Reading through Utopia
I found a fair few things quite odd. One thing that stuck out to me was their
ideas toward meat. It states that they sell it and eat it and it’s made readily
available to them, but they dare not taint their hands with the blood of the
animals, they have their slaves do it. More states that “Bondsmen do the
slaughtering and cleaning [of the animals]…The Utopians feel that slaughtering
our fellow creatures gradually destroys the sense of compassion, which is the
finest sentiment of which our human nature is capable” (50). If the Utopians truly
feel that way, then why subject anyone to do the slaughtering and to the loss
of compassion? Aren’t they saying that by killing an animal you slowly kill
your soul? That seems a little cruel to do even to a “slave” whom the Utopians
still consider human beings, I’m pretty sure at least. I feel the much simpler
thing to do, especially since they are so big into farming and big ol' gardens, is to just become
vegetarians.
I never thought of that! Perhaps the Utopians see meat as something that they 'need' though. I mean, I suppose that getting proper protein in their diets was probably a big deal.
ReplyDeleteWow this didn't even occur to me while reading Utopia and I'm a vegetarian! I'm not sure why they weren't just vegetarians. Perhaps, like Jacky said, they were concerned with getting protein. However there are lots of other sources of protein that they could have used besides animals.
ReplyDelete'Tis why this is a place that can not ever truly exist. It is full of contradictions. And if they had ways of humanely putting people to sleep, they must have had some idea of how to get other sources of protein. Just saying.
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