Utopia

Thomas More

Details of the Author

Sir Saint Thomas More is famous as a writer for his book Utopia, which paved the
way for the Utopian literature. It was made public in 1516. In the novel to More and Pieter
Gillis, a traveller Raphael describes an imaginary nation on an island, Utopia. Through
Utopia, More is attempting to suggest improvements that can strengthen the European
community. As an example, he presents Utopia.

Thomas More coined the title word Utopia from the Greek ou-topos, meaning "no
place or "nowhere." The very similar Greek word eu-topos means "a good place," so More
might have intended a joke, or the use of a word to mean more than one. In the book
background, the name Utopia is taken from the land's fictitious founder and conqueror,
General Utopus.

Utopia is a political satire written in fictional form. Two narrators do happen. The first
narrator is Thomas More himself, while the second, called Raphael Hythloday, is a fictional
traveller. More meets and has a lengthy discussion with Hythloday in the Utopia plot.
Hythloday then explains his adventures in a beautiful land called Utopia to More in great
detail.

In 1516, just before the outbreak of the Reformation, Utopia wrote more, but
definitely during the time when the pressures and corruption that contributed to the
Reformation swelled into confrontation. Originally written in Latin and later translated into
many languages, Utopia describes what its creator, Raphael Hythloday, believed to be an
ideal human society, the island of Utopia. The book was a tremendous success, vaulting
More into fame and not only establishing a literary tradition but also lending its name to that
tradition, the dystopian novel. This tradition involves an author's attempt to describe a
perfect human society which is ideal. The culture Utopia created, however, is so strong that
it seems to have overshadowed Utopia itself. Today few commentators would agree that
More saw the island of Utopia as a perfect society. Through the book's fictional frame and
the dialogue of its characters, the book gains a certain ambiguity about the convictions of
Utopia's standard bearer, Raphael Hythloday. It's clear the author doesn't necessarily
support Hythloday's ideas. While More might not have imagined Utopia as a perfect society,
however, it is inarguable that he articulated utilitarian, logical utopia as a criticism of the
European world he saw around him. Thus it is vital to understand that the book is an answer
to a particular historical period.

In 1516, just before the outbreak of the Reformation, Utopia wrote more, but
definitely during the time when the pressures and corruption that contributed to the
Reformation swelled into confrontation. Originally written in Latin and later translated into
many languages, Utopia describes what its creator, Raphael Hythloday, believed to be an
ideal human society, the island of Utopia. The book was a tremendous success, vaulting
More into fame and not only establishing a literary tradition but also lending its name to that
tradition, the dystopian novel. This tradition involves an author's attempt to describe a
perfect human society which is ideal. The culture Utopia created, however, is so strong that
it seems to have overshadowed Utopia itself. Today few commentators would agree that
More saw the island of Utopia as a perfect society. Through the book's fictional frame and
the dialogue of its characters, the book gains a certain ambiguity about the convictions of
Utopia's standard bearer, Raphael Hythloday. It's clear the author doesn't necessarily
support Hythloday's ideas. While More might not have imagined Utopia as a perfect society,
however, it is inarguable that he articulated utilitarian, logical utopia as a criticism of the
European world he saw around him. Thus it is vital to understand that the book is an answer
to a particular historical period.

He published many works including King Richard III's History (to which Richard III of
Shakespeare was deeply indebted) in 1513, Utopia (meaning no man's land), a land in
which rationality governed government and policies – alarmingly different from the present
Christian Europe of that period; in 1516, several polemics against the heresies of
Protestantism, and a two-volume essay on the Church in 1532 and 1533 entitled The
Confutation of Tyndale's Response. More also cultivated connections with England and the
continent's most influential thinkers, including a friendship with perhaps the greatest
Humanist thinker of the period, Desiderius Erasmus. More joined King Henry VIII's service in
1518 and soon became a trusted advisor; he won Chancellor's office in 1529. More
remained a deeply religious Catholic throughout all of his prosperity. Even though he had
concluded that he could better serve his Lord as a Christian layman, More still practiced
many of the monks ' ascetic practices: early waking, fasting, extended meditation and
wearing a hair shirt. He was also known for his extreme poverty.

