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Tommy MoreMore was born in 1478, and was an English Lawyer, Member of Parliament and Chancellor in the reign of Henry VIII. He was also a scholar and writer.

More studied as a lawyer at Oxford and prior to that spent time under John Morton (the then Archbishop of Canterbury). In 1516, More published what is considered his most important work ‘Utopia’, which he intended to contrast with the current European political system. Utopia envisioned a ‘republic ruled by reason’ He entered the King’s service in 1517 and was one of Henry VIII’s most trusted civil servants. He was executed in 1535 after being convicted of treason for refusing to accept Henry VIII’s split from the Church of Rome and subsequently his divorce from Catherine of Aragon.

BBC History (Accessed: 04/11/2011) http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/more_sir_thomas.shtmlAnonymous

What is a Utopia?

“An imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect. The word was first used in the book Utopia (1516) by Sir Thomas More.”Google Definitions

John Lennon’s “Imagine” (1971) closely describes a utopian society, in which there is “no heaven”, “nothing to kill or die for”, “no possessions” and “a brotherhood of man.”Lennon (1971) ‘Imagine’, Apple Records

Example of Utopia in Fiction

Films• The Lion King plain - Jack• Teletubby Land - Sacha• Wall-E - Graham• Equilibrium - Ben• The Matrix - Axel• The Truman Show – Callum

Games• The Sims• SimCity

Can We Have a Utopian Society?

We are not happy unless we have something to complain about. For example, magazines such as Hello, gossip sites, trash papers (Daily Mail) all leech off the misery of others (or create it).

People want power and aren’t content with being equal. Animal Farm is a good example of this – “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.”

Bibliographyhttp://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/more_sir_thomas.shtml

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=define%3Autopia

http://www.lyrics007.com/John%20Lennon%20Lyrics/Imagine%20Lyrics.html