Flatland Summary

Nicholson 1

Isaac Nicholson Mrs. Woodard Honors Calculus 14 October 2015

Flatland Synopsis

The book Flatland presents a thrilling tale of a two-dimensional shape that has the rare and unique opportunity to visit the lands of other dimensions. The entire book is told from the perspective of a square, and is narrated in the first person limited point of view. It was written by a clergyman in 1884 during the Victorian Era in England. The book as a whole is separated into two sections. The first focuses on the nature, customs, habits, and history of flatland, while the second book discusses the protagonist as he journeys to other lands and extends his knowledge. Finally, I believe one of the most interesting aspects of the book is how it presents

Across the land, there are uniform rules for virtually every aspect of the lives of the shapes. Isosceles triangles are the most stupid males, and make up the soldier class. Among isosceles triangles, those with a smaller angle are more stupid but yet are more effective soldiers, while the more regular triangles are smarter but worse soldiers. This likely refers to the fact that soldiers and fighters were considered stupid in the Victorian Era. Equilateral triangles are tradesmen and are smarter than the isosceles triangles, and polygons with more sides are generally smarter and are part of a higher social class. Another odd aspect of Flatland is that an isosceles triangle can occasionally give birth to an equilateral triangle and thus improve his social status. This helps quell

Members of lower societal classes are taught to recognize each other by voice and by feeling one another. The middle classes mostly learn to feel each other, although some are taught to use Sight Recognition as well. Among the higher classes, Sight Recognition alone is used, mainly because feeling each other would not only be impractical but also considered rude. Other than social lessons, shapes are also taught Art, which is fairly uncommon after the color rebellion, and several different forms of Mathematics. The narrator is a teacher of Mathematics, and has very bright grandchildren that are almost perfectly