Melissa Hodgkins

2015 June 30

Utopia at Work

          Approaching Utopian literature can seem quite daunting. While course objectives and conventions of genre provide a place to begin within our seminar, they can also be particularly useful in understanding the applications of utopia outside of the classroom’s framework. What authors of utopian literature continually do is question the world around them. They analyze and assess the social, political, ecological and educational (just to name a few) practices around them and they begin to recognize the problems, the issues that separate mankind from achieving a more perfect society. These assessments are a place to begin: they are the fractures of society, as each author sees them, and it can be argued that the utopian author acts as the surgeon who systematically attempts to repair the fractures and re-envisions a world that is healed by documenting solutions in the form of utopian fiction. As we will see by reviewing the work of three previous Utopian Literature students, this exploration in genre and convention broadens the work or deepens the literature student’s understanding of the great task that is creating a “utopia”.

          In his 2013 essay entitled “No Place is a Good Place” Jacob McCleese begins his examination of utopian literature by posing a valuable question. He writes, “Why spend so much time studying a system that only seems to work on paper? . . . This is the general dismissal that utopian studies receive.” Despite his initial criticism and dismissal of the genre, he comes to an invaluable conclusion in relation to the validity and usefulness of utopian study by writing that “through further examination, I realized that utopian studies had value in fields beyond literary analysis”. He outlines the interdisciplinary work that is evidenced within the fiction, specifically the historical commentary provided by the author which is relevant to the atmosphere in which they are writing. As evidence he describes Callenbach’s choice to create a “Soul City” for African-Americans within Ecotopia, that he locates within the historical context of the 1970s and the rise of Black Nationalism, a time in history where African-American intellectuals conceptualized a return to Africa as a means of easing racial tensions in America. While Callenbach’s creation of Soul City is not without its problems, McCleese rather competently focuses his attention upon the work as an effort to both ease and document tensions within the America that Callenbach lived in and wrote Ecotopia in.

          McCleese spends considerable time discussing the connections between utopian convention to further explore the idea that the genre itself does considerable interdisciplinary work, specifically in regard to sociology and psychology. The tone of his essay shifts from one of uncertainty to one of defense; in this capacity, he is convincing in his defense of utopia’s relevance. He defends his assertions by using Herland as a sociological dialogue in which Terry, Jeff, and Van engage the women of Herland in a mutual exchange in which both the men and the women learn a considerable amount about each other’s customs and social norms. McCleese also discusses the framework of Walden Two and B.F. Skinner’s psychological theories as a backdrop for behavior modification and social harmony that are a hallmark of utopian fiction.

          In her 2013 essay entitled “Problem Solvers on Steroids” Kristine Vermillion gets right at the heart of the utopian author’s great task. She defines utopia as “a society that is intentionally designed to counter or control all the situations that lead to disorder in society”. Her definition requires the reader to reflect upon what function writers serve, specifically in a genre that takes the world and reimagines it as something more ideal. “The authors are reformers. They are the problem solvers of their age that attempt, through their writing, to envision and create a place that has successfully solved the societal problems of their day”. They are recreating government, social relations, sexual relations, institutions, etc. The utopian novel is a study in western civilization. This is further explored with Vermillion’s examination of convention. She writes, “The major conventions . . . are the traveler, the guide and the dialogue between them”. She points out that we see these characters serve the same function within multiple novels, but she is effective in noting that while Utopia, Herland, and Ecotopia each make use of these characters and their shared dialogue, the purpose for each is distinct and varied. Utopia criticizes More’s England and its government, Gilman’s Herland criticizes patriarchal superiority and Callenbach’s Ecotopia reimagines social and sexual behavior with a focus on long-term environmental reform and sustainability. Each writer employs the conventions of the genre in order to “solve the societal problems of their day”.