Thomas More was born in 1478, son of a prominent lawyer, and became one of the
early Renaissance's most popular and influential figures. He attracted the attention of
Cardinal John Morton who was then England's chancellor and Canterbury's archbishop as a
boy, then the Chancellor of England; More obtained a splendid education at Oxford through
Morton's influence. More pursued his father's wishes and became an attorney, quickly
finding himself excellent at the trade, though never abandoning his studies or other interests.
More still had time to become a widely respected writer, historian, and philosopher while
working as a lawyer and as the London Undersheriff. Thomas More subsequently received
his formal education at Oxford University where he studied Latin and Formal Logic. He never
gave up his literary passion in the midst of that and constantly read the divine literature of
that period. Thomas knew he would rather be disowned than be at the will of God, so he
assessed his vocational ability and joined the Carthusian monastery for four years. All his
life, God remained a center price. More lived throughout the early years of the Protestant
Reformation, and was a Counter-Reformation leader. More was a tireless persecutor of
Protestants in England, though paradoxically one of the foundations of his Utopian society
was tolerance of faith. In 1532, England's political and religious climate shifted dramatically.
Like More, Henry VIII had long been a staunch advocate of Catholicism. Henry's loyalties
were more sentimental than political though. Henry broke alliances with the Vatican in order
to obtain a divorce; in short he proclaimed himself head of a new Anglican church, divorced
his wife, and married Anne Boleyn. Further, he refused to attend Boleyn's coronation in
protest, and was marked for vengeance. Eventually a number of false charges were brought
against More, and while More disproved them, he was convicted and sentenced to be
dismissed and quartered, the death of a traitor. Henry commuted the penalty to a mere
beheading; a martyr for his faith, More was executed in 1535. Pope Pius XI canonized the
more in 1935.

Characters

Thomas More - Utopia's narrator, writer Thomas More appears in his own book as a
character. An English ambassador sent by King Henry VII to Antwerp. A committed and
dutiful person who wishes to incorporate into the European Society the standards of Utopia.
Through England, Thomas More was a major political figure in the real world. Utopia is
written in More's voice, in the first person. In Utopia More encounters real-world friends like
Peter Giles, but he also interacts with Raphael Hythloday, an imaginary traveller. More is
very clever in trying to be funny and he makes some jokes and puns. More makes it clear in
the closing letter to Giles that Utopia is a fictional place that really does not exist.

Peter Giles - The author's friend (in real life and in the book as well) Giles was a printer and
editor, and also served as the Antwerp Clerk. When the Englishman travels to Flanders
(today Belgium) Giles meets More in Utopia. Giles introduces More to Raphael Hythloday
and Utopia is a narration to Giles and More of Raphael's words. A truthful and amusing
literary guy who makes Thomas More feel less homesick. It is presented as an archetypal of
humanism in the Renaissance.

Raphael Hythloday - The character is fictitious. Although Giles and More are real people,
Hythloday is completely fictional. Raphael is a biblical angel's name, but the name Hythloday
means "peddler of nonsense." Hythloday brings good news of the ideal society found on
Utopia's island. Hythloday is the main character in Utopia, and is different and distinct from
the others. Hythloday is very wordy and, he talks in long sentences. The other characters
have difficulty getting a word in edgewise. At the same time, Hythloday in its opinions
appears to be quite dogmatic. He is a total fan of Utopia: he respects all their practices and
does not condemn anything. Hythloday, given its ridiculous features, can sometimes seem
rather sensible. Hythloday is wiser than More when debating court politics, knowing that the
fickle changing opinions of a king's flattering advisors can turn the court into an
uncomfortable experience for the well-intended truthful advisor. More ignores the advice
from Hythloday and learns his lesson the difficult way. Through Amerigo Vespucci,
Hythloday has travelled the world and finds the unknown country of Utopia in his journeys.
Most of the book is dedicated to a description of Utopia by Hythloday. An elderly, long
bearded man who is an ardent traveler and admirer of the prevailing social structure on the
island of Utopia.

Cardinal John Morton, Archbishop of Canterbury - Real Chancellor to Henry VIII.

Hythloday once spent a fictitious evening meeting with Morton and an unidentified lawyer
about England's societal problems. The real Morton was instrumental in encouraging the
education of Sir Thomas More at Oxford. A man of honor and prudence who is both fact and
fiction depicted as England's Lord Chancellor and Canterbury's Archbishop.

General Utopus - Ancient conqueror who founded the State of Utopia. 1760 years before
Hythloday's visit to Utopia, Utopus defeated the barbaric people and split the world into its
own island through the narrow isthmus linking Utopia to the mainland. .He distinguishes
Utopia from the mainland and establishes laws and norms thereof. As Raphael visited, most
of the laws, structures, and principles passed on by Utopus remained in place 1760 years
later. Utopus set up the Utopian society in his wisdom which Hythloday finds so incredibly
appealing.
Lawyer - An unidentified man, who once spent an evening with Cardinal Morton and
Hythloday. He is England's protective, and unable to find fault in English culture with
anything.

