Freedom in Utopia: Slavery without Chains
Oct. 4th, 2011 08:08 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annissamazingI read Thomas More's Utopia in British History class. I enjoyed the book a lot and thought you might be interested in reading the paper I wrote about it. This is very slightly edited, because I noticed an error after I had the paper returned (my teacher didn't notice, thankfully).
In Utopia, Thomas More detailed many problems plaguing English society and told a story about a fictional society where these problems had been avoided. Through his narrator Raphael, More presents this society as a reasonable means to improve the lives of the English people, but Utopia is unrealistic and would never work in practice.
In the beginning of the book, More points out the disparity between the poor and the rich of English society. He relates to the reader a conversation among dinner guests where an English lawyer expresses surprise that there is never any shortage of thieves in England, even though they have hanged so many (22).
Using the characters in this section of the book, More recites all of his peers’ arguments on why people do not need to resort to theft and refutes them one by one. On page 25, he explains how the rich have begun increasing their consumption of rich materials like wool, taking the land that had previously been used for cultivation and turning it into grazing land for sheep, leaving little land and few jobs for the working class. This is the setup More uses to segue into describing his fictional society in which the ills of English society have been completely avoided and everyone lives free and happy.
The problem with More’s country of Utopia is it is filled with logical fallacies and ignores human nature. For example, the very first thing More addresses is the state of convicted criminals in Utopia. They are not executed as they are in England; they are forced into slavery. This is presented as a more humane act than execution, but much like execution being used in England as the punishment for theft and murder, slavery is the default punishment for most crimes in Utopia. Furthermore, slaves are mutilated (30-31) so that they will always be recognized as slaves, even if they are lucky enough to eventually be released from bondage. The idea that slaves might eventually be freed is presented as motivation enough for a slave to work hard. If a slave has no desire to work, he or she is executed. If this is the case, is Utopian society really better than English society?
As we read further into the book, we see that the life of a free Utopian is not very different from that of a slave. Their daily activities are dictated from the time they wake, to their professions, to free time, to the time they sleep. They are even pressured to die in socially acceptable ways (102). Their freedoms are curtailed to the point where they need permission even to leave their cities. The punishment for leaving a home city without a passport is slavery (64). Utopia is described as a society with few laws, so if this law is on the books, it is clear that people leaving their home cities has been an issue in the past. Why is it necessary to keep such a close eye on happy, free citizens?
The attitudes of Utopians toward their children do not appear to be much different from their attitudes towards slaves. They give their children metals and gems that in other parts of the world would be considered precious, but that the Utopians save for binding and marking their slaves (68). Children are also not allowed to sit at the tables with the adults to eat. They are made to either wait tables or stand and be silent throughout the meals and eat scraps from the tables of the adults (63). One of the more disturbing attitudes the Utopians hold is regarding a wet nurse, rather than the woman who gave birth and is presumably raising the child, as the child’s “real mother” (63).
Throughout the book, More’s assumptions and privilege are evident. The Utopians justify taking their neighbors’ land if they feel they can take better advantage of it (60). Older societies are considered superior (46).
Wives are subservient to husbands (60) and must kneel down before their husbands and confess any sins and ask for forgiveness (107). Since More is attempting to describe his ideal society, the major religion of the Utopians bears a striking similarity to Catholicism, and attitudes towards pre-marital sex are consistent with those of the Church (83).
The Utopians’ ability to maintain peace and harmony is ascribed to their every need being fulfilled. With their needs attended to, they are free to seek out happiness, which is defined as the pursuit of mental development. There is no need for money and there is always plenty of food to go around.
Raphael explains that Utopian land “isn’t always very fertile and the climate’s not too good” (79), but the Utopians have managed to never suffer from drought or flood conditions that would destroy their harvest and food supply for more than a year. It seems that even one year with sparse food would destroy the community. That the Utopians have never experienced famine seems unrealistic.
If the unrealistically perfect state of their agricultural endeavors is not enough to convince the reader that Utopia is unattainable, the names of the people and places described in the book are another flag. Translated from the original Latin, “Utopia” means “No Land.” Other names have been translated for us and describe the places in a most literal fashion.
“Aircastle” is the name of the capitol. “Tallstoria” and “Happiland” are neighbors to the Utopians. When More describes a group of people that make fools of themselves in front of the Utopians, he names them “the Flatulentine diplomats” (67).
Perhaps the most unrealistic aspect of Utopian society is no one is described as having any personality. Raphael does not describe a single Utopian in any detail, leaving the reader with the impression that people in Utopia are all the same; they dress the same, pursue the same interests, like the same houses, and eat the same food. There are no concessions made for personal preference. While the Utopians are free to pursue happiness, they are not free to define happiness for themselves. When this is the case, “happiness” ceases to have any meaning. The Utopians are slaves to their society, even when they are not burdened with chains.
