to what extent is thomas mores utopia a joke
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To What extent is Thomas Mores Utopia a joke?
To simply label Thomas Mores Utopia a "joke", seriously undermines the subtle and varying ideas presented within the text. The book certainly contains humorous turns, but, by and large, these often serve only to highlight a more serious point or raise an interesting question. Thomas More himself was a complex character, and some of these complexities are represented in the book. We must remember that all characters, real or imaginary, portrayed in the book, are initially conjured by more. And the fact that he himself is present in the text, suggests a very personal perhaps philosophical perspective on the issues raised
In order to determine how the "joke" interpretation of Utopia formed, it is useful to look at the language used within the text, with particular attention paid to names. The word Utopia itself in translation means both 'good place' and 'no place'. Following in the same vein, Raphael Hythloday, the man who gives us our account of Utopia in the second book, can be both translated as 'Angel' or 'peddler of nonsense'. This theme continues with Utopias place names: Anyder, the great river translates as 'waterless', and Amaurote, the main city as "dim city". It is easy to infer from these deceptive place names that More intended his work to be, as Susan Bruce postures
"A great joke at the expense of the reader"...