James Lian

Utopia Essay

11En7

A Utopian society describes the morally impossible world of perfection in social,

political and economic aspects. Utopia written by Sir Thomas More in 1516 is the
first text to introduce the idea of Utopia where present society and culture is
directly criticised. More utilizes radical characters to raise questions about the
unbalanced power in the social structure, how that affect the judicial system and
the living and working conditions of the citizens. By employing various
techniques, More is able to explore the natures of an Utopic environment and
question what we should really value in our society.
Throughout the novel, More explores the values that are represented through the
abuse of power in the hierarchal system, the cause of widespread poverty and
inequality in England. He utilises the character of Raphael as a tool to convey his
radical ideas but also to lend verisimilitude to his tale, masquerading his writing
as fiction to avoid prosecution. As a caricature of his king, More introduces the
two lands antithetically named Happiland and Nolandia, each thriving off
exaggerated standards and unrealistic expectations to ridicule the king and his
corrupt rulership. More does this by creating the king of Happiland as an overly
considerate ruler possessing overstated values, who suppresses any chances of
accumulation of royal wealth by swearing to never possess over 1000 pounds
of gold or equal in silver. Juxtaposed to King Henry, his leaderships and actions
are placed in an exceptionally negative light. More satirises the king to criticise
the imbalance of power and authority in the political system of the 16 th century
England, questioning the extent in which he values his own subjects. This idea is
further explored through the analysis of Utopia where the societys nature and
values tend to counteract those of Europe. Utopia is a direct contrast to the
European society and exists as a place of very little hierarchy, no greed or power
struggles and where everything is held in common. More expresses the irony of
the impossibility of these values through his use of antithetical names to
describe Utopia, such as the river translating to no water and their capital city
meaning dull. By pointing out the flaws through the juxtaposition of 16 th century
Europe and Utopia, More intends to provoke changes in the values of governance
in his society and end exploitation of the lower class.
Corruption in power and politics leads to deficiency in natures of the law and
judicial system, affecting the values in what they represent. More once again
draws upon Hythloday to bring attention to the injustice of the legal system, in
particular the death penalty as punishment to larceny that he describes as
unjust and as a deterrent, quite ineffective. By using the incompetent
schoolmasters who cane their pupils as a metaphor to the punishment, More
directly attacks the English justice system, questioning the use of fear and
intimidation as a tool to address social unease and the crimes committed. He
also relates back to the inequity of the social ladder to point out how much of the
law is written by property owners, thus binding the lower classes to the restraints
imposed against them. In contrast to the futility of capital punishment, More
suggests an alternative system where all those guilty of crime are sent into
public slavery and servitude where they work very long hours but notes that
they still experience a perfectly comfortable life. This promotes his theory of
eliminating crime rather than criminals while also fulfilling his envisions of a

James Lian

Utopia Essay

11En7

purposeful manner of convicting outlaws. In addition, the slavery system is not

limited by race, ethnicity or belief, thus removing the tendency of the law
protecting the moneyed class whilst simultaneously oppressing the poor.

More juxtaposes the living and working conditions of 16 th century Europe against
the fictional idea of Utopia to explore and contrast the values represented from
both societies. When Utopia was introduced in book 2, the society and culture
seemed appealing at first but as the book progressed began to portray dystopic
properties, exposing the flaws within the English social order. Book 1 mirrors
Mores own society of poverty, occupational insecurity and poor living conditions
whereas book 2 displayed a direct contrast to this, idealizing Mores desire for
fairness and equality that is expressed through the hyperbolic setting of Utopia.
This is evident in the extreme efficiency of the Utopian working structure where
citizens comply with six hour working days and employ themselves well in
their spare hours. With a 100% employment rate and productive use of spare
time, discrimination, idleness and the leisure class is eliminated. The unfeasibility
of this mocks the wide-scale impoverishment and corruption in the working
structure of Mores time. More further ridicules the unequal conditions of the
English lifestyle by using the motif of perfection to construct a communist
democracy depiction of Utopia. In this theoretical land, human desires such as
family, freedom and privacy are sacrificed for perfect living and working
conditions as seen by their near robotic system of their days split into sections
and the option to be adopted into a family if you choose to do pursue a trade
other than your fathers. The oversimplification of society in the Utopic system
satirises the contradicting standards of the living and working conditions of
Mores time.
Sir Thomas More wrote the satirical novel Utopia to attack and criticise aspects
of his current society. Using verisimilitude to write without fear of prosecution,
radical and unheard of ideas were presented through the mouths of characters
that possessed antithetical names to preserve their fictional identity. Through his
use of caricature, hyperbole, juxtaposition and other techniques, More is able to
question the values represented from the unbalanced power of the social social
structure, the law and judicial system, and living and working conditions of the
citizens during 16th century Europe.