What is interesting to me in regards to this novel is that while the differences between the past and present are clear to Julian, it isn’t until he has a nightmare that it truly sinks in how much better the present day scenario was. It wasn’t as if he lived in poverty in the past, he in fact lived quite comfortably in 1887, but even he appears to reap major benefits from the Socialist society he indulges in the present of 2000. His nightmare scene rips him from the reality, back into 1887 where he identifies the world as having been wrong and miserable. Living and surviving in the actual times he did not have much to complain about, but upon getting a taste of a better time he immediately wants to tell his loved ones of the horrors of their time. The actual sleeping only to wake up 100 years later and the nightmare are the only plot points that are important to Bellamy’s point, most of the story and its themes are instead driven by Julian’s talks with Doctor Leete.
8 thoughts on “A Look Backwards on Looking Backwards”
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I agree that the nightmare was a turning point in the story. He lost sight of the utopian society that he was recently exposed to and returned to the mayhem of 1887. He had an epiphany and recognized that it was his duty to reveal this opportunity. He eventually realized it was just a dream.
I agree that Bellamy purposely depicted Julian as fairly wealthy in 1887 because he wanted to show his audience how much better life could be with socialism. Although Julian was living comfortably in 1887 and wasn’t greatly effected by the recession, he still grows to deeply appreciate the benefits from the socialist way of life in 2000.
Julian West even acknowledges that he doesn’t do enough for the poorer people in 1887. It isn’t until talking to people in 2000 and learning of their society that he recognizes that he should have helped the poor. The new society West experiences, have taken measures to accommodate the needy.
In this way, just like the present (2000), West is rather utopian or perfect in a way. He realizes his wrongs in the past and feels remorse for not having done what he could have to have contributed to turning the past into a Socialist society when he could have. This is not often how aristocrats are portrayed, especially those of his time are portrayed to us in the present as unethical, greedy men who never once cared about the wellbeing of others. Instead, West feels guilt for not having helped his fellow man, being an ideal citizen.
I wonder if he uses the nightmare, which occurs late in the novel, to force his readers to adjust their views on their position in society. We can assume, many readers of the book, who might have come from the elites, identified with Julian and the nightmare scene served not only to jolt Julian, but also the reader.
I completely agree. I think that Julian’s nightmare made him realized how bad life was in the nineteenth century. Once he was exposed to a more pleasant reality it allowed him to understand the struggles in society. Although he was wealthy he realized that society in as a whole would become significantly better with the introduction to socialism.
I think the problem for people like Julian at the time was that they did not fully understand the suffering of the poor, which caused his inaction. It required some certain kinds of shock to let him realize what the problems are with a strong contraction.
I feel like Bellamy put the nightmare sequence in to fully drive home the points he is trying to make. While the future he is arguing for may look good on its own, by comparing it to the worst parts of the present he is able to fully show his arguments against thing like income inequality and other social evils.