Topic > Thomas More's Utopia: The Concept of 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 real realities. 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'd rather be honest than smart. ” (19). There is another point where More plays with the understanding of truth, where he wants Peter Giles to address a fictional character to ensure that Utopia “includes nothing false and omits nothing true. ” (19). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why violent video games should not be banned”? Get an original essay. Is the letter More is writing to Peter Giles also a piece of fiction that leads one to wonder what could More say about human nature and honesty, the state of truth and the objective goal for his audience. From the first word to the last, More writes a fictional piece, but in this More creates an almost setting realistic to his audience by using letters he "sends" to real people and a specific dialogue called Platonic dialogue 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 it 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. "(97) With this quote More's character touches on a subjective truth, that although he may not agree with everything Hythloday had to say, there is still a certain aspect of his ideas that rings true and that he would like to see in our societies but does not expect to see them. The reason I found that More ended his book in this way was that his audience, in a sense, did the same thing, came up with ideas that they believed to be true. in the real world. book and take an informed look at our societies and see where they could fit better. 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 ideas. explore. More does not want his audience to be like his character at the end of the book, to simply want 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 speaks of men with experience and knowledge who should make them available at court and for the public benefit, but they should do so with “an indirect approach and with hidden suggestions. ”(34). 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 perfect 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. "(34). More does not 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 they have worked.