Eunice Renteria

Utopia? Perfect World Or Not?

          As a child, I grew up hearing of tales that concluded with happy endings. I always imagined that the world could be just like those tales, that everyone and everything could be perfect forever. Unfortunately, as I grew older, I began to see things differently. I realized that those tales were only a fantasy and that nothing could ever be perfect, neither could anyone live “happily ever after”. As I sat in class, I started to learn about Utopia. When I first heard the word Utopia, I had no idea what it meant. As I continued to read more about it and study what it meant, I thought, all along as a child I was thinking and learning about Utopian tales and did not even realize it.

I have read Utopia, Perkins Gilman Herland, Anthem, and Ecotopia and found myself interested in knowing more about Utopian literature. After reading a few student samples, I was able to gain more knowledge on Utopian literature and what other students thought about it.  

The first sample that I came across with was a posting by Michael Luna titled, Utopian Past Passes Wisdom. It was good to read that, just like me, Michael also had a hard time understanding Utopia at first. Before Michael read students’ writings, he was not happy reading Utopia and Herland. I did disagree with his opinion on these two readings. Michael thought the readings were, “very plain and boring”. This was because the readings did not make sense to him. Maybe the readings were not making sense because this was a world that we are not used to. Imagine Utopia, a perfect place with perfect people, helping one another and happy. Then Herland, a place where only women governed and there were no men in sight. This must have made Michael very puzzled. These worlds are not at all like the world we live in.

I also thought that his view on Utopian literature was correct. He described utopian literature as, “a style that portrays a perfect society but this would be an inaccurate label.” I agree with this posting because even though we see Utopia as being the perfect world, we can also see that it had its flaws. No one could do what they pleased because it all had to be done in a certain manner. Is that really happiness or is it just following the guidelines to a more “happy” world?

Then Michael continues to discuss how Utopian literature can be discussed outside the classroom. He states, “There is an obvious reason why our American curricula focuses on dystopian novels are better received by readers due to their inclusion of novelistic concepts.” I agree with his statement because now a day in classrooms, students may seem to relate more to a dystopian world than a utopian world. Students now want to be that main character that goes out and rescues the world from bad people. For those in a Utopian world, this is impossible because in reality nothing is perfect in our world. However, I am not saying that all students feel this way. It’s sad to say, but some students live in a world of chaos and for some, utopian readings can be a way to escape from their world.

Michael then continues to discuss how people from our world want to create a utopian concept. He states, “ We have created suburbs, intentional communities, clans, guilds, cults, call them what you will, an attempt to belong to something that is exactly what we want.” This is very true and, as we all know, there are suburbs and communities with regulations. For example, some communities determine where trash cans can be placed, when lawns need to be mowed, and even where cars can be parked. People want to belong to a safe, clean, orderly community especially for their children. To me, these suburbs or communities are becoming little utopias.

My second reading was from Munira Omari, Teaching and Understanding Utopia and Dystopia. From her childhood, she also dreamed of that happy perfect place. However, unlike me, after taking this class Utopia changed for her. She thought that Utopia was, “a barbaric place where your opinion is not valued.” She saw it as a controlling place that would never change. Yet, she later changed her mind when she read Herland. Herland made her change her mind because due to the demand for necessities, the community had to make a perfect world for them. As I had stated earlier, Utopia can be seen as a controlling environment. Yes, every one helps each other and are happy, but is everyone really glad to be part of that community?

I also agreed with Munira when she stated that nothing can ever be perfect because only God is perfect. We can read in the bible that God has no flaws and will never make mistakes. I have read Revelations 22:13 which states, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” This to me means that there is no other person that can be perfect, he is the beginning and the end. He is the only one that begins and ends anything. So why do we try to be perfect? Utopia was a beautiful place that was controlled by its people. It’s like that saying that a bird can be in a cage of gold with all the food and water it needs, but it’s still in a cage. She also stated that Utopia fails because there is no competition among its people. “If no one is the best, then how does a community grow?” I can agree with her point of view, but I think that’s where a battle can start and then there is no more Utopia and only Dystopia. Everyone would want to be the best and not care about anyone else. She also mentions teaching dystopias in high school may bring student’s hopes down of having a better life in the future. I don’t think that this will bring their hopes down or their self-esteem because this can be a lesson to the students of what they should ignore so that they can become a better person in life. It can bring desire to do better with their lives and their future.

The last post that I read was from Amy Sasser, Looking Back and Forward. I found this reading as if it was a report of a teacher grading their students’ work. The whole reading was focused on whether the writings from other students’ were effective or not, in the sense of how good the student wrote. I would have preferred she had given her insight on the opinion of the students’ writings instead of criticizing how they wrote. At the very end of her paper she states, “I found this assignment, rather than being “another paper” or another writing chore, has been a useful endeavor which I will consider in other classes and other work moving forward.” I believe that Amy could have developed more on how she agreed or disagreed with the students’ writings.

As I look back at the writings that I have read, I noticed that even in Utopia, there could be a Dystopia within. Utopia from the outside can be seen as perfect, but what about the people who live in it? Are they really happy? That is the question that we should ask ourselves.

Can Utopia Exist in Our World?

