3.1.1 The mode of production in the society of Utopia 6

    3.1.2 The limitation of the productivity development in Utopia brought by the mode of production 6

  3.2 The conflict between the social order and discipline and people’s freedom 7

    3.2.1 The order and discipline the society in Utopia requires 7

    3.2.2 The limitation of people’s freedom in Utopia brought by the social order and discipline 7

4. The Utopian-style conflicts embodied in the reality 8

  4.1 The conflict embodied in the aspect of social status in the reality 8

    4.1.1 The problem of the status of men and women in the reality 8

    4.1.2 The problem of the status of the privileged people and ordinary people in the reality 8

    4.1.3 The solutions 9

  4.2 The conflicts embodied in the aspect of social institutions in the reality 9

    4.2.1 The conflicts between the mode of production and development of the productivity in the reality 9

    4.2.2 The conflicts between the social order and discipline and people’s freedom 10

    4.2.3 The solutions 10

5. Conclusion 11

References 12

1 Introduction

    1.1. Explanation of the title

    When it comes to the word “Utopia”, the first thing that people come out from their mind is the idealized life there which is embodied in the aspects ranging from the social life to the country’s institutions. However, nothing is perfect in this world, even in Utopia. Throughout the article, after my careful deliberation, I did find some contradictory phenomena in it, which though haven’t taken up a very large space of the article, still are worthy of analyzing. The contradiction is mainly embodied in two aspects, one is the social status and the other is the institutions in Utopia. 

    At the very beginning of the novel, author Tomas More lays stress on the freedom and equality in this ideal world. But in fact, there are some evidences show that men and women in Utopia do not have the equally social status, the privileged people seem to have more privileges in their lives than the ordinary people do and also there exists some slaves who do not have the right treatment. In addition, according to the description from the author, the means of the production in Utopia is in conflict with the development of the productivity, which is not beneficial to the development of the country in economy. What’s more, Utopia is the place where social order and discipline are emphasized which means there’ re more or less limitations of people’s freedom. These are the contradictory phenomena that I will focus on.   论文网

    1.2 The background and significance

    More’s novel <Utopia> was finished in 1516. It was famous for giving people the blueprint of the beautiful life and ideal country. Over the years, there are so many researches about this work. Only for the inner meanings of the title “Utopia” and the work’s influence on the following generations, there are plenty. Lots of scholars are inclined to talk about the perfection of the “ideal country”, including the perfect institutions, the happiness and freedom people enjoy and so on. However, they ignored the fact that it doesn’t seem that attractive for some of the people, women for example. A few years ago, a small group of scholars found that though the society in Utopia was quite perfect in medieval man’s eyes, it was still the horrible world for feminists. In Utopia, women seemed to be the belongings for men for they had no right to speak for themselves and no courage to fight for their true happiness. Besides, in Utopia, the treatments for the so-called privileged people are obviously different with the ordinary people. In addition, according to the description of the life situations and treatments of the slaves, people have no choice but to doubt the idealism of Utopia. People don’t have to worry about the money because Utopia is the place where people enjoy the distribution according to their needs. But the means of production brings limitation to the development of the productivity in Utopia. And what’s more, leaders in Utopia pay high attention to the social order and discipline but it is in conflict with people’s freedom.