...D'Andre Mickens Mr. Gamwell E Block 7 April 2014 Imperfect Perfect World Some people believe that a utopian world may be better than a less perfect world, yet the imperfections of a utopian society realistically outweighs its ultimate goal of perfection. Perfection is defined as the condition, state, or quality of being free or as free as possible from all flaws or defects. When it comes down to it, a utopian society has many rules and regulations. Yet, if a so called perfect society is so perfect, then there should be no need for any rules or regulations. However, a Utopia's goal of perfection in itself is a contradiction, because of its goal of being "more perfect and less free" (Huxley 1). As a matter of fact a utopian society would be like a heaven on earth. At the same time there is not really a unified view of utopia. All views of utopia involves change which affects human systems and institutions. How can a society aim to be perfect when by definition freedom is needed in order to be perfect. In fact that's something people still find hard to understand and today's society. Have you ever ask yourself what is freedom,it's the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Foremost this is something they didn't have at the time of the utopian society. Well by definition a utopia is a perfect world where everything is prefect and equal but you have no freedom to do what you want; Basically your life is scripted like a book. However...
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...Introduction It was the year of 1516 when Utopia was brought into being by Sir Thomas Moore, and from then on to the 19th century, utopian fiction has experienced a development and a dramatic turn into just the opposite tone, dystopian. These two distinctive streams in British literature, with a same distant source, contain totally different settings—if the utopian novels have demonstrated the perfectly idealized future society for mankind, then the dystopian ones describe the least ideal society, and it is usually considered that a dystopia is the vision of a society in which condition of life are miserable and characterized by poverty, oppression, war, violence, disease, pollution, nuclear fallout and/or the abridgement of human rights, resulting in widespread unhappiness, suffering, and other kinds of pain.1 As material civilization develops into a certain level and can be considered as more than sufficient, then the world is superior to spiritual civilization; however human spirit is the reflection and is controlled by the substances. So, in a highly-developed society with rich material life and high technology, human spirit indeed has no real freedom. Of course, flooding modernized technologies provide human beings a better living condition, but they are covering up an empty and weak spiritual world. Human beings are made to be squeezed to become the flat and instrumental existence surround by machines which makes them feel it is a perfect world. It is obvious...
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...progress, what would you think of? Economical, Political, or Societal? Actually, although people believe that most reforms or progress is for the benevolence of all three of these elements equally, revolutions such as the Industrial Revolution are more driven towards the success of the economics. The industrial revolution itself caused a massive uprising of ideas based on engineering for the sole purpose of convenience, and made a huge gap between the rich, the middle, and the poor, and classified the middle and the poor as the working classes and most of the topics went to the working class. However, this is more unlikely to be a political progress since the convenience and affordable factor all went to boost England’s economy and have the society afford them for cheaper. The progress of the Industrial Revolution was based on socioeconomic reasons because, due to the Industrial revolution, England’s economy increased, rate of employment for unemployed workers increased because of the ability to mass produce products using the newly invented machines to create a better economy for corporations, and a lot of products could be produced in cheap prices because mass production was possible and this increased the standard of living to modernization. Another example of socioeconomic progress is the French Revolution. The French revolutionists and poor social class strived to change the social class division by killing aristocrats and women’s march of Versailles also indicated a strive...
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...Utopias can be described as perfect societies which can be exemplified by many modern communities today. Most utopian societies live by a strict set of rules in an attempt to avoid pain and conflict. These societies tend to question their freedom and go against the government. Although utopias live by certain sets of rules, it can be said that they usually are not utopias based on poor choices made by the community and the effects of human nature. Utopias fail in many different ways. When trying for a utopia, a government sets a system to where all homosopians are equal and always happy. A utopia acts as a domino effect, when a society encounters a positive solution, a negative aspect rises. In Why Utopias Fail, this idea is expressed, “any land of milk and honey automatically attracted swords and muskets.” This metaphor explains the concept that with every helpful encounter comes a problem needing a solution. This presents the idea that a utopia is one of the hardest things for a government to achieve. This negative factor proves that a utopia is almost impossible to achieve....
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...New World”, one of the main characters, John the Savage finally gets to visit London after being raised on the Reservation; only to be disappointed by the lack of individuality. John’s initial reaction of London before leaving the reservation is of praise: “O brave new world” (121); however, after viewing the internal employee workings of a small London factory John also says “O brave new world…” (139) but following his statement he vomits. This event highlights and foreshadows the importance of John as a character to show the bad in a supposedly utopian society, and relates to the novel’s overall theme of oppression of individual differences. A close analysis of the incident and the details used by Huxley to describe this event reveals that John’s “violent retching” (139) reaction to the Brave New world indicates the individuality of John allowing Huxley through this character to draw attention to the downfalls of the Utopian society....