          In Amy Sidle’s 2009 essay entitled “Utopia and Dystopia: Education’s Role” we explore another task inherent in the work of the utopian novel: education. Sidle, as an educator, is quick to point out how both utopian and dystopian novels are valuable tools in the classroom because they entertain and enthrall; in this way, they captivate their audience and open up students’ minds to a larger discussion of literature and the world around themselves. She explores the role of education within utopian and dystopian culture as both a means of exploration and dissemination of knowledge. In this way she explores the power that education plays in a society. For the men in Herland, it is both enlightening and repellant, forcing the men (Terry kicking and screaming) to reconsider their thoughts about gender and relationships. For Prometheus and Gaea in Anthem education is about their lack of power within the frame of their government. Therefore, the great work of education is often re-education, a process in which knowledge and attitudes are questioned and are often reformed.

            Without question, literature is a springboard for social critique. However, one of the hallmarks of utopian literature is social critique and a proposal for the author’s version of a more ideal society. McCleese, Vermillion, and Sidle each had different approaches to discussing the hefty work of the utopian novel and its authors, with differing views of the genre’s great task. But each agrees that the utopian novel is a work in many disciplines: history, sociology, psychology, human sexuality, western civilization, and education, just to name a few. There is little doubt in my mind that utopian novels are valuable for the very reasons they are celebrated, because they are thoughtful and thought-provoking causing people to evaluate and critique the world in which they live.

The Evolution of Utopia: The Journey Continues

I have casually and rather comfortably used the term “utopia” or “utopian” since high school. My first encounter with the concept was my freshman year. A film adaptation of Cinderella entitled Ever After produced a Cinderella-like protagonist named Danielle who was essentially enslaved by her stepmother after her father’s death. Danielle was given little pleasure in her life, but the greatest pleasure she had was reading and her particular favorite book was something called Utopia. She used her knowledge of this book to critique her treatment at the hands of her stepmother and to inspire compassion and empathy for the common people in the heart of her prince. I also recall reading portions of Sir Thomas More’s Utopia for English class my senior year and finding it terribly dull, but that exposure, combined with Ever After’s discussion of the piece, cemented my understanding of utopia as a place that is both perfect and does not exist.

This conception of utopia has transferred rather nicely to this seminar. As we explore the foundation for the word utopia we see that it means both “no place” and “good place”. For the purpose of understanding and defining utopia it is valuable to consider both conceptions as valid. Indeed, utopia has come to mean a place that is both beautiful and ideal; a world that captures the beauty and innocence of an unfallen Garden of Eden. The problem with this conception is that it does not and cannot exist. However, the idea of utopia continues to enchant us and we are both drawn to and repelled by this notion of a perfect place.

Why are we inexplicably drawn to the utopian or dystopian genre? There are a great number of plausible explanations that might attempt to answer this very basic question. I would argue that we are collectively drawn to utopias and dystopias because they provide a substitute space in which we can re-imagine society as we wish it could be, a place where equality is the new normal, where equal treatment and equal protection of the law means just that, where we can find access to meaningful and lasting happiness. These are not ideas that boggle the mind, they are arguably the most basic of human desires and yet they are elusive to us. Perhaps, the shortcomings of western civilization amongst many nations and over many centuries has helped fuel the fascination with a perfect place because it has not been found yet. We have not discovered a formula that eradicates the problems within civilization and for this reason the genre is both useful and aspirational. Useful because it provides a critique of the flaws and hypocrisies present within a culture but also aspirational because it attempts to solve the very problems it critiques.

