If one thing struck my while listening to the Prologue and reading Utopia, it was the part dealing with the slaughter of animals. In Utopia, the citizens are not vegetarians, yet they do not slaughter animals. This is due to a fear that it would cause those of the society to become less compassionate. Much like in another Rumination I read, I saw some commonalities with another piece of work. In my case it came from Ursula K. LeGuin’s, “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas.”
“The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” is a short story that describes a utopian society, Omelas. The first few pages are all description, there is no war, there is no religion to divide people, sex is not frowned upon, drug use is allowed but no one ever gets addicted. Everything is completely, implausibly perfect. The suddenly the tone shifts dramatically. We are taken into the basement of a building and shown a child. This child is forced to live in a closet, fed gruel everyday, made to live in its own feces, and no one is ever allowed to do any kindness to it. Everyone in the city is forced to go see the boy and they are told that if anyone where to ever be kind to him, their entire civilization would come crashing down. Some are able to accept this. Some are able to live on in willful ignorance of what is really going on. Mean while others are slowly but surely souring to Omelas because of what they have seen. Eventually all of these pack up their stuff and take the road that leads north out of the city. They are the ones who walk away from Omelas.
A very similar scene is playing out in Utopia. The people, instead of killing the animals themselves, have their slaves do it somewhere away from the town. By doing so they feel some sort of vindication of the guilt over allowing the animals to be slaughtered. So long as they don’t have to see it or do it, it might as well not have happened. This is the same sort of willful ignorance that keeps the wheels of Omelas going, and it is yet another proof that a Utopian world is not possible. If this is a preferential system, then it must be meant for the whole world. If the whole world is a Utopia, then where will the slaves go to slaughter to animals?
This is all not even mentioning the existence of slaves. How can any civilization claim to be a perfect Utopia when one class of men reigns over another by any reason other than popular consent? Are the slaves willfully put into their subservient condition in order to fulfill the needs of the greater populous? If not, then it is no Utopia. Even with consent, it is hard to view any civilization claiming to be a Utopia as more than a sham.
Good point. This rumination and Utopia also made me think of the movie Pleasantville, in which the community lives in a "perfect" world and no one is supposed to challenge the traditions or customs of the town. It looks perfect to an outside because everything is running smoothly and everyone is content, however, anything different or individual is frowned upon.
ReplyDeleteI love the connections being made here, in both your original rumination and in J Morello's comment. You also bring up a good point about the slaves: how can a civilization that endorses slavery be ideal? I think you have to consider that at the time that More wrote Utopia, slaves were an accepted and encouraged aspect of Europe's economy. As horrifying as it is, I don't think the moral implications of slavery crossed More's mind, even though he was a religious man - it was a long way away from abolition.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting that you point out "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas." I actually thought of a different book - one of the characters references a similar circumstance - that of the neglected/abused child - in the "Brothers Karamazov."
ReplyDeleteBut what I wanted to comment on was what you had said about Slavery. I agree that it is odd to have such separate classes in the Utopian society - it should not be that way. However, I do like the principles based on which slaves are, for lack of better word, enslaved. The people enslaved are those that committed grave crimes, those that have committed adultery, certain prisoners of war, etc. I like that children born of slaves are not born as slaves. I agree that it is a reasonable form of punishment, however, I don't remember a means to get out of slavery - a way to repent and be forgiven by society. I also don't agree with the marking of slaves by scarring the ears - this furthers the lack of complete forgiveness by making them separate from the rest of society.
I agree with you - this is only a Utopia for one class.
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omela" is a great connect here, i wouldnt have thought of it at first but you're absolutely right. In both situations these people are trying to live in an ideal society, but is it truly ideal? When the negativities and imperfections are just being covered and ignored. This ignorance in society goes to show that the situations which both these stories mention only provide a utopia for certain people, therefore not allowing for a true Utopia since not everyone is treated equally.
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omela" but I am excited you mentioned it in your rumination, and hope to look more into it. The parallels between the two societies are fascinating. You made a very interesting point in saying that this type of Utopian society would not be able to spread world wide, due to a lack of place to then slaughter the animals. Would there be a country or place of soley slaves in order to preform these tasks? To me that would no fully encompass the ideal of perfection.
ReplyDeleteKaren made an interesting point about the time period in which More wrote Utopia. I never really considered the possibility that in the time frame there was no issue with slavery. The only other idea I can think of is maybe, since the slaves are working for the good of the community maybe that is a better alternative to jailing criminals who then sit and just take communities resources.
An answer for MJ above; after reading this post and comments, I went back and read the section for slavery. It does say that if slaves rebel they are put to death. however, if they are patient and show that they regret the crime, their slavery is lightened or remitted altogether, sometimes by governor pardon, sometimes by popular vote. (page 571) I wonder how hard it is to convince others they regret the crime more than the punishment!
ReplyDeleteI also want to say I "The ones who walk away from Omelas" thought of that story as well. I didn't see, however, any mention of anyone walking away from Utopia.
I think it is interesting that the Utopian society feels that slaying animals would make them less compassionate. In living in a Utopian world where they operate essentially like robots under a faceless system, I find it difficult to imagine that they are able to retain and practice compassion in the first place.
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