Jenna Wood

March 8, 2019

Part One: Web Highlights

Individual Utopias and the Individual

          The deviation from the standard novel structure that often occurs in utopian fiction has been a point of interest for me, especially regarding the texts from earlier centuries. The novels we have read that have been written by those from different career fields have been especially fun to try and break apart into traditional literary components. To me, the most important part of any story are the characters within it. The lack of individual, unique characters in these novels makes them both frustrating to read and exciting to read in that it allows me freedom to imagine what kind of individuals may live in these places, unnoticed by the narrator. So, when diving into the previously-posted midterm assignments, I decided to focus on essays that explored the issue of individuality and characterization in these utopias.

          In 2007, Tish Wallace posted an essay titled "Exposure and Frustration of the Individual," which seemed to be a perfect place to start. She opens her essay by recognizing that utopian communities place "the importance of others over self," and that the exaltation of self in a community "seems to be the cause of destruction for the community in that it creates division among the citizens." This competitive atmosphere is why many intentional communities are formed, and also why many fictional utopias are considered ideal in their stable equality between citizens. However, as Wallace points out, "recreating equality within a socialist group exposes and frustrates ideas of individualism." This is demonstrated in the values of a utopia being usually decided by an individual, such as with Noyes's leadership of the Oneidans, and the heavily-enforced hive minds of Anthem and Looking Backward.  Wallace argues that the vilification of individualism by radical socialists does not truly create an "ideal perfect social order." Instead, individualism births the ideas of freedom and equality, with the stipulation that certain degrees of boundaries are set for one's freedom.

          This essay raised plenty of good points, many I have considered myself when reading the course texts. Intentional communities in reality and utopian fiction rely heavily on every member complying to a set standard of values and behaviors, which is easier said than done, especially the longer this list reaches. There is also the added dilemma of human imperfection, as a person who may initially strive to conform to these moral boundaries will inevitably fall short. However, as Wallace briefly touches upon, there must be boundaries even for individualism, something that is found in the rules of every governed community around the globe. I agree with the proposition that the rules need to be set and regulated by a democratic group of people in order for the system to work, but the focus on others above oneself isn't a detriment to a community in of itself, though Ayn Rand seems to have pushed this mindset in her novel. One should also keep in mind that individualism in Western cultures may differ from other cultures, its meaning  even evolving over periods of time.

          In regards to utopian literature, the lack of individual characters seems to be a problem of genre, as explored in the next essay I read. James Seth's "World Upside Down: Progressivism, Economy and Identity in Utopian Literature" from the 2011 semester provides a succinct summary of several  recurring conventions in utopian fiction: "social homogeneity, progressive views on gender and economy, redirecting competition to productive outlets, and egalitarianism."  These components may be ideal in concept, but the execution in terms of literary narrative often causes the work to suffer from the absence of conflict. As Seth brings up, "Utopias manage conflict quickly and peaceably, making tension nearly impossible to create." He writes that since utopian fiction is a literature of ideas, it "offers instructional narratives that tell readers how to contain and stop conflict, rather than showing them how through action." Thus, utopian fiction as stories are usually very boring to readers, consisting mostly of explanatory dialogue and not lending many opportunities for character development.

          The self-imposed restrictions of the literary genre can be mostly blamed for a lack of memorable, individual personalities in the utopias. Seth claims that "the Utopian setting, rather than its inhabitants, inevitably becomes a kind of heroic character in itself, distinguishing positively against the protagonists’ chaotic motherland." This interprets the lack of memorable characters as a conscious choice by some authors who prioritize the characterization of the utopia itself. That being said, as discussed in this essay, there are narrators of utopian fiction that bring unique voices to the genre, such as the man who names himself Prometheus in Anthem, or the reporter in the more modern utopian novel of Ecotopia. Yet it is more often than not the reactor to the utopia that is characterized, not the member(s) of the utopia, which makes it difficult to perceive individualism in these idealized communities.

          Therefore, crafting memorable characters is generally not a purpose many authors of utopian fiction would likely have in mind. The characterization and conflict in the narrative revolve around presenting the utopia as a community that works better than the norm, as Jessica Myers explores in her 2015 essay "Utopian Paradox."  Dialogue in utopian literature, according to Myers, "typically focuses on the conversations of the narrator and the 'guide' who leads them through the utopia and explains the utopians’ way of life and the reasoning behind living in that manner." This seems to be the boundary within which any tension has to happen, or else the purpose of a utopian narrative veers off course. Myers agrees with the aforementioned generalization by Seth that the narrator is the most and sometimes only characterized voice, claiming that in the utopian pieces she examined, "we know much more about the narrator and their opinions about the society they are encountering, than the ideas and opinions of the individuals they are interacting with." The tension of the story rests wholly in whether or not the narrator and/or other outsiders wish to stay in the perfect community, such as Will in Ecotopia or the men in Herland. Myers provides an accurate summary of the utopian genre by stating it "treads the fine line between instructing and entertaining," aiming to convince the reader that this way of living would make the world a better place while having to keep him or her interested enough to listen all the while.

