We are introduced to the circumstances surrounding More's trip to Flanders. The first part of the trip is centered around communication between More, Giles and Raphael. Their conversation is revolved around religious, civil and philosophical issues. They begin in a church, then in a garden , and all of a sudden they stop for a lunch break...hmmm? The debate of each others philosophical theory seems to be a leisure activity these three men partake in. The question I have is, does political work count as philosophy or knowledge?
We realize that Thomas More wrote Utopia which was an important point in the argument between he and Raphael. We know that More was a lawyer, served many roles, and wrote a number of works that contributed to this time period. However, More's character in the novel seemed to be a little more wiser than the actual More himself. More is interested in the philosophical plan of the European and Christian customs. Thus, in this book More does a good job with critiquing the Utopian society. His visit to England helped him justify his desire to discuss reform. More is eager to hear how Raphael feels about England since he spent several months there.
In counter we go to Raphael. Raphael seems odd to me in book one. He is clearly very intellectual and has great ideas. Some of his ideas seem very unrealistic and extremely wordy! He says way too much, and never seems to answer questions straight on. However, his knowledge is too valuable. More doesn’t actually take a lot of Raphael's ideas, but something about what Raphael brings to the table causes More to believe in reform. It seems as though More uses Raphael to create issues that need to be resolved. Raphael mentions that once a noble lord has died, they become beggars and thieves. His theory of punishing thieves and repaying their debt by them making them live out their punishment and then put to death is really harsh. However, that’s Raphael for you.
Book one definitely builds suspense! Book one seems to present the negative side of "civilization". The references comparing European problems with the government. Book two should be quite interesting.
I think More in the book has certain traits that More in reality would like to have. Like you said, more in the book seems a bit wiser. I think anyone who is writing themselves into a project would improve certain qualities. Who wouldn't make themselves prettier or funnier or smarter? It seems like the human thing to do. I get that this seems like a lot of the negatives of this society but I honestly am not surprised. Utopias are impossible and darkness always comes out of the presentation of them, so seeing the negatives of this society is something I expected.
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