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...from ruining their perfect utopian society. They are conditioned to take soma whenever they are feeling sad, angry, or stressed because it makes them apathetic about their issues. Without any motivation, they will carry on with their lives without questioning the government's motives, living happily. Intimate relationships are banned in order for the society’s individuals to advert from developing vulnerable emotions because it could lead to unhappiness. For example, when Bernard tells Lenina that he wishes for a deeper connection with her, instead of only having sexual relations, Lenina expresses, “‘why you don't take soma when you have these dreadful ideas of yours. You'd forget all about them. And instead of feeling miserable, you'd be jolly. So jolly”(92). By making intimate relationships a taboo subject, such as having parents and being with an...
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...America in the 1880s despite the unsavory politics, rabid economics, growing gap between rich an poor, and frequent labor strikes, all of which threaten to arrest industry and devastate the young nation. After a bizarre experience with “animal hypnotism,” West sleeps for over 113 years and awakes in the year 2000 in the home of Dr. Leete. West finds that the new society has no greed, no corruption, no poverty, no crime, and no war. A society in which everyone’s laundry is professionally laundered, meals are professionally prepared in public kitchens, everyone gets a quality education, working hours are short, and retirement comes at the age of forty-five. Everything is as in a utopia. This utopia, no doubt, represented the aspirations of the book’s nineteenth century author, Edward Bellamy. Channeled through the voice of Dr. Leete, Bellamy saturates the book with his ideas of the ideal society. Bellamy’s vision of the future was quite in sync with that of the basic American Dream: equality, justice, and responsibility, for all. Troubled in real life by the same problems that plagued his fictional society of the 1880s, Bellamy wrote his book as a wake-up call and road map to lead his contemporaries...
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...Castaneda English 228: Fall Session 2012 The purpose of this essay is to explain how unsuccessful Communism is ideologically in part due to its’ economic shortcomings. For ages, mankind has been in search of a perfect society, a utopia; a society, in which no suffering exists, and everyone is happy. In writing, they are common, from the City of Atlantis to the Garden of Eden. However, there are no utopias, none for which anyone can provide proof of. For better or worse, there have been men who have attempted to bring about these utopias in the form of egalitarian societies. Some of these societies have aimed at removing the differences in social class and material wealth between people in an attempt to establish a utopian society. For example communism which was based on a Marxist utopian ideology, has proven to be ultimately a flawed principle and regime. In recent times, so called utopian societies were identified as either socialist, or communist. True communist societies have aimed to be egalitarian, and perhaps even utopian. While the effects of communist and socialist regimes are not confined to one single aspect of human life, this essay focuses on the economic effects of communism. Unfortunately, they have not succeeded in either; instead these societies have resulted in poverty, violence, and overall failure . Modern communism cannot be explained without first defining it, as there have been many historical and contemporary variations. Communism, as first defined in...
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...In literature, writers are constantly trying to create a utopian society in which it is possible to achieve ultimate happiness and balance. Writers usually end up being unsuccessful with the task, and instead write about a contradicting world known as a dystopia. The dystopian future introduced in Aldous Huxley’s novel, Brave New World, controls societal values for ultimate social stability. John the Savage, being raised in the Savage Reservation as opposed to the World State, introduces an unconventional perspective on society. John, rejected from Savage society, draws his beliefs from the Shakespearean era after reading William Shakespeare’s plays. Because of his moral differences, John does not agree with life at the World State. One evening, when Lenina decides to profess her love for John, things go awry. While Lenina is attempting to seduce John, he instead lashes out angrily and assaults her. As the novel progresses, John seems to become increasingly agitated with society, further highlighting his frustration with this new world. As his frustration increases John rebels more, causing his stay in the World State to come to an abrupt end. John’s violent behavior towards Lenina reveals the differences in moral values, which further emphasizes John’s discontent for the World State. Lenina stands for everything John disagrees with; lust and conformity. She acts as a prime example of the societal values, however, the beginning of the novel suggests she may slowly be drifting...
