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Edwin A. Abbott's Flatland

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Flatland, written by Edwin A. Abbott, is about a Square whose goes on a journey to the third dimension, Spaceland. Square is from the second dimension, Flatland. In this story Abbott incorporates many Christian principals into the book. All throughout the book there are references towards events in the Bible and biblical characters. The main character A. Square is similar to the biblical characters Paul and Thomas, also known as doubting Thomas.
The Apostle Paul is most popularly known for his letters in the Bible. Paul’s early life was marked by religious zeal and brutal violence. In fact, Paul wasn’t known as Paul in the beginning, he was known as Saul. Saul was a very scary lawyer. He believed he was doing the will of the Lord by killing …show more content…

Square doubted the possibilities of a fourth dimension, just as Thomas doubted that Jesus had actually risen from the grave. As seen in the following dialogue you can see Sphere did everything to make square believe before showing him it was real. Sphere: “But I mean not only three names, but Three Dimensions.” Square: “I. Would your Lordship indicate or explain to me in what direction is the Third Dimension, unknown to me?” (Abbott 58) This dialogue continued between Square and Sphere. Square continued to be ignorant to other possibilities, Square had to be shown to believe. Thomas, one of Jesus’s disciples, also had to be shown the marks of the scars on Jesus before he could believe and understand that Jesus had actually risen from the grave. “So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord.” But he said to them, “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25) Thomas didn’t believe it was actually Jesus in front of him, he had to see and touch to believe, as Square had to touch Sphere to believe he was actually a “circle”. In this way Square is similar to the biblical character doubting Thomas by having to see to believe.
In conclusion, the characters of Flatland directly relate to the characters in the Bible. Edwin Abbott was able to bring Christian principles

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