Aliases

Utopian Aliases Our class of survivors were given a list composed of Utopian aliases. The survivors were asked to choose one alias and then the survivors were no longer to be known by their real name but by the alias they chose. All the aliases have to do with the word __utopia__ meaning, “an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used in the book //Utopia// (1516) by Sir Thomas More” (Dictionary). The survivors aliases include characters from utopian literature, utopian places, both imaginary and real, and utopians who really lived. Six aliases are characters in books that are going to be read by the survivors. Gulliver’s Travels, written in 1726 by Jonathan Swift, is a story narrated by Lemuel Gulliver. First, Gulliver is lost in Lilliput after being the only survivor of a ship wreck. The people of Lilliput are only six inches tall, making Gulliver a giant. Second, Gulliver finds himself in a country called Brobdingnag. The people there are giants to Gulliver, and he becomes the toy and pet of a nine year old child (World Book). As mentioned by our Ideal Worlds website, there is Marx, "as in Karl who along with Friedrich Engels co-authored T//he Communist Manifesto//, and as in Bernard, a central character in Aldous Huxley’s dystopia, //Brave New// //World//.” Big Brother is a fictional character who appears in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. He is only seen on TV and on posters, but never actually seen. Orwell created Big Brother as an invisible God-like person who has great power. Even though he is never seen, people still fear him and follow the rules made by “Big Brother” (K-1). Offred is the main character of the 20th century creation by Margaret Atwood, //The Handmaid’s Tale//. Julian West is the main character of the book //Looking Backward// by Edward Bellamy. West is put in a trance for 113 years and wakes in the year 2000. West describes what he sees as he lives his new life in Boston. He finds that all the problems the world had in 1887, have all been solved (Answers). The character Robert Earle comes from the book by James Kunstler, //A World Made by// //Hand.// Throughout the book Robert Earle is forced to live a hard, stressful life. The book was written in a time when because of high gasoline prices, and expensive heating and energy bills, the world had collapsed (Energy). Six aliases are named for places described by writers of Utopian literature. El Dorado is a legendary city of great wealth located by the Orinico and Amazon rivers in South America. Explorers Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada of Spain and Sir Walter Raleigh of England searched for the city in the 16th century, but it was never found. The name El Dorado is also the name of a South American king who was usually cover with gold dust (World Book). Both Atlantis and Bensalem are mentioned in a book titled //New Atlantis// by Frances Bacon in the 17th century. Atlantis is an island that people believed sank into the Atlantic Ocean. It first appeared in //Critias// and //Timaeus//, two works written by Plato around 300 B.C. Plato said that gods were punishing the people living on Atlantis because they became corrupt and greedy. Then one day explosions caused the island to shake so much that it sank into the sea. The story of Atlantis was so popular that many people believed it was true and searched for the underwater island (World Book). According to our website, “Bensalem is a mythical island that is described by a European sailor in Francis Bacon’s //The New Atlantis//.” Walden is a pond that is located in Concord, Massachusetts. The pond was formed ten thousand to twelve thousand years ago by retreating glaciers. In the 19th century. Henry David Thoreau lived by this pond for two years and wrote about his experiences (Walden Pond). Urras appears as a fictional planet in Ursula K. Le Guin’s __The Dispossessed__, a 20th century work. Urras is the name of the planet where the Cetians lived (Urras). There are three aliases who are well-known utopian authors. Socrates was a teacher and Greek philosopher. Greek philosophy was greatly influenced by Socrates during his lifetime: “Before Socrates, Greek philosophy focused on the nature and origin of the universe. He redirected philosophy toward a consideration of moral problems and how people should best live their lives. Socrates urged his fellow Greeks to consider as the most important things in life the moral character of their souls and the search for knowledge of moral ideas like justice” (World Book). William Shakespeare was an English playwright and poet who lived from 1564 through 1616. He is considered one of the world’s most popular authors of all time. His plays have been translated into many other languages and have been read all around the world (World Book). Timothy Dwight lived from May 14, 1752, through January 11, 1817. He was the president of Yale College from 1795 to 1817. Dwight was part of a group of writers called “Hartford Wits.” He wrote many books throughout his life and was well known as a preacher, poet, and author (Dwight). There are thousands of Utopian aliases in the world, but the aliases the survivors chose are found as characters in, places in, and authors of the many books and selections that the survivors will read.

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