Summary of Utopia

Summary of Utopia

Utopia, a book written by Sir Thomas More, describes several themes throughout it relevant to the beliefs of the author and the environment he lived in. He was a humanitarian scholar living under the reign of King Henry VIII.

Thomas More’s main character, also named More, meets up with his close friend Giles who introduces him to another acquaintance, Hythloday, who spent most of his years traveling around the world by boat, with the famous Amerigo Vespucci. After establishing his impressive feats of travel, Hythloday begins to rant on and on about the impossibility of reasoning with a king, specifically Henry VIII. He continues to say that no matter what practical and knowledgeable ideas are being presented to someone who holds complete power, the one who holds the power will expect that everyone agree and obey his thoughts and demands. The traveler then continues from his treasonous ideas to the description of an island he had visited that he believe to be perfect, Utopia.

Utopia is the ideal place to live and the ideal way of living for everyone on Earth. Hythloday goes into great description of every little aspect of life that these people do and encounter on a daily basis. He speaks of this perfect world in such a manner that it is obvious that he is envious of their way of life and wishes he could trade his own for theirs. This book is Thomas More’s way of speaking his thoughts on how the world he lives in is far from perfect and how he believes a perfect world would look and act.