Looking Backward Bellamy

Looking Backward 2000-1887 is a utopian novel , written in the first person narration by Edward Bellamy and published in 1888. Bellamy has written this novel as an attempt to express his rejection of the capital society of the 19th century. He tries to establish a utopian community through the rules of nationalism. In his novel, Looking Backward 2000-1887, Bellamy tries to portray an optimistic future of the 20th century. His utopian portrayal is enhanced by social order within a national society . In fact, the novel is titled Looking Backward 2000-1887 because the narrator, from the future, looks back on his own time, which is illustrated as a powerfully ugly century . Hence , Bellamy employs the themes of social welfare and national society

West seems as a defender of the 19th century , while Dr.Leete tries to criticize it . The equality of labor is foregrounded by a clear contrast between both centuries . For example , Dr.Leete condemns the 19th century , saying “The nation does not maim and slaughter its workmen by thousands, as did the private capitalists and corporations of your day” . (Bellamy 37). Thus , Bellamy’s imagination of equal employment for all citizens significantly contributes to portraying the utopian community of the 20th century

Money becomes unnecessary . In such a civilized society , each citizen is given a credit card to buy the goods he desires. Like any utopian idea , the use of credit cards is guided by some organized rules . For instance , credit cards cannot be interchangeable as they are enough to cover a person’s needs . One of the elements of this successful economic system is the spread of magnificent public stores . Every citizen is provided with a distribution store within walking distance . Even the rural districts of modern Boston are connected to the central warehouse of the country . All goods are sent by transmitters to citizens’ houses . Edith says: “there was one of these great distributing establishments in each ward of the city, so that no residence was more than five or ten minutes' walk from one of them” (Bellamy