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...and their government. Fahrenheit 451 attacks utopian government and focuses on society's foolishness of always being politically correct. (Mogen 113). According to Mogen, Fahrenheit 451 depicts a world in which the American Dream has turned into a nightmare because it has been superficially understood. (Mogen 107) In order to understand Bradley's social critique, it is essential to realize that he wrote Fahrenheit 451 in the wake of World War II and the early days of the Cold War, in a political climate that was increasingly favoring security over the civil liberties of individuals (Mogen 124, 114). Due to the Cold War, Americans continuously felt threatened by the idea of communism and the idea of hostility from communist countries (Mogen 115). Any association with communism would immediately ostracize an American politician (Mogen 115). In Fahrenheit 451, Bradbury displays a futuristic utopian society where "the people did not read books, enjoy nature, spend time by themselves, think independently, or have meaningful conversations." (Mogen 111). About sixty years later, some would argue that our society has been guilty of similar downfalls. (Book Rags) The government in Fahrenheit 451 bans books because they do not appreciate the thoughts books created peoples minds. Bradbury's society was to afraid to offend groups of people through literature.(Challenging Destiny). Bradbury's has an excellent pulse on the faults of American society such as its censorship. The government in Bradbury's...
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...MY IDEAL SOCIETY Free will is a property of human nature that depends solely on the individual. Every individual in a free society has the ability to make any decision that impacts his or her own life. This means that any one person can use their own free will to alter or hamper the ideals possessed by another individual within the society. This notion goes against the grains of the idea of an ideal society. An ideal society would have to provide the ideal conditions for all those who lived within it. The principles and standards of the inhabitants within the society would determine these ideal conditions. If an individual within this model society could alter the life of another individual within the society, the ideals of the second individual may be broken; this consequently undermines and destroys the concept of an absolute ideal society. Thomas More’s Utopia carries the premise that everyone within the utopian society does what is necessary for the good of the society, and that one’s free will would consist of only what is beneficial to the culture. This, in itself, is limiting free will by excluding the possibility of freely doing what is not beneficial to the culture. More said, the citizens, “(do) not waste their time in idleness or self-indulgence,” but who’s to say that they cannot? Absolute free will gives each citizen the ability to do whatever they feel inclined to do, even perhaps, idle or self-indulge. In Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech, the idea of free will...
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...Can the attempt to create a utopia bring more conflict or bring eternal peace? The concept of a perfect utopia is vividly expressed in the book, “Looking Backwards” by Edward bellani. This book takes place around the time 2000 where a perfect utopia was created, the type that believes in a society that has no class struggle. Interestingly, this utopia was created while Jilian West was alseep, so the start of the utopia is unclear. Throughout the story Jilian West discovers how the utopia became this unbelievable place where people only dream about. However, there are a lot of aspect about this utopia that Jilian does not agree with. Despite having an improved society with less crime and some equality I think this utopia has many greatness and weaknesses but in the end I would not want to live in a utopian society. The society where there is only a common warehouse to buy everything from is one that I can appreciate and admire. This method of one warehouse allows people to save time and expenses. On the other hand, it still has its flaws where the cities that are far from the main warehouse receive things much later than the closer cities. As West asks, “about the variety in the size and cost of house, how is it … with the fact that all citizens have the same income?” I fear that every family would try to have more members in their family to receive more, resulting in overpopulated cities. This in return can lead to chaos as civilians might fight for land. One of the many great...
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...Many people believe that slavery in North America ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation in the late 1800s. Yet, although slavery is no longer commonplace in Western countries, few realize how much our society depends on unpaid and underpaid workers in countries with low development rates. In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, a utopian short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, everyone is happy and no war or violence exists. Its one flaw is a neglected young child living in a public building’s basement, without which Omelas cannot enjoy its freedoms. Omelas' freedom paradoxically depends on the sacrifice of their own and other people's freedoms, serving as an allegory for Western society. External society’s expectations do not...
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...1800s. Yet, although slavery is no longer commonplace in Western countries, few realize how much our society depends on unpaid and underpaid workers in countries with low development rates. In “The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas”, a utopian short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, everyone is happy and no war or violence exists. Its one flaw is a neglected young child living in a public building’s basement, without which Omelas cannot enjoy its freedoms. Omelas' freedom paradoxically depends on the sacrifice of their own and other people's freedoms, serving as an allegory for Western society. External society’s expectations do not limit Omelas’ citizens, who...
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...The True Meaning to The Minister’s Black Veil A utopian society is thought of as an amazing place. In a utopian society everyday is always a beautiful familiar day, but a land where you can’t show your own beliefs or self expression does not sound that great. The Minister’s Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne tells the story of a man known as Reverend Hooper. One day he begins to wear a black veil for some reason unknown to the citizens of the town. The citizens all begin to try and figure out why he now wears this black veil, and in this confusion chaos descends onto the town and Reverend Hooper. It is pretty obvious that Hawthorne is trying to show the flaws with a society that is supposed to be perfect, yet is so easily shattered to chaos...
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