Comments on: LeGuin’s Reality: Utopia Cannot Exist http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/ Fall 2006 English 30 Fri, 04 Jan 2008 06:46:11 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 By: nateemmons http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/#comment-252 nateemmons Mon, 03 Dec 2007 04:14:19 +0000 http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/#comment-252 I agree. It's obvious that utopias can not and will not ever exist so bringing up this point over and over again after every piece of utopian literature is a waste of time, even michelle commented upon that a few times. The interesting thing about this book, though, is that it follows Shevek's search for two different utopias in parallel. It alternates between his search for a perfect society on Urras with his search for a perfect society on Anarres. His life on Anarres obviously preceded his travel to Urras so it's interesting that the book was written in this back-and-forth style. It shows how in each case, Shevek starts out very happy and optimistic about the world he lives in and slowly begins to learn about all of its flaws and shortcomings. Society on Antarres is oppressive because despite it's individualistic anarchist ideals, the will of the group is still oppressive to individual people. Society on Urras, despite the fact that its upper class feels it to be a capitalist paradise, opresses the lower class of workers and creates class inequality. Neither societies are perfect and both ultimately end up disappointing Shevek. I wonder if this is meant to be a criticism of democracy and capitalism vs. socialism, showing the flaws of each system... Did anyone else get this impression? -Nate Emmons I agree. It’s obvious that utopias can not and will not ever exist so bringing up this point over and over again after every piece of utopian literature is a waste of time, even michelle commented upon that a few times.

The interesting thing about this book, though, is that it follows Shevek’s search for two different utopias in parallel. It alternates between his search for a perfect society on Urras with his search for a perfect society on Anarres. His life on Anarres obviously preceded his travel to Urras so it’s interesting that the book was written in this back-and-forth style.

It shows how in each case, Shevek starts out very happy and optimistic about the world he lives in and slowly begins to learn about all of its flaws and shortcomings. Society on Antarres is oppressive because despite it’s individualistic anarchist ideals, the will of the group is still oppressive to individual people. Society on Urras, despite the fact that its upper class feels it to be a capitalist paradise, opresses the lower class of workers and creates class inequality. Neither societies are perfect and both ultimately end up disappointing Shevek.

I wonder if this is meant to be a criticism of democracy and capitalism vs. socialism, showing the flaws of each system… Did anyone else get this impression?

-Nate Emmons

]]> By: jlashley http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/#comment-251 jlashley Mon, 03 Dec 2007 03:38:35 +0000 http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/#comment-251 The discussions within class and on this blog have been almost like beating a dead horse. The same issues seem to arise within every utopian novel and similar questions are risen about the issues. The Dispossessed is no different. The planet Anarres is the prefect socialist state, with complete sharing and no government. The planet Urras is the prefect republic, with social classes and a structured economy. The question has been, from start to finish, "Is this utopia possible?" I think that we all understand at this point that any utopia is impossible. The simple fact remains that humans compete. And competing is the ultimate downfall of utopias because utopias are dependent upon cooperation and placing the society before oneself. I know that most everybody looks out for themselves and their immediate families first and then maybe the greater society. Any utopia is impossible. However, the ones created by LeGuinn are not really utopias because they are not prefect. Therefore, these societies could be attained using a little change to the way humans act. But please can we move past the is it plausible question because the resounding answer is NO. The discussions within class and on this blog have been almost like beating a dead horse. The same issues seem to arise within every utopian novel and similar questions are risen about the issues. The Dispossessed is no different. The planet Anarres is the prefect socialist state, with complete sharing and no government. The planet Urras is the prefect republic, with social classes and a structured economy. The question has been, from start to finish, “Is this utopia possible?” I think that we all understand at this point that any utopia is impossible. The simple fact remains that humans compete. And competing is the ultimate downfall of utopias because utopias are dependent upon cooperation and placing the society before oneself. I know that most everybody looks out for themselves and their immediate families first and then maybe the greater society. Any utopia is impossible. However, the ones created by LeGuinn are not really utopias because they are not prefect. Therefore, these societies could be attained using a little change to the way humans act. But please can we move past the is it plausible question because the resounding answer is NO.

]]> By: clairexu http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/#comment-250 clairexu Mon, 03 Dec 2007 01:15:33 +0000 http://engl30.wordpress.com/2007/12/02/leguins-reality-utopia-cannot-exist/#comment-250 In her novel The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin seems to convey the message that there is no such thing as utopia. The two worlds in the book, Anarres and Urras, are constructed as nearly complete opposites. While Anarres is classless, anarchist, and essentially socialist, Urras is capitalistic and the socially stratified. Shevek, raised on the planet of Anarres, initially believes that Annares is indeed a utopian world. His original opinion of Urras is that it is a planet of strife of inequity, and he hopes that during his stay on the planet that he may enlighten its people so that they take up Anarres’s way of life. Once he arrives on Urras, however, he is immediately struck by the splendor of the planet. While all of the Anarresti must live in austerity and simplicity, some Urrasti live in splendor and extravagance. This experience shows Shevek that there can be a better way of life than the one he knows, thus demonstrating that Annares is far from a utopian world. The extravagance and splendor of Urras comes at a price, however. Shevek soon sees the class he had been anticipating, the poor and oppressed. This class lives in destitute conditions, is overworked and underpaid, and when they stage a demonstration to protest their state, many of them are killed. Clearly, the world of Urras is no utopia either. So can a utopia really exist? Neither of the two extremes in Anarres and Urras can seem to call themselves utopian societies. It seems that a community must settle for either total mediocrity, as with Anarres, or an skewed unbalance, such as Urras. It is impossible to make everyone happy, and thus it is impossible to create a utopia. -Claire In her novel The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin seems to convey the message that there is no such thing as utopia. The two worlds in the book, Anarres and Urras, are constructed as nearly complete opposites. While Anarres is classless, anarchist, and essentially socialist, Urras is capitalistic and the socially stratified.
Shevek, raised on the planet of Anarres, initially believes that Annares is indeed a utopian world. His original opinion of Urras is that it is a planet of strife of inequity, and he hopes that during his stay on the planet that he may enlighten its people so that they take up Anarres’s way of life. Once he arrives on Urras, however, he is immediately struck by the splendor of the planet. While all of the Anarresti must live in austerity and simplicity, some Urrasti live in splendor and extravagance. This experience shows Shevek that there can be a better way of life than the one he knows, thus demonstrating that Annares is far from a utopian world.
The extravagance and splendor of Urras comes at a price, however. Shevek soon sees the class he had been anticipating, the poor and oppressed. This class lives in destitute conditions, is overworked and underpaid, and when they stage a demonstration to protest their state, many of them are killed. Clearly, the world of Urras is no utopia either.
So can a utopia really exist? Neither of the two extremes in Anarres and Urras can seem to call themselves utopian societies. It seems that a community must settle for either total mediocrity, as with Anarres, or an skewed unbalance, such as Urras. It is impossible to make everyone happy, and thus it is impossible to create a utopia.

-Claire

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