And yet, what defines the utopian genre? How do we qualify what constitutes utopian fiction? Undoubtedly, utopian fiction is a crossroads in form. It can be an essay that critiques, a tract that informs, a novel that entertains, and/or any combination of these options. We see that Sir Thomas More’s Utopia provides familiar conventions to us that would normally suppose a novel or novella including characters, dialogue (through the exchange of ideas), a setting both historical and imaginary and yet it lacks other conventions that we consider necessary for the novel, chief among them being plot. Raphael Hythloday and the fictional More engage in an extended discussion regarding Raphael’s time spent on the island of Utopia. While these men are clearly defined individuals, the fictional More an ambassador of sorts, and Raphael a world traveler and philosopher, little happens to advance a plot. The men meet, they exchange information and they begin a dialogue. Soon, the conversation transforms into an almost educational look at the practices and philosophies of Utopia. This is clearly a method of critiquing the political practices, religious doctrine, and leadership of Sir Thomas More’s England, but it also does the work of creating or attempting to create a better place than one that exists. But we instinctively know that Hythloday speaks of a place that does not exist; just as we examine the root of utopia and find it is both a “good place” and “no place” the Greek meaning of Hythloday’s name is “speaker of nonsense”. So while his ideas of a better society cause one to pause and consider the possibilities, we are reminded not to put too much stock in these ideas.

While parts of Utopia seem familiar and accessible and others seem less familiar, the other works within the seminar Herland, Anthem and Ecotopia can be comfortably placed within the realm of the novel, their form hardly deviating from the expectations of character, plot, conflict and resolution that have come to signify literature in our 21^st century mindset. The one exception in form is arguably Ernest Callenbach’s Ecotopia. The novel has parallels to More’s Utopia because of its structure. Will’s experiences within Ecotopia are divided visually and stylistically. Each section or chapter of the novel is depicted in two parts. The first is Will’s official correspondence or columns in relation to his time in Ecotopia, these are the informative sections of the society and practices of Ecotopian life that in many ways echo Utopia. The other section, shown in italics, is more like a journal belonging to Will than a form of formal communication and in this section we are privy to Will’s personal thoughts, feelings and experiences that closely intimate the novel’s structure and advance more conventional ideas of plot and character.

Examination of form and structure still leave a void in defining the utopian genre. While it may provide a frame for understanding what the genre “looks like” it hardly answers how the genre functions. To begin exploring this aspect it is essential to expand upon the purpose of utopian fiction. We have established that this fiction acts as a way of recognizing social problems within an author’s world, for More this is corruption that stems from the absolute power of a monarch, for Charlotte Perkins Gilman this is a society that reduces and dismisses the contributions of women to society, for Ayn Rand this is a totalitarian state that reduces the rights of individuals in the name of equality, and for Ernest Callenbach this is repression of communal need and sexual expression as well as a disregard for ecologically responsible practices in businesses and communities. The recognition of these dilemmas within a society that already exists leads the author to propose an alternative. This is the genesis of utopian literature.

What follows this genesis is a look at utopian convention. These conventions provide a closer inspection as to how the genre operates. While there are certainly surface level connections to be made between the titles we have read in class that include a place of isolation especially isolated due to natural barriers, such as we see in Herland’s untouched and lush setting, there are additional focuses on narrative (specifically the journey of protagonists) and characterization that begin to alter and reshape the genre over time. Gilman describes Herland as “… quite a different country—a sudden view of mountains, steep and bare” (1.37). Similarly, More’s Utopia is isolated as an uncharted island and Callenbach’s Ecotopia finds isolation thanks in part to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The implication behind these conventions of isolationism is that these worlds are utopian because they remain protected from the corruption of the outside world. In this sense, they exist within a vacuum (if they exist at all…).

     However, at the core of the genre I see an evolution of form that engages the development of journey and character. For the men of Herland, they are initiated into a world of drastic difference than the world they came from. For Jeff and Van this initiation proves welcome and even fulfilling. They are able to see that gender does not limit one’s ability to rationalize, to create, and to think. As characters they embrace change and seek to engage meaningfully with Herland’s utopian culture and with the female partners they have come to love. They embrace the pattern of learning through dialogue that has come to signify the utopian genre and are embraced in return by the culture, ultimately to be absorbed and assimilated. Terry, on the other hand, is symbolic of conflict and patriarchy. He is static, completely resistant to change and does not function well within the female dominated culture he has found himself in. The “reality” of his experiences undermines his fantasies about what a culture of women would be like and his personal journey is that of cultural expulsion.

