Utopia,

Mans fantasies of a heaven on earth have raised many questions on the plausibility of such a concept. Are us Homo sapiens, defined as knowledgeable and wise, capable of living in concluded harmony? Or are we, as the communal name of human suggests; imperfect beings, incapable of such a triumphant feat.

In the novel Utopia, by Thomas More, the author explores the concept of the ideal society through leading character, Raphael Hythloday. The island Utopia is preached as the perfect society, and More uses it as a module to contrast with contemporary society’s political ideas, morals and customs.

Inconspicuously, More undermines the concept of an Utopia through the use of contradictory arguments and language devices. He mocks the notion of an ideal society and coherently creates a society that in practice, unsuccessfully represents the principles of a Utopia, hence making it a dystopia.

Raphael is the main character of the novel. He is both a philosopher and experienced world traveller, having “seen the new world” and “travelled with Vespucci”. More goes to extensive lengths to build Raphael’s credibility, incorporating him as part of the crew, of historical icon Amerigo Vespucci. This claim ties in perfectly with the time and setting of the novel, consequently driving readers to believe the babble the old man speaks. However, with his inclining credibility, More uses connotations to undermine and exploit the main character and his tales. Raphael’s surname, Hythloday, is translatable into “speaker of nonsense” which consequently destroys and undermines all the credibility of his recounts. Furthermore, More, fondly employs additional connotations hidden within the name of geographical locations. This includes the name of the “perfect island” “Utopia”, meaning “no place”, and the river “____” meaning __________.

The use of these connotations, represent More’s personal perspective on the plausibility of an Utopian society. It is through his use of...