This book begins with a description of the cities on the island which was bland and basic because all of the cities are basically the same. But, he made a good point stating that "no town desires to enlarge its bounds, for the people consider themselves rather as tenants that landlords." I thought this was unusual because in normal society civilization and growth is based on size. Utopia was described as having a system that exposed all citizens to the agricultural based environment and the city based environment. It was a strange system, but even today having skills to sustain life by ways of agriculture is an advantage. Amaurot is one of the most proper Utopian cities surrounded by rivers and rolling hills. Citizens within the town use natural resources like rain water to provide for the people. Their government includes a magistrate (syphogrant) which is chosen by the people and represents a certain number of families in the surrounding areas. These chosen leaders make up a council which meets much like the Senate and decides on the issues of the whole island. From there he begins to describe the common family and everyday activities in Utopia. Agriculture is the main activity in the day and is followed with games like chess and reading. Gender roles are structured in Utopia and children are raised to be married and breed. Most Utopians are simple in style and clothing and material wealth does not mean much to them. Basic needs are fulfilled and the want for more showy or expensive stuff is not nonexistent. Women are basically grown up in a home were they learn the basic skills to raise a family which is their main purpose. Most of the dirty work involving slaughtering and killing of animals are done by household slaves. Traveling requires a passport and permission from the government, and without one can lead to harsh punishment. The basic idea of book 2 was that material wealth and flashy clothing meant nothing to Utopians.
My overall concern with this article was the strict gender roles that Utopians abide by. I do not think that women's' only purpose is to learn how to make sandwiches and have children. The way it was written women sounded like the were rented cars ("Their women, when they grow up, are married out"). I did not agree with the way that women were treated. They seem so limited on what they can experience.I also did not agree with the use of slaves to do the dirty work. That sounds so politically incorrect and cowardly to me. If my lifestyle was to farm and produce agriculture I would think that slaughtering animals was in the job description. However, in Utopia slaves are put up to do those jobs because they are viewed as dirty and impure. Knowledge seemed very important to Utopians and that is something that I agree with, obviously if people spend nearly half their lives getting an education it better be important. Overall, the things that bothered me the most were the strict gender roles and slavery.
4 comments:
I had alot of the same concerns with Moore's idea of an Utopia. The idea that slaves were treated to the work that regular citizens refused to do led me to believe that slaves were treated as property, instead of how a servant would be treated.
About your thoughts on the strict gender roles. Now matter where you go we have them. Even in America. Specific thoughts and ways of life depending on your gender;females like pink, males like football.
When I was reading Utopia I didn't get the impression that females enjoyed the roles they were playing. They had no choice nor knew the difference because it was so ingrained in society. There are gender roles every where, but depending on where you live they can be more strict. Look at Middle Eastern countries they have gender roles that don't allow women to choose their own clothing. It just depends. However, in Utopia it is a little more serious than pink and football.
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