing the actual relationship, we found it hard to credit.” (Gilman ch. 5) Love bound the people of the land together into a tightly knit web of cohesion that aggression and fear were a thing of the past. When one belongs to a utopia, they are brought into a community that embraces them into the fold, effectively branding them as a citizen that will always have a home.

          I understand that narrowing the broad concept of utopia down into two elements can appear to be rather elementary in nature, but both the desire for progressive improvement and the sense of belonging can encompass a large swath of ideas that most have about utopias. When writing about the definition of utopia, I had to keep in mind that my definition will most likely differ from others. After all, the concept of utopia is subjective, flowing, ever changing according to who is discussing the subject. Maybe that is why the study of utopias can appear to be fruitless. If I feel that a utopia should feature a never ending supply of sweets while another proclaims that my vision is wrong and his is right, then where can the discussion go? It is too murky of a subject to see clearly. Yet, to study what utopia is can lead to studying one’s own preoccupations and deep-seated feelings about what they value. In that sense, studying utopias can be a rather self-gratifying endeavor which allows one to see deep within their psyche. In any case, to study utopias one must traverse through the literature of utopias and understand what key concepts are associated with them.

          Herland presents a key facet of utopian texts in the form of Terry, who symbolizes “the other”, an outsider that enters into a utopia and consistently contrasts the teachings and practices of the utopia with the “old ways”. Consistently throughout the novel, Terry is faced with conundrums that clash with his stereotypical view of women. Chapter five provides the reader with an exchange that proves intriguing: “Terry, incredulous, even contemptuous…refused to believe… ‘We all know women can’t organize-that they scrap like anything-are frightfully jealous’. . . ‘These women aren’t WOMANLY.’” (Chapter 5) Asserting that the women in Herland were not “womanly” brings Terry’s struggle to comprehend a utopian way of life. Being “womanly” refers to behavior in Terry’s land, a known quantity in the mind of the character (and by extension the reader). Introducing such a radical shift in thinking would naturally produce questions from the outsider, which is Terry within the novel, but is also the reader. As the audience, there is ignorance towards the ways of Herland and Terry acts somewhat as an intermediary for the reader, poking and prodding the utopian way of life in order to ascertain a working understanding of the land’s customs. As the narrator points out: “Terry had to learn a good many things he did not want to.” (Chapter 6) Such a drastic change in surrounding, from old land to utopia, has made Terry uncomfortable, forcing him to learn customs that are so foreign to him that he did not want to learn. In this sense he again reflects the reader’s ignorance towards the utopia, acting as a kind of symbolic reader, enduring the struggles and asking the questions that the reader might ask if he or she were in the same situation. Will and Raphael are also examples of “the other”, albeit their cynicism is much more tapered than Terry’s.

          More’s Utopia gives another standard of utopian fiction, which is that the utopia’s physical and geographical location is removed or isolated from most of the world, allowing for there to be an air of mystique and uniqueness about the utopia that naturally invites curiosity. In the beginning of book two, More spells out the location of Utopia: “The entry into the bay, occasioned by rocks…is very dangerous. . .The channel is known only to the natives; so that if any stranger should enter. . . he would run great danger. . .” (2.1) Those on the outside wishing to enter the utopia would be endangered from their lack of knowledge, lending Utopia a kind of exclusivity and mystery. It invites adventurers and the curious at heart to venture into Utopia, to see the land that is so heavily guarded by nature and reap the rewards from the journey. Further on in the paragraph, More adds: “The coast is so fortified. . . that a small number of men can hinder the descent of a great army.” (2.1) With the utopia under lock and key from foreigners, the mystery of the utopia grows even more, inviting outsiders to explore and conquer the challenges presented. Most would reason that with so much security that must be a significant prize within the land, something worth striving for. Callenbach’s Ecotopia is heavily guarded(rocket launchers) and in a remote part of the country, Herland is in a remote part of a jungle and Prometheus sets up his utopia in a verdant forest away from civilization. Isolating and guarding utopias in fiction naturally hooks the readers curiosity and thereby gives more incentive to venture into the utopia itself.

           A third component of utopian fiction emerges in Rand’s Anthem through the society that rejects Prometheus. The culture that Rand presents is one that Prometheus breaks away from, the oppressive or dominant culture that must be shed before the utopia can blossom. In the first chapter of the novel, the reader is given a glimpse of the society that Prometheus once inhabited: “Over the portals of the Palace of the World Council, there are words cut in marble. . . ‘We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever.’”(1.7) No room is given for a cohesive and vibrant community. Instead, there is oppression of ideas and progression, as evidenced by the reaction of the World Council to Prometheus’ invention: “Terror struck the men of the Council. They leapt to their feet, they ran from the table. . . ‘How dared you think that your mind held greater wisdom than the minds of your brothers? And if the Council had degreed that you be a Street Sweeper, how dared you think that you could be of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets?’”(7.15-25) Progressiveness is stomped out in favor of keeping the status quo, of maintaining the normalcy that had been established by the dominant. This dystopia must be shed in order for the utopia to be born, which is exactly what Prometheus does, establishing a community within the forest that is focused on “the freedom of Man… his rights… his life… his honor.” (12.24) Liberation from the dystopia leads to the creation of a utopia, a common trope in utopian fiction.

          Studying the concept of utopia and how that is expressed in fiction led me to course objective 1e, which deals with the role of Utopian fiction in the grand scheme of literature. The objective asks both how utopian fiction balances the purpose of literature to entertain and inform as well as ask if talking about utopian texts is more accessible than reading it. Utopian fiction can prove to be a bit of hard sledding, especially when reading drawn out descriptions of how a society functions, but what does help get one through those passages is reading about the individuals within the utopias and how they come to grips with their surroundings. Whether they be an outsider or an indweller, it is fascinating to see how those characters behave within the utopia. Utopian fiction acts as a way to help readers be entertained (see new worlds, conquer new heights, meet new characters) while also being informed (what happens if this utopia sprang to life? What are the consequences?). I believe this also addresses whether or not talking about the fiction is more fun than reading it. While it may be easier on the mind to just talk about generalities, one must delve into the heart of a text in order to actually comprehend the argument the author is making through his or her utopia. After actually reading, the discussion can be even more enriching due to the insights gleaned from text(maybe a bit too idealistic, but hey, we are writing about utopias).

          Utopia is a topic that can raise the interest level rather quickly due to the subjective and personal nature that the subject possesses. In essence, humanity as a whole has been seeking to make claim to a utopia of some kind that will assuage all concerns and make living life an enjoyable experience rather than a crushing burden. I think to the White Mountain Apaches that I wrote about in my first research post and how they seek to shed the old ways of grit and sadness to forge a new path for their people. I also think of the leaders in history and how they believed they could build their own utopia, whether it was Genghis Kahn’s brutal reign in Asia or Queen Elizabeth’s efficient and prosperous England. Utopian fiction and the concept of utopia in general speaks to our need to hope, to grow and to flourish in an environment that will not crush us underfoot. I suppose that is what interests me the most about utopias. Can we get there?