Symbolisms

Island

Utopia is a separate place, or island, both literally and figuratively. The land which
became Utopia was once a peninsula according to the story told by Raphael Hythloday.
General Utopus, founder of Utopia, decided to cut off his new nation from the mainland by
digging a 15-mile-long canal (nearly impossible in Tudor times) with the aid of the local
people as well as his own troops. Once it was completed, those who saw the new island
"was brought to perfection no sooner than they were struck with admiration and fear."

Utopia is physically different from other nations, just as it is separate from them
spiritually. In reality, the land on which Utopia is built was once linked to a mainland, but
Utopus had a fifteen-mile channel wild dug between the two, perhaps because he knew that
otherwise the Utopians would either be invaded or infiltrated by others. Utopia resides on an
artificially constructed island founded by a fictitious general in an unexplored "New World,"
far away from any known location. Through making Utopia so distant and impossible, More
uses the island as a metaphor of an entirely separate universe in which special rules, laws,
and ethics can be discussed in a fictionalized (and thus unthreatening) way.

The island is likewise a symbol of isolation and purity. Even though Hythloday
periodically discusses Utopian presence on the continent in his history, Utopia itself is
unaffected and unsullied by any other group of people's values, behavior, laws, or
assumptions. It gives More the ability to create an entirely unique universe with little or no
relation to Tudor life realities.

Gold

Gold is usually a metaphor for wealth and riches. In Utopia, gold represents the
object and reward of human pride and superiority. Rich men and women are adorned with it
to prove their superiority to others; thieves and princes are abusing others to gain it; nations
are sending men out to fight and die. And all of this happens despite the fact that gold is
worthless, in reality. Like their European counterparts, the Utopians loathe gold, even if they
don't need it by any means. The Utopians often fetter their slaves to taunt them with gold,
just as people in other cultures symbolically fetter themselves to their own gold lust.
Essentially More portrays gold as a proud, idle metal: nothing useful comes of it, and nothing
useful can be made of it. As the Utopians certainly do, we may think that any society that
finds gold to be precious is indeed a wicked society. More inverts this notion by creating a
world in which gold is so devalued that "they are making their chamber pots and gold and
silver close-stools," as well as slave fetters. For one thing, Raphael Hythloday would agree;
he thinks that the principal condition that gives rise to gold-lust is the establishment of private
property, which turns people into ravenous getters and debauched spenders in his account.
Nevertheless, the Utopians destroyed pride and idleness with the abolition of private
property. When all have what they need, both physically and spiritually, they don't need
unnecessary things like gold. And Hythloday tells a story about a group of outsiders coming
to Utopia dressed in gold and jewels.

Therefore, gold, in Utopia, is not used as a treasure but as a tool to control others.
Through offering mercenary soldiers or other governments "useless" gold, Utopians may
bargain for whatever they want without losing anything of value.

Tower

The Utopian tower symbolizes goodness as well as strength. The tower is a physical
requirement, it stands in the sea, halfway between the country's two corners and it houses a
garrison of soldiers capable of repelling invaders. Physically too, it implies power. This tower
is one of the first landmarks mentioned in Utopia, and it becomes a symbol of moral
impregnability and power arising from perfection attainment.

Rock

The tower is built on another fundamental fortress which is the rock. A rock is strong,
immovable and enduring. "Thou art Peter and upon this rock I will build my church," Christ
said to Peter. This epitomizes the concept of the strength and durability inherent in the rock
picture. Those two artifacts together — the tall tower constructed on a strong rock symbolize
the strength and solidity of Utopia customs and values.

Water

Water is the Christian symbol of life, it is the life-giver as well as impurity-cleanser.

The blessed land, Utopia, has plenty of water. The capital, Amaurot, is surrounded by two
never flowing dry rivers. Where the water enters the sea the river's flavor is mixed with
saltines. This is an apt reflection of the life-renewal resulting from happiness combined with
sorrow.

Garden

Utopia contains plenty of gardens The Utopians pride themselves in their gardens. In
medieval literature the garden is an essential picture and emblem. This basically represents
two important ideas — one of evil and misery because of the Garden of Eden and the other
of joy and happiness and closeness to nature, and hence, to God. The Utopians are
primarily farmers, husbandmen and land tillers. The plow-man is the one who cultivates food
and supports the country. Hence, he is the nearest assistant of God on earth; the one who
feeds other children of God. Everyone in Utopia is close to the house, because for a certain
number of years they have to work as farmers. This closeness reveals their closeness to
nature, which is Utopian society's main precept. Acting within the frameworks of natural law
makes each individual both responsible for himself and others. One can undertake
pleasurable activities as long as they are not impacting the enjoyment of others.

