More's Utopia

            This is my second time reading More’s Utopia and I am definitely appreciating more this time than I did the first time I read it.  I read it about three years ago for British Literature and found it rather dull.  It’s a work of fiction rather than a political document…but this work of fiction reads a lot like a political document.  However, this time I was better prepared for More’s pedantic style and I thanked him for writing this in subsections.  It helped organize Hythloday’s report of Utopia into more manageable sections of reading rather than one huge block of text.

            More’s narrative voice irritates me.  In the letter to Peter Giles, he is making excuses for not having written Hythloday’s account earlier and one of his reasons was that he had to talk to his wife and children though he “mustn’t spoil them with…familiarity” (6). And yet he has no problem sitting for hours, talking to Hythloday about a country that he feels is impossibly ideal.  However, More’s voice as the author is something completely different.  His character rejects many of the Utopian ideals and praises his king endlessly, but More as the author is addressing England’s problems through Hythloday.  This really shows More’s skill as a writer and a political activist. Though some ideas seem like excellent ones to utilize even today, I have to disagree with many of the Utopian policies.

            As we already talked about in class, a death sentence for stealing is way over the top. However, Hythloday suggests enslavement as an alternative.  While this may be better than death, lifelong subjugation still seems extreme especially when Hythloday asserts that most thievery is done out of necessity.  I think that a better solution would be to force the thief to work until he can pay off what he stole.  The Utopians in this book seem to want to rehabilitate their criminals and I think this would be a better way to give them a second chance.

            In Book II, Hythloday goes more in depth with the Utopian lifestyle.  I thought it was really cool how all of the Utopians have the opportunity to work on a farm in a two-year rotation.  I think this would prevent a lot of the negative classism that went on during More’s time as well as the classism that still plagues our society today.  On top of that, I think if everyone had experience in agriculture, we would have a better appreciation for our food, our health, and our environment.  If we are all invested in our own agricultural production, we would be motivated to protect the nature in which we cultivate our food.

            However, the Utopian’s knowledge of their country and world must be very limited.  They can’t travel without permission from their political superiors.  Supposedly, the Utopians “are at home everywhere” (53) on their island so it doesn’t make sense that they are not allowed to have free range of it. Traveling and exploring are great ways to make connections with people and understand our environment. I don’t think I could stand living in a country where I had to ask permission to visit the coast or another state.

            I don’t think More is hinting that England should adopt all of these policies.  Maybe he’s not even hoping that England will adopt any.  More continuously points out that people are reluctant to change even when the change appears to be in their best interest.  He is advocating for a societal adjustment in the hopes that England can maybe move toward a better way of life.