Utopi A Critique Of 17th And 16th Century English And...

Paper 3: Utopia Sir Thomas More’s Utopia offers a critique of 15th and 16th century English and European society. He offers this criticism through a fictitious recount of world traveler Raphael Hythloday’s journey to the land of Utopia. More brilliantly expresses his criticisms of society through the voice of Hythloday, primarily so none of his views, no matter how outlandish, couldn’t technically be tied back to him. This societal critique was one of the most famous works produced from the Renaissance era because it offered such a humanistic and individualistic outlook on the way Europe could be. Utopians were much more focused on their role in society instead of their own personal accomplishments and feats. They were also less violent†¦show more content†¦The lawyer (characterizing European society) begins the discussion by stating that there isn’t anything wrong with capital punishment for the crime of theft. Hythloday intellectually counters w ith the belief that capital punishment is too severe of a penalty and not an effective deterrent for theft. He says that the fear death will not stop a thief from stealing food to put on the table. The lawyer tries to argue that everyone already has enough food on the table in the first place, but Hythloday disagrees and proceeds to outline the societal problems that unintentionally promote the creation of thieves. More includes this story to establish Hythloday as the one who will be critiquing European society. He establishes the notion that societal structure, among others, is one of the most prominent issues in European society. Now that he has presented some of the problems with current society, More opens the novel to Hythloday’s discussion of Utopia. Again, Hythloday’s description of Utopia needs to be seen as More’s idea of the unachievable perfect society, not a model for other nations to follow. Utopia is described as an island made up of fifty-four c ities, each one with the same basic societal structure (laws, customs, etc.). The island is as isolated as it needs to be and is well