Looking Backward
2000-1887
Edward Bellamy
Wordle created by an excerpt from chapters 5-6 of the novel, pages 33-42
Looking Backward 2000-1887 was the third best-selling novel of the nineteenth century for obvious reasons. The novel presented a cynical view of the current American societal structure and offered a utopian alternative that seemed perfect in its description of equality, truth, and peace. This optimistic hope for the future of mankind was extremely appealing to the masses, who were subject to the exact hardship and desolation that Bellamy describes in painstaking detail throughout the book.
Julian West, the main character of the novel, is an aristocrat of the higher class. Through sheer science-fiction, or in West’s opinion, miracle, he sleeps through 113 years of history and awakens to a golden century. All of the ills of the late 1800’s have been solved and replaced with mind-blowing, yet seemingly simple solutions. It is the year 2000, and every man, woman, and child is considered equal in every and all respects. West's astonishment is addressed by Dr. Leete, a representative and mouthpiece of the futuristic American lifestyle. Every question West raises, born from the issues of labor, wage disparity, equality, class systems, or patriotism, is answered by Dr. Leete in a convincing and solid manner.
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The wordle above highlights the words used the most in the key chapters 5-6. The larger the size of the word means it was used more in proportion to the others. Choice selections, including “capital”, “labor”, “corporations”, “business”, “nation” and “monopolies” draw attention to the focus of this study. These economic topics were instrumental in bringing about historical change.
Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backward 2000-1887. New York: Signet Classic, 2000.
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