Plot

More heads to Antwerp as ambassador to England and King Henry VIII. Although not
engaged in his official duties, More spends time chatting with his colleague, Peter Giles,
about academic matters. One day, More sees Giles speak to a bearded man, who More
believes to be the captain of a ship. Giles soon introduces More to this new man, Raphael
Hythloday, who turns out to be a world traveller and a philosopher. The three men retire for
supper and chat to Giles ' house and Hythloday starts talking about his travels.

Hythloday was on several journeys with the noted adventurer Amerigo Vespucci,
traveling across Asia to the New World, south of the Equator, before eventually landing on
Utopia Island. They explains the cultures they passes through with such wisdom that Giles
and More will become persuaded that Hythloday will make a king a great counselor.
Hythloday fails to even entertain a notion like this. A conflict follows, in which the three
address the factors behind Hythloday's stance. Hythloday mentions a dinner he once shared
with Cardinal Morton and a host of others in England, to make his point. During this meal,
Hythloday suggested solutions to England's other bad legal procedures, such as the politics
of capital punishment for the robbery offense. His ideas begin with derision, until the
Cardinal gives them serious consideration, at which stage they receive great general
acceptance. Hythloday uses this story to illustrate that advising a king is futile when the king
can always expect his other counselors to comply with his own views or policies. Hythloday
then goes on to make his argument through a variety of other examples, eventually
mentioning that no matter how good a proposed policy is, a person who is used to a different
way of seeing the world will always look insane. Hythloday points out that the Utopians '
proposals are clearly superior to those of Europeans, and adds that Europeans will treat the
all-important common property utopian approach as ludicrous. More and Giles disagree with
the notion that common property is superior to private property, and the three accept that the
Utopian system should be defined in more detail by Hythloday. They break for lunch first
though.

Hythloday is back from lunch and explains Utopia's geography and history. He
explains how Utopia's founder, General Utopus, conquered the isthmus on which Utopia
now stands, and cut off the land for making an island through a great public work effort.
Next, Hythloday transitions to a discussion of Utopian society, portraying a country based on
rational thought, with communal property, great prosperity, no dishonest love of gold, no real
class divisions, little misery, no crime or immoral behavior, religious tolerance, and little
inclination to fight. Hythloday claims it is a culture which is comparable to any in Europe.
Hythloday finishes his description and More explains that after so much talking, Giles,
Hythloday, and he were too tired to discuss the particular points of Utopian society. More
concludes that many of the Utopian customs described by Hythloday, such as their methods
of making war and their belief in communal property, seem absurd. Nevertheless, he does
admit that he would like to see certain elements of Utopian society put into practice in
England, although he does not expect that anything like that would happen.

Hythloday believes that Utopia is the world's greatest social order. As he says, "Ever
ywhere else people talk about the public good but pay attention to their own private interests.
In Utopia, where there is no private property, everyone is seriously concerned with pursuing
the public welfare." Throughout Utopia, no man concerns himself or any of his descendants
with food or impoverishment. Unlike the rest of the world, where men who do nothing
constructive live in luxury, all people work in Utopia and they all live well. That alone, in the
mind of Hythloday, is truly just. Hythloday suggests societies other than Utopia are simply
conspiracies of the powerful, "whose objective is to increase their own wealth while the
government they control claims to be a commonwealth concerned with the common
welfare." Such cultures are worlds of arrogance and greed. And arrogance causes men to
assess their well-being not by their well-being, but by having things that are unfair and un-
Christian, that others lack. Only in Utopia has pride been eviscerated from civilization, and all
its resulting vices.

Hythloday ends his narration and More comments that all three were too tired to
discuss the portrait of Utopia painted by Hythloday. We decide to get together again so they
can discuss more thoroughly and disagree about the merits of what has been said.
Nevertheless, more does explain to the reader that he acknowledges that many of the
Utopian ways of life are ludicrous, from their methods of warfare to religion, but most
importantly in the concept of common property. It is from private property that all nobility
magnificence, glory and majesty emerge, and these are the crowning glory of European
society, in More's opinion. Nonetheless, More also says that there are plenty of utopian
policies (although he leaves unidentified) that he would like to see implemented in Europe,
although he does not believe that ambition will soon be achieved.

