Kirstie Williams. Benson. English 271 Distance Education.

Kirstie Williams Benson English 271 Distance Education 5 March 2017 Outline THESIS: In this essay, we will analyze Utopia’s role in the common laws, the religious freedoms, and dystopia/utopia similarities throughout More’s literature. I. Introduction A. Imagine you are a sailor, sailing the vast emptiness of the ocean. B. To your dismay, the storm thrashes waves against your boat. C. You find yourself on the island of Thomas More’s Utopia D. Some facts about Thomas More II. Common Law / Commonplace / Customs A. The commons in Thomas More’s Utopia are drastically different from the society in which he lived. B. Thus, More spent most of his lifetime scrutinizing and paying considerable amounts of attention to the England’s common place†¦show more content†¦This island is Thomas More’s ideal fictional society, Utopia. Thomas More was not the first person to write about a Utopian society, but he did coin the term utopia which means â€Å"not place† in Greek. Utopia was written in Latin and published in 1516. It is said to be Thomas More’s most influential work. More’s utopian society had complete employment, the citizens are not fixated on money, and are tolerant towards others in the community (Forward). In this essay, we will analyze Utopia’s role in the common laws, the religious freedoms, and dystopia/utopia similarities throughout More’s literature. Thomas more claims that the commons (a shared system or political space whose authority is constituted by its actual commonality) in his imagined society is fundamentally diverse fro m the society in which he lived and the tradition in which he wrote. More copes with the established notions of commonality in his book Utopia. Common law was on the rise and was England’s dominant legal form during the 1500s. Thus, More spent most of his lifetime scrutinizing and paying considerable amounts of attention to England’s common law. The Utopian system of housing and city planning, method of senatorial deliberation, mode of dress, manner of dining, travel practices, pre-marital courtships, garden growing, and chicken hatching are all described as â€Å"customs†. Evoking the peculiarity of the English legal system