          As I started to read Utopia by Thomas More, I knew that this course would be interesting. I had not read Utopia before and I was interested in learning more about it. I didn’t know what Utopia meant or what it was before I came to this class, so at first I was a bit nervous about the class because I was afraid of not understanding the content. But as we started exploring, I came to realize it was a very interesting topic and I was fascinated. How could there be a world where everything could be perfect? Then, we also discussed Dystopia and I knew I was more familiar with this genre because of movies or books that have been out.

          Dystopia means a place where everything goes wrong and is unpleasant. It is a place where people have to fight for their freedom or in what they believe in. It has action, villains, and sometimes a governor/master—an unpleasant being that makes everyone’s life horrible. This is also a place where you will see heroes and even heroines come through to save the world or the people who are in danger/hurt. This genre is more popular because of the action that it carries. Society likes to read or see this genre because of the excitement it brings.

          Utopia means an imaginary place where everything is perfect and it was first described by Thomas More’s, Utopia. It is also described as an ideal place to live in where the law, politics, and society are perfect. Many people do not enjoy reading about this genre because there is no excitement like in Dystopia readings. It is a world that is made of fantasy and although Dystopia can be classified as a fantasy, it can still happen where the world can have villains such as the government or political leaders. Someone can influence what others think. So even though Dystopia can be perceived as not being “real”, it can happen, where as in Utopia, a “perfect” place will never happen.

          Even though people may think that a world like Utopia could never exist, society has tried to build a society that has many things like Utopia. We can see this in communities where there are regulations and rules that need to be followed. For example, in our community we have two trashcans, one for trash and the other for recycling. We have to separate the recyclable materials from the trash. That’s keeping order and having to abide by rules. Also, by reading Utopian literature, we can see that certain ideas can be applied to our current society and how we can also achieve a utopian environment. Even though Utopia was written in the 16^th century, there are many things that can be compared to today’s life. For example, sometimes there are laws that are passed, which many may disagree with, but we still have to abide by them. In one of More’s points he stated, “These things have been so provided among them that the Prince and Tranibors may not conspire together to change the government and enslave the people” (2.6).  What I understand from this is that sometimes someone else’s state of mind might enslave someone else’s thoughts. This is what we sometimes fear from a Utopian society, people could become enslaved with the control.

          Then from Utopia we go to Charlotte Perkins-Gilman’s Herland, where there was the absence of men. The land was all about women and there was no knowledge of sin so they had a perfect community within themselves. More would have liked this world because there was innocence and no evil thoughts. The women would all help each other without thinking of a reward. There are a few differences that we can see between Utopia and Herland. Utopia had to deal with more war politics and government issues where in Herland there were no issues with politics and government. The issues that Gilman presented where issues that men brought to Herland. Even though Jeff, Van, and Terry were prisoners, they brought judgment, confusion, sex, and superior power. What I mean by superior power is that men thought they were superior to women so when these men came to explore Herland, they were confused on how these women were able to survive without the help of men. The men where amazed at how the roads where made and how everything was taken care of. In section 2.48, the men saw the road and how it was carefully created and in section 2.53, the men continued to think there had to be men, especially architects. The men continued to think that there were men, but at the end realized that it was only women that had done all these jobs. Even though we can compare Herland to Utopia, we can also see how different they can be.

          Then we continued on to reading Ayn Rand, Anthem. Now this reading can be more enjoyable because readers can relate to the main character. As I read this narrative, I found myself thinking that Utopia sometimes is seen different from the outside, but does everyone feel the same way inside Utopia? Anthem in a way answered my question. The main character Equality 7-2521, lived in a place where there was no crime, no diseases, and no violence. Still Equality found himself not completely content. He felt as the people were controlled by propaganda and we don’t see this in More’s and Perkins Gilman’s work. In the previous text, we see that everyone helped each other and it was for the community’s well being. In Anthem it comes across that way, but it is more about what “your brothers” want. If it was good for your brother then it had to be done, weather you agreed or not. This can bring a desire of rebellion against your community and your brethren. Rand wanted to show a world that could be considered utopian, but in reality it can be seen as dystopian because inside the community they had “Evil Ones” like she calls them. These people did not want to abide with the regulations of the community and were considered to be evil. We can see here that Anthem can be considered perfect from the outside; however, it’s far from perfect.

          Utopian literature is introduced in a way which people can understand it. This literature uses monologues and dialogs so the reader is more interested. They also discuss alternative societies and how they are different in their own perfect worlds. We can see these differences in how More and Gilman present their worlds of perfection. Everyone helps everyone else and is happy doing it. Rand brings that negativity of a person in society that wanted to break free from the system. Rand wants the reader to know that even though there are people who live in a society where everyone does well for the brethren, there can also be that one person that may disagree with how things are being handled.

          I have really enjoyed reading about the Utopian worlds and how everyday our society wants to be a perfect world. Just like Twin Oaks, they all work together and enjoy helping one another without regret. Places like Twin Oaks, have started a trend to start a Utopian society. Will this ever happen around the world? We will never know. As I have read and studied places like Twin Oaks, I have found myself enjoying literature. Personally, I thought literature was just reading and writing, but as I have heard and seen, literature is a world of discussion and exploration. It’s a world full of literary conventions, different genres, and what literature really is. I have learned so much in these few weeks that I have surprised myself on how much I’ve enjoyed this class.