For Anthem’s Equality 7-2521 the same evolution of character and journey is present. As we meet him we are instantly hit with the understanding that the world in which he lives does not uphold the utopian ideals of other texts that we have read. And while you may classify this work as dystopian (and I would not argue with you) I would also like to point out how it functions in this evolution of journey and character within utopian frameworks. From the beginning any threat to total equality including the pronoun “I” has been eradicated from the social learning and the culture of his society. In fact, to utter the word “I” would mean execution as depicted by the death of the Transgressor. “We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike” (1.7). Through time spent alone in thought and reflection Equality 7-2521 begins to recognize the dangers and limitations of this world that he lives in. His journey and character development occur primarily in this capacity until he discovers electricity and how the lightbulb can harness its energy. When he attempts to share this knowledge and it is rejected out of fear and anger, he then flees before they can destroy him and his lightbulb. This is where he becomes Prometheus. His journey leads him to himself and to the source of a new civilization founded upon the light of his bulb and the power of the individual.

Similarly, Will Weston is faced with a journey that profoundly changes his understanding of self and community. When he begins his trip to Ecotopia, he is curious but professionally detached from the deeper implications of what it means to be visiting a modern utopia. He witnesses a great deal of social difference between America and Ecotopia, but for Will his relationship with Marissa forms the foundation for change within his mind. He is converted by the community and the pressures of the community, but is ultimately swayed by the community’s acceptance of him after the war games and the recognition of his long forgotten, deep seeded need for love and community that was lacking from his life of isolation in New York and thus he is absorbed and assimilated into Ecotopian culture.

As we can see through these brief discussions of the major texts within the seminar, utopian fiction has evolved from simply a critique and education process in which the utopian world is reported and examined through dialogue as experience in Sir Thomas More’s Utopia, into a more conventional story (most often in the form of the novel) with a heavy emphasis on the journey and evolution of characters while still incorporating social and political criticism. While there are many ways to discuss and define utopia and utopian literature what remains essentially fascinating for me, is the almost universal desire to find or establish utopia.

This desire can be seen within fiction, but it is also expressed within the “real” world in the form of small-scale communal living centers. These communes are better known as intentional communities. They take the desire most of us have to live in a more ideal place and attempt to make this a reality. The most successful intentional community I have encountered is the Twin Oaks Intentional Community, which was founded in 1967 as a Walden Two community. While their ideas of communal living were founded upon the principles of B.F. Skinner’s behaviorist community, Twin Oaks has long since abandoned their Walden Two roots and have sought to establish a more egalitarian system of equality and shared responsibility. Like the characters within the seminar’s novels, Twin Oaks has had to evolve in order to sustain itself. They have found that the Walden Two system of labor credits largely works for them, but have abandoned other principles including behavior modification in favor of practices that exercise greater tolerance in an effort to combat their history of in-fighting and sustain a stable population to ensure their survival. Likewise, they have shifted their economic endeavours drastically in order to sustain their livelihood by reducing their focus on their hammock production and increasing their attentions towards their more lucrative tofu business. However, through their high residential turnover rates and well-documented in-fighting it is clear to see that despite their foundation of utopian ideals bringing them together, the Twin Oaks community members are still in search of one day truly achieving that utopian ideal that is never quite within their grasp.

As with any idea or concept, utopia and our ideas about utopia will continue to evolve. One thing remains constant— since Sir Thomas More coined the phrase utopia in the 16^th century we have yet to establish a culture that lives up to our ideals. I suspect that our fascination with the genre will continue until such time as an ideal society eliminates the need for it. Until then writers will continue to critique and comment upon the problems and inequities that surround them. As society evolves so too will the narrative and the characters we find within the pages of utopian literature.