Utopia includes front matter: fictional images, maps, letters, and other writings
purported to be from Utopia. The book consists of two parts; the first written last, and the
second written first, paradoxically. It is the second book that portrays Utopian society and
most closely resembles Erasmus's humanist philosophy. The first book acts as an
introduction but also as a guide on the second. The first book itself, in fact, was probably
written in two parts. It was originally merely a brief introduction, a way of introducing
Hythloday's character to the fictional More. Book One consists of a lengthy and philosophical
conversation between a mutual friend, the author (Thomas More), and the fictitious Raphael
Hythloday. Hythloday is a traveller from the New World who has just returned to Flanders
(Belgium). It is in Book One that Hythloday reveals he's seen the wonderful land of Utopia,
while on his journeys. Book Two is an in-depth overview of the Utopian land by Hythloday.
The book contains eight chapters which describe the geography, culture, religion, laws, and
commerce of Utopia in great detail. More, a devout Catholic, portrays an idealised universe
without meaning throughout the novel. Everyone (or at least most) in this world share equally
in property, reputation, education, and honor. The second part of the first book includes
Hythloday's extended speech on a number of issues, some of which were of crucial and
personal interest to More the author, others offering some insight into Hythloday and
perhaps showing that he is not quite as informed as one might first assume. Utopia, then, is
a portrayal of a semi-ideal society and all the criticism of the ideally portrayed European
society, and is a commentary on itself and its themes. Sometimes, Utopia seems to doubt
itself, the result of a philosophical thinker who was still refining his thought. Sometimes the
book can be paradoxical, just as More himself could: a man who preached religious
tolerance and methodically persecuted Christians, who decided to remain a Christian layman
rather than join the priesthood, but who ultimately died for his religion as a martyr. Overall,
Utopia is a book that, like More, has tried to navigate a path through the ideal and the real,
between a desire to create perfection and a rational awareness that perfection is impossible,
despite the fallibility of humanity.
 Impact in Literature

More coined the word to describe an island community with an ideal mode of
government.

The unending effect left by Utopia was the desire to attain a prosperous land where
social justice was assured in all life forms. The search for such an ideal vision led many of
Christian Europe's humanists to think about the fact that injustice and lawlessness could be
overcome through influencing laws, philosophies, and actions of resistance to the regimes.
To this day, the work of Sir Thomas More is celebrated as a ' birth of passive resistance '
followed by many prominent figures in the world – Mahatma Gandhi, Daniel Defoe and many
others. More's work on Utopia clearly was not the first of its kind. In 300 BC, Plato coined his
famous dialogue, The Republic, a communist, constitutional, and democratic state consisting
of both kings and queens as described by Socrates.

Yet the work of Sir Thomas More left an unparalleled impression on mankind and
pushed the notion of restoring a progressive society filled with social justice and humanist
approaches. To date, it is necessary to address several revolutionary discrepancies and,
more significantly, the fact that not all cultures are homogeneous and tensions occur. Those
ideal forms of government are not possible, yet they are the ones that we strive for.

Utopia has a quality of universality, as revealed by the fact that it has fascinated
readers of five centuries, has influenced countless writers, and has invited imitation by
scores of "Utopianists.

More's Utopia wasn't the first literary work with policy ideas to play around: To dream of
a better life is an inborn part of human being. In 380 BC, Plato wrote his The Republic
dialogue, in which Socrates portrays a socialist, democratic city-state ruled by philosophical-
kings called guardians, consisting of men and women. Instead of procreating for a wild sex
orgy within a family unit these members leave the city once a year. The resulting children
become the new generation of parents, happily deprived of their true parentage and brought
up by the state.

There are works of other authors describing various utopian scenarios. Example of these are :

Description of the Republic of Christianopolis, by Johannes Valentinus Andreae, 1619,

The City of the Sun, by Tommaso Campanella, 1602

New Atlantis, by Francis Bacon, 1627

Nova Solyma, the Ideal City, by Samuel Gott, circa 1649

The Law of Freedom in a Platform, by Gerrard Winstanley, 1652

Looking Backward, by Edward Bellamy, 1888

News from Nowhere, by William Morris, 1890

Freeland: a Social Anticipation, by Theodor Hertzka, 1891

A Modern Utopia, by H. G. Wells, 1905

It shows the impact of utopia on individuals that influenced them to write about utopian
literature.

