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Flatland Social Structure

Decent Essays

The social structure of Flatland is similar to the structure of the 1800s, when Abbott wrote the book. The males in Flatland are shapes composed of multiple sides, while the females are only straight lines. The greater number of sides each figure has, the higher their status is. This concept is quite similar to this time in Britian, where social casts and classes were relevant. Another common theme in Flatland and in the 1800s is that members of the classes wanted to rank up and become something greater. Flatland is written in first person, by A Square. This gives the overall novel a tone of closeness. We are hearing the events from a source that experienced and witnessed the events contained in the novel, which gives readers a better understanding of what happened. A Square is somewhere in the middle of the class ranks. He’s not a member of the lowest or highest social classes. This helps him to understand all the different viewpoints and perspectives in Flatland. By being in the middle class, he isn’t too biased towards one side or the other.
The social issues and classes are obviously one of the main themes of the novel, but it is necessary to note the importance of the two-dimensional essence of Flatland. Throughout the book, Abbott describes the implications of being …show more content…

The sphere came from a three-dimensional land. Square initially doesn’t approve of the sphere. He accuses him of manipulating his ideas by informing him of this new dimension. All of Square’s doubt and disbelief disappears, however, when the sphere shows him the three-dimensional world that Square couldn’t comprehend. This wins Square over, and when he comes back to Flatland he expresses his belief in the “gospel of three dimensions”. Unfortuanately for Square, nobody in Flatland is willing to accept this absurd and totally new idea of a third-dimension. People in Flatland aren’t willing to accept it for fear of destroying their social

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