Thomas More's Utopia as a Criticism of 16th Century England
There are several notions put in utopia by Thomas More. There is the religious aspect, power sharing and the evils of the private property contrasts in the contemporary England in the 16th century. The Utopian creation by More is a satirical mirroring of the society as well as his own life. His audiences attracted despite their opposition of the idea of communalism as compared to private ownership of property. In regard to this point More maintains that, 'for when an insatiable wretch, who is a plague to his country, resolves to enclose many thousand acres of ground, the owners as well as tenants are turned out of their possessions, by tricks, or by main force' (More). The communal agricultural activities in Utopia satirized the reality of the 16th century England. He puts so much focus in Utopian notions like religious belief tolerance and political injustices England experienced in the 16th century. His satirical contrast and criticism brings his radical propositions of abolishing private property. The Utopia described is initially as an island, which Utopians' conquered and brought prosperity than the countries around it. Utopia comes as a communal state where the occupants of the society share what they have equally. Officials made sure that food supply in the society remained balanced. Receiving anything from the officials was as easy as asking for what one required. In Mores opinion, the Utopian world he displayed is one, which gave its citizens whatever they needed. It is a criticism of private ownership of property, which denies other people accessibility to property use.
The Utopia is also a reflection of England in the 16th century. Through the present homogeneity in Utopia, the injustices England faced during that time satirized. It was all about the laziness of people doing very little for the country, still managing luxurious lifestyle. These people enjoyed while those who did the hard work remained...
While this ensures that there will be no plotting against the state, it also means that dissidents must fear for their lives if they disagree with the dictates of their rulers and desire to talk about it. This is essentially censorship and control of speech coded in the language of open deliberation, and it reveals another problem inherent in Utopian society. Here, More is not attempting to present an ideal
The Peripheral Narrator The narrator of the novel Utopia (Moore) is, in fact, its author. Ever since the real New World's discovery by explorers, Christopher Columbus and many others like him started penning first-person narratives of the new landscapes they stumbled upon. Thomas More was simply emulating such narratives to give an authentic feel to his work. Readers feel they're reading a real, authentic tale: "It would take too long to repeat
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