1. Humor and Parody
1.1. The title Utopia means Nowhere
1.2. The community government groups are called sty.
2. Overview
2.1. Thomas More's Utopia is a Christian Humanist view of an ideal society
2.2. More does not simply offer a theoretical view, but provides specifics for how to create this world.
2.3. Utopia offers a Christianized form of Plato's Republic
3. The Last Great Christian synthesis of the Renaissance
3.1. The Christian aspect of the synthesis is Christ's gospel of caring for the poor, the oppressed and the downtrodded
3.2. The Platonic, Republican tradition is the Greek aspect of synthesis
3.3. More wrote Utopia with a comedic tone, allowing him to speak his truth while telling a deeper story.
4. Eight Themes of More's Utopianism
4.1. How is it properly divided in Utopia? How does this affect society?
4.1.1. The island was originally a peninsula but a 15-mile wide channel was dug by the community's founder King Utopos to separate it from the mainland. The island contains 54 towns, each with about 6000 households
4.2. What is working life like in Utopia?
4.2.1. There is no private ownership on Utopia, with goods being stored in warehouses and people requesting what they need. There are also no locks on the doors of the houses, which are rotated between the citizens every ten year
4.3. Why does Utopia use slavery?
4.3.1. There is deliberate simplicity about these trades; for instance, all people wear the same types of simple clothes and there are no dressmakers making fine apparel. All able-bodied citizens must work; thus unemployment is eradicated, and the length of the working day can be minimised: the people only have to work six hours a day (although many willingly work for longer).
4.3.1.1. Slavery is a feature of Utopian life and it is reported that every household has two slaves. The slaves are either from other countries or are the Utopian criminals. These criminals are weighed down with chains made out of gold.
4.4. What is the government like in Utopia?
4.4.1. Other significant innovations of Utopia include: a welfare state with free hospitals, euthanasia permissible by the state, priests being allowed to marry, divorce permitted, premarital sex punished by a lifetime of enforced celibacy and adultery being punished by enslavement. Meals are taken in community dining halls and the job of feeding the population is given to a different household in turn.
4.5. How is Utopia a social critique of Great Britain?
4.5.1. Of how Atheists are frowned upon in society but have a variety of moon or sun worshippers or like Christians