Analysis Of Thomas More 's Utopia

In his book Utopia, Thomas More examines a society that seems to be the ideal living situation for human beings. The main thesis of Utopia is his solution to many of the problems that are being faced in English society in the early 16th century.

Although comparing one society to another does not require them to be different in government or human behavior, it does necessarily weight one’s faults against its victories to render it better or worse than the other. This comparative structure, found between Thomas More’s two books of Utopia, poses the country of Utopia opposite the broader communities of world civilization. Despite the comparison of Utopia as distinct from and morally better than widespread society, in truth Utopia is, at best, an extension.

A person’s perception of Utopia varies depending on their life experiences and what they hope to expect of the society in which they live. It's an ideal place where equality, serenity, protection, and freedom are essential qualities.

In essence, Utopia is a written manifestation of More’s humanist beliefs. Many of these views are vicariously present in the character of Raphael Hythloday. For example, Hythloday comments on the unwillingness

During the later middle ages, from ca. 1300 to 1500 A.D., one can see the rise of humanism. Specially, one can see that the author of the book Utopia, Thomas More is a humanist. Thomas More, through his book, shows the readers a multitude of examples of humanism throughout his civilization, that can be closely related to events that were happening during this time period. One can see that Thomas More is a humanist through the ideas on luxury clothing, the economy, and slavery that were also large topics of debate during his time period.

He shows distaste through his actions against the Protestants and Anglicans, which eventually got him killed (Sommerville). Contarily, Utopia shows what the Renaissance worldview is en route to evolve into. The Renaissance was an innovative, developmental time for the entire world. Utopia, by definition, means “no where” (Hager). This is because the Renaissance has not finished anywhere, and no place on Earth is this advanced and evolved mentally.

Thomas More and Plato create their ideal Utopia. A utopia is described as a perfect world. Thomas Moore and Plato have different mentalities when it comes to the selection of an individual’s occupation. Thomas Moore focuses on a Utopia were the work force is strictly determined by the society’s needs while Plato believes that each individual should perform the task that best fits with his or her natural ability.

Sir Thomas More was born in London to Agnes and John More a lawyer in 1477. Tomas after being a page in the Morton Household was sent to Oxford University and became a successful lawyer. After becoming an MP for the Under-Sheriff of London he started writing the book Utopia and finishing it 1516. After writing the book he was appointed as the privy councilor to King Henry VIII in 1518. He was latter executed in 1535 for refusing King Henry VIII to be the head of the church. Utopia is a fictional book about Mores talk with Raphael Nonsenso and his travels to Utopia.

the people are empowered, but the ideals that truly run the society, are empowered. More’s true

A prominent tone used by More throughout the story is irony. More uses an ironic tone through various characters, allowing readers to further discern the differences between Utopia and Europe. To do this, More utilizes characterization as a tool in portraying irony. In Book I the readers are introduced to various characters, two of them being Raphael Hythloday and Thomas More himself. While More uses the narrator More as the skeptical voice, he uses Hythloday to be the main advocate of Utopia. Although the character is named after himself, ironically More’s true thoughts lie within Hythloday’s criticism of current European society. This sets the tone for more irony and satire to come. For example, during the discussion

Relationship Between the Sovereign and the Subjects in More's Utopia, Machiavelli's The Discourses, and Hobbes' The Leviathan

The "Middle" Ages were followed by the Renaissance, a time in which art and literature flourished. Thomas More, the first English humanist of the Renaissance, was born in London during this period. More's style is simple because of its colloquial language but a deeper look into his irony hints at deep dissatisfaction with the current thought and desire for change. "Utopia" (which in Greek means "nowhere") is the name of More's fictional island of perfected society. Thomas More's "Utopia" was the first literary work in which the ideas of Communism appeared and was highly esteemed by all the humanists of Europe in More's time. More uses the main character, Hythlodaeus, as a fictional front to express his own feelings he may have feared to

Throughout Utopia, Thomas More is able to cause many distractions to the reader while trying to determine what exactly More was trying to convey. Thomas is able to divide a short complex novel into two distinct parts with very different narrative perspectives. The first of these perspectives is Raphael Hythloday, considered to be a radical, `with utopian' ideals. The second character is Thomas More himself. Sir Thomas More did travel to Flanders on behalf of King Henry VII; however, Raphael Hythloday is only a piece of More's imagination. Soon after meeting Hythloday, we find out that he is a world traveler and philosopher. We learn of his voyages with Amerigo Vespucci, his voyage to Ceylon, Calcutta, back to Portugal, only observing social practices. At this point we read of More's infatuation with Hythloday's recollection of the island of Utopia. We then see More's criticism of society arise. When More and Giles suggest to Hythloday that he "enter the service of some king or other," Raphael responds,

In life it is necessary to have fantasy, because without it, life would be dull and meaningless. Life would be so different without dreams, since they are what motivate humans to keep on moving forward in order to achieve their goals. This is what Jorge Luis Borges is trying to explain to the reader in the book Ficciones which is very confusing, but also very deep in meaning. These stories demonstrate a theme of reality vs. fiction which is fascinating because in many of the readings fantasy is required at some point to accomplish a purpose or goal. Each unique story hides a meaning in the text which is a lesson to be learned. The confusion that is caused is similar to a labyrinth in which the reader gets lost. The message is hidden

Fiction is, and has always been a mirror for the real life. Therefore, literature, as the artistic tool used to deliver works of fiction, has been parallel to history from past to present. As the ideas evolved, the cultures evolved, and as the cultures evolved, literature evolved. However, there have been times when this evolution had help. In its core, this is what happened in the Renaissance era. As people rediscovered the ideas and cultures of the past civilisations, Middle Ages, in which the evolution of thinking was going backwards, came to an end with a leap in thinking style. People realised they have been stuck at one point because of twisted religion and blind violence between people, and learned to look through individual glasses. These new individual glasses gave huge importance to human, rather than vast kingdoms and large groups, and focused on the core. They moved on from their one-sided viewpoint in life, which was giving the ultimate importance to the afterlife, and gave themselves to discovering