The novel Utopia, written by Ahmed Towfik is based on the comparisons of two social classes one being the rich, Utopians and those in poverty, the Others. The novel thoroughly transforms itself with the ideas given from two points of view. The points of views coming from a Utopian seen as a predator and the Other’s seen as the prey. The author does this to create this contrast while still keeping alive the idea of the classes and whats makes them individual from the entire society.
One of the main themes that I will be touching on that is within the novel the individuality shown in the Utopian and Other’s culture. For Utopian culture there seems to be no regulations when it comes to life styles and being who ever they want to be. That being said, creates an overall stigma towards Utopians as they seem inferior to the Other’s. An example of this in the novel comes from the way the character in predator sections describes his life. He seems to posses an entitled attitude whereas the other’s don’t. It states, “No one interferes in my life in anyway I have a right to take anything in any quantity and at any price” (Utopia, 8). This reveals the entitlement depicted in this character and to counterbalance it, other’s care less about their individual gain. For the main character in the sections titled prey, the level of individuality is rather seen on a level of intimacy to make them unique and more humane and in touch with self as the individual. Keeping to the idea of individuality it all ends up tying back to the overall idea behind the Utopian culture being of modernity.
Now onto the presence of individuality is the Other’s culture. An example that fully encompasses this is, “But in spite of that, I continue to aspire to something else. I aspire to something beyond sex” (Utopia, 60). Yes, this quote represents a binary that is in comparison to the relationship for how others treat women and the utopians treat women, but in reality this shows the individual outlook on life that Utopians seem to be more trapped in with their boredom leading them to life more uncertain and less unique to the person. The Other’s mentioned in the novel seem to want to find themselves as they seem to have nothing more to lose in life.
With all of this in mind, the real main idea being of individuality through the novel the binaries present complete this idea with these two classes in this Utopia society differ so much as comparing the rich to the poor yet when it comes down to it. The rich being Utopians take full advantage of what they have and don’t take into account the overall difference between them. The main reason the two narrations are split being binaries of predator and prey is because Utopians gain pleasure from hunting those less fortunate in their modernized cultural society.
Literary Genres in Translation 