UTOPIA is a type of fiction describing an imaginary, ideal world. The term comes from Sir Thomas More's Utopia, written in Latin in 1516, describing a perfect political state. The word UTOPIA is a pun on the Greek "outopia," meaning "no place," and "eutopia," meaning "good place." The earliest UTOPIAN work was Plato's Republic. Dystopia, meaning "bad place," is the term applied to unpleasant imaginary places, such as those in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and George Orwell's 1984.
(This post has been inspired by and in some instances, directly quoted from A Handbook to Literature, 8th Edition, by William Harmon and C. Hugh Holman)
Funny how most utopias turn out to be dystopias in disguise.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be dystopian overload in the book marketplace today.
ReplyDeleteThanks for clarifying both. I know sometimes I get confused, and I'm sure I'm not alone!
ReplyDeleteUtopia is a state of mind.
ReplyDeleteSmiling at the comments from fellow bloggers. Great post K.
ReplyDeletex
It is a pity Sir Thomas Moore didn't live up to his vision of the perfect political state.
ReplyDeleteNot even Gene Roddenberry saw utopia!
ReplyDeleteGotta love Utopias and Dystopias!!! Yay! take care
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I love dystopian books and those 'utopia' worlds that are really dystopians :)
ReplyDeleteI would prefer to live in a Utopia but I'd rather read about a dystopia -- I think there is more story potential in a dystopia.
ReplyDeleteHope you join us in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge Reflections Mega Post on Monday May 2nd.
Lee
It's an interesting dichotomy, since living in a Utopia would probably be dreadfully boring, whilst living in a Dystopia would probably be rather adventurous.
ReplyDeleteOne person's utopia can be another person's dystopia. Depends on their attitudes.
ReplyDeleteGREAT U post.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think my mind is all of those things! Stop in & read U is for Uranus
ReplyDelete..."U" is indeed a challenge. Utopia fits the bill on a rainy/dreary Monday night:)
ReplyDeleteEL
And why is it that in the stories where they try to create a Utopia, instead they end up with a Dystopia? Like in Animal Farm by George Orwell. The animals took over the farm to create an ideal world, and it ended up worse than before. And in Watership Down, where the rabbits discover a warren that seems to be a Utopia but danger abounds because actually these rabbits are being fattened for the kill.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting concept-- that the Utopian society really cannot exist in this world.
Karen you know I love your blog so here's another one of many awards I'm sure you have. Versatile blogger at my blog. Cheers.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen, what a great word for the day. If only we could live a Utopian existence for half the time.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to stop by, say hi, and thank you for hosting the A-Z challenge. I hope that you have a wonderful day,
Kathy M.
Cool word for the day. I had a lot of trouble with U. Not sure what I'm going to do about the rest either :)
ReplyDeleteUtopia! Ahaa I love that!
ReplyDeleteAs far as Utopias go, you're forgetting about the classic book, "The Giver." But even that shows you that it doesn't always work. Is there such thing as a universal utopia? Or are is it based upon individuality?
ReplyDeleteAva