Week 2 Utopia

More seemed to put it off as Utopia being the greatest in society. Similar to what we said in class as if it was an indirect criticism of England’s government. Every time he made a statement he always had a back up plan to why it would work. For example, he would always say how Utopians would never need anything because they had an excess of everything. Or that their whole day was filled with things to do so there was no time for any sort of corruption going on. In any society this wouldn’t happen. I guess I was just really frustrated on how he seemed to feel like this fantasy society was so perfect and so perfectly planned, but in reality it would never really work.

 A lot of this story seemed to be very ironic. For example, the way Utopians treated gold, pearls, and diamonds. More writes that they use these items to chain up slaves and have no use for money except to pay for mercenaries. We would think of these items as highly valued and something that they would never put on slaves. Shockingly though, More says that when other visitors came to the island wearing all of these things and the people of Utopia mocked them. All of the sudden the visitors started to believe the thinking of the Utopians. In a typical society this wouldn’t have happened, More’s fantasy world is too outlandish.

More also seems to throw in his personal opinions especially when it comes to religion. As a Catholic living in times of religious uncertainty, he speaks of Utopian priests as very high and well-respected individuals. More writes that no other official in Utopia is more honored and that priests are only married to the finest women in Utopia. He also states how the priests are always found during times of war and that the priests have the ability to decrease the amount of bloodshed that occurs during the war. More is indirectly hinting at the fact that religious individuals should be highly valued and what England is trying to do by making its own religion is wrong.

Week 2 Utopia

More was able to create a world that sounds too good to be true. And in fact it is. The main reason why I think More was not able to convince me of his Utopia was the lack of a "back up plan" if you will. He writes about the people wanting to live plainly and not wanting anything lavish in life, but he does not explain what happens if some people were to decide they did not want to wear the same thing as everyone else, according to More they just dont. The citizens of Utopia just evolved like that over time.

Another thing that struck me while reading the story was the lack of emotional attachment of the citizens, espcecially to each other. More says that families have to be split up in order to have the correct ratio of people in the city and country. It is almost impossible to believe that people would willingly do this. More also writes that people sometimes have to colonize outside of Utopia and these citizens have no choice either, and not only are those citizens seperated form the their families but More openly states that the citizens living in colonies are not as respected or well treated as those living on the main island. There was one more example of this "family seperating" that I was a little confused with. More says that if a child does not want to do the same trade as his father than he is paired with another family and adopted into that family. But I am not sure if it is a literal adoption or just that the son does a sort of apprentenceship and becomes close with the family teaching him.

Week 2-Utopia

I felt that Thomas Moore wrote Utopia with an idea in mind of a society that he could only wish to live in. Also with the underlying disappointment in the way of life during that time period. Thomas Moore indirectly criticized the overly wealthy class. In turn, he made the people in Utopia all have the same roles. For example, the gold and silver are not prized positions but instead worn by prisoners. At the same time diamonds and minerals are for children to play with and then grow out of. I felt that Moore did this to underplay the wealth and riches that is normally associated with the upper class. The book was originally written in Latin therefore his audience was the more educated people.
Going back to Moore’s motives for writing this, I found it very obvious that he was writing this with hopes that someone would take on his ideas or even agree with him. It was almost as if he was instructing someone how life should be in contrast to how it was then. There is a response/excuse for any possible criticism towards this “untouchable” society.

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Week 2 - Utopia "Omar Felder"

In the "Military Practices" chapter, More wrote the following, " the utopians are not only troubled but ashamed when their forces gain a bloody victory...but if they overcome the enemy by skill and cunning, they exult mightily...-a victory achieved by strength of understanding (Utopia, 575)". I believe that this piece of knowledge is most effective not only in military settings but also in political settings as well. When politicians have this kind of self-control (or parties for that matter), indirectly, they get what they want in the long run and win more people to their side.

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Week 2 - Sample/Signup post

Please leave a comment here when you have successfully signed up for Blogger. I've sent out invitations to everyone in the class, so please email me if you didn't get one or if you're having trouble signing up.

Your first blog post is due this Friday, September 11, at 11:59 PM. You may write about Utopia, Wyatt's poems, and/or Surrey's poems. Some other blog assignments will give you more direction, but for this one, any reflections on the readings are fine. Let me know if you're having trouble getting started.

When you post, remember to do the following:
- Give your post a subject line with the week number (this is week 2) and the text(s) you're focusing on.
- Label your post with your first name.
- Check back later to see if anyone has commented on your post. I will always comment so you know I've read it. I encourage you to comment on classmates' posts when you find them interesting.