          The problem of human responsibility in utopian fiction, as raised by Myers in her conclusion, is that it is difficult for there to be a balance between complete chaos of no set rules and "complete structure with rules and regulations you may or may not agree with." The head of the government decides the severity of the punishment for breaking these rules, and it is easy for the authority figures to take advantage of the people in the crafting of the rules themselves. Seth's aforementioned reference to the utopia being a character in of itself ties into this issue raised by Myers that the character of the utopia is defined by its leadership. Myers ends her essay with this poignant problem: the volatility of the human element causes problems in the utopia that should be examined closely, but once we see the problem in the utopia, it becomes another bad place to fix. This is, as she titles the essay, the "Utopian Paradox."

          As explored by these three essays, characterization of individuals in a work of utopian fiction is rarely even a secondary concern for the authors, as the genre lends itself to be more instructive than narrative. It is the characterization of the utopia itself that most of the authors we've read tend to prioritize. I, personally, had never looked at the utopia itself as its own developed character, much less as a protagonist figure, which adds an interesting take to second Objective on our course webpage. The problem of intensely-strict rules and regulations that was raised by both Wallace and Myers is one that is commonly overlooked in place of writers comparing the various components of a particular community to that of their real country. This research into the web reviews has prompted me to examine the utopian narrative from a slightly new angle: even after taking into consideration the logistics of human nature this utopian fiction may or may not take into account itself, would we as a modern society view these rules as stricter than our own? Should we ask for more individual characters from a utopian work's equal society? If so, should their personal narrative deviate from the larger conflict of utopia versus outside world, or would such a focus detract from the main message?

Part Two: Learning and Interests re Literary and Historical Utopias

Dys-Topia Course is Getting Interesting

          Having entered this course with a very limited knowledge of utopian fiction, I had a very blurry idea of what this genre really entailed. I hadn't even read many classic utopian and dystopian novels often required by high school and college courses, so I felt I was venturing into a new and uncharted territory in my literary experience. My provisional definition of utopia has not changed much over the weeks, however: "utopian literature is that which strives to envision a world in which common problems of our real-world communities such as poverty, inequality, and use of unnatural resources are solved in a way that promotes peace and harmony." A major problem in defining utopian fiction comes from measuring the extent to which the fiction emphasizes the utopia in the work, as well as whether or not it should be addressed as a utopia in general.

          While I hadn't stopped to meditate on the implications that come with writing perfect places from particular sociopolitical standpoints, I recognized the general human desire for a better world. That being said, I realize I am more versed in dystopian fiction that uses extreme representations of modern-day conflict to prompt action, such as the dehumanization of the poorer districts in The Hunger Games by the wealthy Capitol, or the harm from not questioning extreme institutionalized religion in Final Fantasy X. It wasn't until this course that I realized just how few utopian models there are in comparison to dystopian models in recent media.

          I believe utopian literature, specifically dystopian literature, is prevalent in modern Western Civilization because it allows for discussion of world problems and exploration for solutions on purely theoretical grounds. No one is actively affected by the actions of a fictional government, so an author may explore possible solutions for or downfalls to current systems in societies in a way that does not have any long-term physical consequences. There are complications to this method, namely that one cannot always accurately predict how such solutions would play out with real humans or even the physics of the world they live in. In the end, literature remains a good foundation out of which experts in the various sociopolitical fields can refine the original interpretation into a more accurate simulation.

          The usage of sympathetic characters and visceral imagery evoke the emotions required for people of differing sociopolitical worldviews to come at a problem from one angle: for example, everyone would generally agree that extreme poverty is not a good thing, especially when they see the consequences of it in a relatable protagonist's story. This common moral belief mixed with the expectations of reading fiction allows for most readers to suspend their disbelief while examining how fake people in a novel approach a real problem. However, this eventually evolves into complex evaluation of the roots of these dystopias from various points in the political spectrum, jumpstarting interesting debates such as the one in class that stemmed from our reading of Ayn Rand. Utopian literature is not as common nowadays, most likely for the lack of conflict necessary for most readers' sustained interest, but earlier works in the genre have a very similar approach in using fictional spaces to discuss realistic issues, the longevity of these works indicate a widespread discussion of their contents around the time they were published.

          The denial of possibility for utopian communities to work has differing severity in consequences for readers of fiction versus members of actual intentional communities. On one hand, the act of discrediting a work of fiction as not being plausible seems to be missing the point of literature as an art form. On the other hand, utopian narratives are usually crafted by one person who imagines likeminded people working together to make a certain kind of community function well. Meanwhile, when translated to intentional communities in real life, one leader's ideas for a perfect community are challenged more directly by the differing perspectives of the members making up the rest of the utopia. As cited in the Times article "Twin Oaks: On Walden Two" found on the Literary Utopia webpage, the population of Twin Oaks had a 70% turnover rate in 1970, reportedly due to competent contributors to the community wanting personal recognition. These people might have initially agreed with the idea that every member had equal value, but they eventually showed disagreement with the idea that members should not receive special recognition for specific, helpful acts. Likewise, another member could have agreed with all the proposed values of the community except for the restriction on having children, which may have deterred them for joining the community for good. Not only do people's opinions evolve over time, but even just one rule may be a point of contention for part of the community, raising questions about what sacrifices are necessary for the overall good of a people. While one author can bypass these questions in a hypothetical universe, one leader's opinion has real consequences for a larger group of unique, living persons.

