Thomas More & Utopia
Sir Thomas More, or also referred to as Saint Thomas More, wrote the book Utopia in 1516 at the age of 39. He was born in 1477 and by his death, he became one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance. Throughout his life, he developed friendships with not only some of the most important thinkers in Europe, but also in the whole world. Even though he created these acquaintances, his comments, writings, and other works offended many people. Many of these offended were in very high positions of power both with the state and the church. The most obvious of these nobles was the highest of them all, the king. This didn't just cost him nasty looks and a bad reputation, but instead his head. Utopia's communism was primarily designed to be stinging criticism of the English church and noble class. Utopia presents contradicting ideas that during the time Thomas More lived, causing much controversy. The book Utopia presents the reader with a world where everything is supposed to be perfect, which is what the word Utopia means: "An ideal place or state with perfect laws." The first three characters introduced are supposed to be looked at as fictitious ch
------------------------------------------------------------------------ Instead of readers interpreting the book as a literal proclamation of his beliefs, it must be understood that Utopia's purpose was to show what evils spring from our society. (Reynolds 113) Ultimately, Utopia is a book that, like More, attempted to find the way through the ideal and the real, between a desire to create perfection and the pragmatic understanding that perfection, given the fallibility of mankind, is impossible. (Surtz 173) More saw the disgracefulness of the people around him. He focuses on specific people to demonstrate his view through Utopia. An example of a rule of the island that is meant to mock society is the issue of butchers. He describes the rule that states that the only people that could be butchers were slaves. It is funny that there are always exceptions even in an imaginary society. There were slaves in Utopia. In Utopia it's described: "Was the founder of all Utopia's, but he used Utopia as what it really is, a playground." (Reynolds 120) The conduct of Utopia is set on the basis of the common ownership of goods and private property only comes in the form of slaves. Even though More writes about these issues on the basis of communism or socialism, he was not a precursor to Karl Marx. More did not necessarily believe in the ideals of this place Utopia and many readers get confused by this. The name Utopia misleads us because of the meaning of the actual word. More meant "Nowhere" when he used the title Utopia. The place in which the book is set is far from not only More's, but most everyone else's ideal place. (Reynolds 119) Few people would be able to live in Utopia because it was dull and boring. More knew that this was a society that was over-regulated, much like the one during his time, and that is why he chooses someone who's name means "speaker of nonsense" to be the proclaimer of this great society. (Reynolds 122) "I cannot fully agree with everything he has related" The Fathers of the Church praised the monks for their voluntary communism and proposed to have it compulsory. Surtz 171) But More brings up the question of how much choice do they really have. They have certain rules set for each and every one of them that must be followed. And yet they still stray from the true meaning of what they are entitled. More was not necessarily against the community houses but More directed his criticism toward the individual monks and friars. More dreaded the thought of what could happen when the power they had gained would mix with a public direction being converted to their own private fortunes and become devastating. (Chambers 2
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Approximate Word count = 1814
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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