Over time, the dream embedding the idea of utopia has undergone fundamental
transformations. Things like war, church reform, revolution, and economic change have all
led to building a new kind of utopia. The word utopia invented new forms and prefixes, with
each type having their own purpose and use. These are usually used in the mind of the
reader as a way of building an ordered society. The writer makes use of the tool to illustrate
the contradictions that occur within an existing legal and political framework. A Utopian
society is presented in such a way that it provides the reader with the notion of an ideal
sociopolitical community. With the use of utopia, the writer provides his audience with a
typical example of a society socially and morally suited, to make them realize the various
shortcomings in their current societal structure. Utopia is a tool for revealing the prevalent
weaknesses within an existing political system. Furthermore, the device was commonly used
by authors who wished to have an influence on readers ' consciences. The writer uses
utopia to portray a pleasant image in the reader's eyes, in an attempt to make him fully
appreciate the various diverging factors that contribute to the current society's shortcomings.
This deals with creating a traditional sociopolitical culture in the minds of the reader, in order
to criticize the legal standards that are prevalent.

Interesting Facts

 The word ‘Utopia’ is derived from the Greek word, Ou-topos, which means, ‘no
where’. While another Greek word, Eu-topos, that also sounds the same means “a
nice place”. The name “Utopia” is a pun and has satire in it.
  Thomas More’s book on Utopia was not the first ever work showcasing a perfect
world. “The Republic” by Plato in 350 BC was the first ever book depicting a utopian
society.

 The debate on whether Utopia is practical and morally justified continues still. The
latest book published on the same is Number Nine Bus to Utopia by David Bramwell
published in 2014.

 It’s an interesting fact to note that, “Utopia” is portrayed as against individualism by

many books on Utopia. Thomas More writes in his book that everyone is being
watched and no one can have spare time for themselves to indulge in leisurely
activities, but rather do productive work.

 All the attempts to create a Utopian state have failed because it aims for a “common
good” of all, while individual seek “personal benefits”. It is said that to establish a
Utopian community, the people in the community need to be “Utopian people” first.
Which is why, so far, the idea of establishing a Utopia is impossible.

Reflection

There are a lot of ways to examine Utopia society. It can be viewed as the
expression of rational thinking or humanist ideals, as an antidote to feudalism, a declaration
in favor of democratic life, or an attempt to encourage Christian values-based change. Such
multiple critical approaches are not mutually exclusive, and undoubtedly Sir Thomas More
was mindful of the variety of meanings found in his book Utopia finishes, first with
Hythloday's rousing flourish, where he maintains that Utopia is the most desirable of
societies, followed by More's declaration that several Utopian initiatives are insane, although
some may be worthwhile to introduce to Europe. The book provides hardly any hint of which
of these two sides it supports the most; More and Hythloday are interested in each other, but
although More has learned a great deal from Hythloday, he was not persuaded that his initial
position against community property was incorrect. The overriding question of worldly
pragmatism versus spiritual idealism is crystallized in this vague ending of the book: a choice
must be made between the two. Any option comes with inherent limitations. Entering into
politics demands an idealist sacrifice. Eschewing politics for the abstract realm of philosophy
implies an inability even to try to put one's own dream into existence. Utopia sits between
those two places within the cycle. It is a functioning world in which no evil exists, but the
book can not provide any way of turning an existing society into a Utopian model. But in the
form of the fool, of Christian Folly's optimistic figure secure in the knowledge of the advent of
Christ's Kingdom, Utopia offers a way out of the impasse between More and Hythloday.
Utopia provides a critique of European society, offers a guide to assess and perhaps restore
the system, but in the end of the book concludes that the only path to heaven is through
Christianity and the coming of Christ. One might say that it was Thomas More himself who
took this path, actively mediating between the values of humanist philosophy and serving his
king and country. Ultimately, he became a martyr for religious convictions that few others
shared, and for that he was beatified.

Thomas More was a Christian Humanist and Utopia represents Humanism with the
added theological belief of More. Through the novel he proved mankind can bring success if
it is according to God's instructions. Many hoped the king he served would think of himself
as a humanist. The Utopia of Thomas More stimulated social consciousness in the authors,
and they started using their works to transmit ideas and represent reality rather than pure
entertainment.

Ultimately, while this hypothetical culture is out of control, it might be possible to have
a version of that. This means living in a world where every human being has the basic
necessities (food, water, and shelter) to live. A world where there is no room for
discrimination and hatred, a fair structure, community and diversity would be embraced by
the government and equality would not be promoted.

English Book Report

Edmar Joy T. Perez Grade 9 - Alexandrite