Topic > Thomas More's Utopia: Understanding the Truth

There is no denying that Thomas More's Utopia is a product of fiction, it is evident from his use of combining fictional characters and places with characters and places that are in reality real. Literary genres aside, in More's letter to Peter Giles, More emphasizes the feeling of truth to which the book belongs, citing that he “would rather tell an objective falsehood than an intentional lie. In short, I prefer to be honest than intelligent." Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay There is another place where More plays with the understanding of truth, where he wants Peter Giles to turn to a fictional character to create certain Utopia “contains nothing false and omits nothing true ”. Even the letter More is writing to Peter Giles is a piece of fiction that leads one to wonder: what might More be saying about human nature, honesty, the state of truth, and objective purpose to his audience? From the first word to the last, More writes a fictional piece, but in this More creates an almost realistic setting for his audience by using letters he "sends" to real people and a specific dialogue called Platonic dialogue. But the “truth” in More's Utopia is not found in the setting, in the characters, nor in the type of dialogue he uses, but in the idea he tries to convey. This is described at the end of the book, as More, and his character, choose to end it with this quote: “-I can't agree with everything he said. Yet I openly confess that there are many things in the utopian state that I would rather than expect to see in our societies. " With this quote More's character touches on a subjective truth, which is that while he may not agree with everything Hythloday had to say, there is still a certain aspect of his ideas that rings true to him and that he would like to see in our societies but doesn't expect to see them. The reason why I found that More ended his book in this way was for his audience, in a sense, to do the same thing, to come up with ideas that they found true in the book. and take a conscious look at our own societies and see where they might fit best. This gives its audience a sense of hope, that if they wish to see things change in their society they should go out and try to change them using the most explored ideas he wants his audience to be like his character at the end of the book, who simply wants change, but he wants his audience to be that change. This brings us back to what More had said in the first part of his book, when he talks about men equipped with experience and knowledge that should make them available at court and for the public benefit, but should do so with "an indirect approach and with hidden suggestions". At the end of the book, and even more so in the reiteration of the last paragraph, More realizes his ideal. More offers his audience a world that is, arguably, close to perfection and he wants his audience to use the truths he has found in his ideas to change the world around them. One way or another, More is educating his audience to be "men of experience and knowledge" so that they can use what he has taught them to put to good use at court or for public benefit. But More cannot induce this on his audience without doing it himself with an “indirect approach and with hidden suggestions”. More doesn't directly tell his audience to adopt his ideas, but creates a story that shows his ideas tested and applied to society and its individuals, then asks the audience to choose for themselves which parts worked and which need to be.