Works Cited
More, Thomas. Utopia. London. Penguin. 2003. Print.
In Utopia, Thomas More detailed many problems plaguing English society and told a story about a fictional society where these problems had been avoided. Through his narrator Raphael, More presents this society as a reasonable means to improve the lives of the English people, but Utopia is unrealistic and would never work in practice.
In the beginning of the book, More points out the disparity between the poor and the rich of English society. He relates to the reader a conversation among dinner guests where an English lawyer expresses surprise that there is never any shortage of thieves in England, even though they have hanged so many (22).
Using the characters in this section of the book, More recites all of his peers’ arguments on why people do not need to resort to theft and refutes them one by one. On page 25, he explains how the rich have begun increasing their consumption of rich materials like wool, taking the land that had previously been used for cultivation and turning it into grazing land for sheep, leaving little land and few jobs for the working class. This is the setup More uses to segue into describing his fictional society in which the ills of English society have been completely avoided and everyone lives free and happy.
The problem with More’s country of Utopia is it is filled with logical fallacies and ignores human nature. For example, the very first thing More addresses is the state of convicted criminals in Utopia. They are not executed as they are in England; they are forced into slavery. This is presented as a more humane act than execution, but much like execution being used in England as the punishment for theft and murder, slavery is the default punishment for most crimes in Utopia. Furthermore, slaves are mutilated (30-31) so that they will always be recognized as slaves, even if they are lucky enough to eventually be released from bondage. The idea that slaves might eventually be freed is presented as motivation enough for a slave to work hard. If a slave has no desire to work, he or she is executed. If this is the case, is Utopian society really better than English society?
As we read further into the book, we see that the life of a free Utopian is not very different from that of a slave. Their daily activities are dictated from the time they wake, to their professions, to free time, to the time they sleep. They are even pressured to die in socially acceptable ways (102). Their freedoms are curtailed to the point where they need permission even to leave their cities. The punishment for leaving a home city without a passport is slavery (64). Utopia is described as a society with few laws, so if this law is on the books, it is clear that people leaving their home cities has been an issue in the past. Why is it necessary to keep such a close eye on happy, free citizens?
The attitudes of Utopians toward their children do not appear to be much different from their attitudes towards slaves. They give their children metals and gems that in other parts of the world would be considered precious, but that the Utopians save for binding and marking their slaves (68). Children are also not allowed to sit at the tables with the adults to eat. They are made to either wait tables or stand and be silent throughout the meals and eat scraps from the tables of the adults (63). One of the more disturbing attitudes the Utopians hold is regarding a wet nurse, rather than the woman who gave birth and is presumably raising the child, as the child’s “real mother” (63).
Throughout the book, More’s assumptions and privilege are evident. The Utopians justify taking their neighbors’ land if they feel they can take better advantage of it (60). Older societies are considered superior (46).
Wives are subservient to husbands (60) and must kneel down before their husbands and confess any sins and ask for forgiveness (107). Since More is attempting to describe his ideal society, the major religion of the Utopians bears a striking similarity to Catholicism, and attitudes towards pre-marital sex are consistent with those of the Church (83).
The Utopians’ ability to maintain peace and harmony is ascribed to their every need being fulfilled. With their needs attended to, they are free to seek out happiness, which is defined as the pursuit of mental development. There is no need for money and there is always plenty of food to go around.
Raphael explains that Utopian land “isn’t always very fertile and the climate’s not too good” (79), but the Utopians have managed to never suffer from drought or flood conditions that would destroy their harvest and food supply for more than a year. It seems that even one year with sparse food would destroy the community. That the Utopians have never experienced famine seems unrealistic.
If the unrealistically perfect state of their agricultural endeavors is not enough to convince the reader that Utopia is unattainable, the names of the people and places described in the book are another flag. Translated from the original Latin, “Utopia” means “No Land.” Other names have been translated for us and describe the places in a most literal fashion.
“Aircastle” is the name of the capitol. “Tallstoria” and “Happiland” are neighbors to the Utopians. When More describes a group of people that make fools of themselves in front of the Utopians, he names them “the Flatulentine diplomats” (67).
Perhaps the most unrealistic aspect of Utopian society is no one is described as having any personality. Raphael does not describe a single Utopian in any detail, leaving the reader with the impression that people in Utopia are all the same; they dress the same, pursue the same interests, like the same houses, and eat the same food. There are no concessions made for personal preference. While the Utopians are free to pursue happiness, they are not free to define happiness for themselves. When this is the case, “happiness” ceases to have any meaning. The Utopians are slaves to their society, even when they are not burdened with chains.
Works Cited
More, Thomas. Utopia. London. Penguin. 2003. Print.