          Therefore, summary and analysis of utopian genre and conventions take in mind that each narrative was written by one person of a particular worldview, usually writing to add to the discussion of a current event or theme. Looking back on the web review section of this assignment, I closely agree with the utopian conventions listed in James Seth's essay: most utopias address societal problems such as equality (of gender, race, and status), economics, and the earth on which the society lives. Even utopian works that would not necessarily be sorted into the ecotopia category tend to address how and where the community obtains resources such as food and building materials, especially when one takes into account the terrain the town is built on. Forests or jungles with lush vegetation seem to be the norm for utopia settings, from Gilman's Herland to Callenbach's Ecotopia.

          The most common trope shared in utopian works is a character discovering a country that is admittedly superior to their home in any number of ways. Typically, the outsider will express interest in living there by the end of the text, though there are notable exceptions such as Terry in Herland. It is rare for all characters in an utopian novel to be from the utopia, and much more for them to stay within the utopia the entire story: utopian fiction needs an objective voice. There are often, however, utopias that have somehow remained fully ignorant of the nations outside their walls. Setting may come into play in how these utopias have been sheltered, examples being difficult landscape surrounding the country or time travel—in the sci-fi sense or simply in linear progression—eroding knowledge of previous civilizations.

          As most utopian narratives are created to address the importance of placing the needs of the many over the individual, issues of family, private property, and competition are often raised. Traditional customs of marriage and sexuality are almost always tweaked in some manner to expose inequality in gender roles. Gender equality is explored in the education of children, as authors may adhere to or deviate from expected jobs for the gender binary in which children are taught to do certain skills. Many authors also examine the challenge of finding pleasure in work by having the children taught in alternative methods, usually indicating how competition is no longer necessary in the academic field or the workforce. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's Herland has examples of the previous components at work. In general, privacy is also commonly limited in utopias through the common ownership of lands or objects, such as in More's Utopia or even the real intentional community of Twin Oaks.

          The sub-genres of utopian literature, judging from class resources and discussion, seem to be limited to dystopia and ecotopia. These genres are tied together through the common purpose of instructing the reader on how different life would be if certain societal function were to change. That being said, there are several stories that take place in what could arguably be called utopias but are not used expressly for inciting change. The country of Wakanda in the film Black Panther, for example, is shown to be more technologically advanced than all other nations, but the story does not pause to compare specific economic or educational variants from the United States, the country in which the movie was filmed and produced. While the advanced science and technology is a plot point in the story, the conflict rests in the ascension of a king, a trope not often explored in the utopian genre. In the list of terms on the course site, a literary utopia is defined as being a novel or tract "representing life and characters in such a community," so despite the lack of focus on comparison between the country and others, it could therefore be considered utopian fiction, as long as film utopia shares a similar definition. The comparisons between literary, real-life, and other media utopias might be a question to explore in a future research post.

          Initially, my interests in this course were aligned with Objective 1, specifically 1a. Because my knowledge of utopian literature was so limited, I wanted to do the basic act of defining utopian literature as a genre, especially in comparison to dystopian literature. I was not thinking of literature being an instructional tract like Utopia, so I was interested to read the various plots that could be spun out of utopian fiction. However, as addressed in Objective 2, it is apparently difficult for utopian narratives to have the typical three-act story format because utopias function on a lack of conflict. A possible conflict discussed in the first class this semester was the forming of the utopia, but that story is often summarized in utopian fiction through explanatory dialogue. In regards to Objective 1b, it seems that utopia and dystopia are interdependent in that there must be a basis of comparison for a utopia to be deemed as such, but this comparison does not usually lend itself to a narrative of one becoming the other. The reader visits the result of the journey, but rarely is offered a front-row seat to the long and painful process of stabilizing paradise.

          Having a better understanding of what the original purposes for these instructional texts were, I appreciate them for what they are, while still enjoying the small doses of character development the texts do offer. I especially appreciate the class discussion, as often there are perspectives brought up that the author may not have had in mind when crafting their world. For example, we briefly touched upon the lack of multicultural utopias, specifically in the depiction of "Soul City" in Ecotopia. Even the most recent text we've read dating to the 1970s lacks the point of view of people of color and the LGBT community, and there are very rarely characters that fall into these categories mentioned at all in any of the other texts. Now that there are more outlets such as the internet for various of groups of people to make their voices louder, I would love to read utopian fiction from people of different backgrounds than the authors we've read so far. In a broader sense, I am looking forward to discussing more about the bullet points in Objective 4, regarding the interdisciplinary elements of utopias.