The lives of Edward Bellamy and his fictional character Julian West seem very different. However in some ways they can be seen as parallel. Edward Bellamy was born to a long line of New England Baptist Ministers who were clergy, which was considered part of the upper class (Looking Backward).
Julian West was born into a nineteenth century aristocratic family, also of the upper class (Sparknotes. com).
Julian’s family had wealth passed down from generation to generation whereas Edward Bellamy had a less wealthy background in which his family had to acquire wealth (Looking Backward).
In the nineteenth century you were born into your class without much chance for advancement, therefore, Edward Bellamy nor Julian West had much problems becoming educated and finding work. Julian West as part of the aristocracy, held some animosity towards the working class. This could be attributed to his upbringing and also to the strike that was taking place before he went into his deep sleep. The working class had gone on strike, which had postponed the building of his house for he and his future bride, Edith Bartlett (Looking Backward).
The Essay on Looking Backward By Edward Bellamy
Looking Backward The book Looking Backward was written by Edward Bellamy and published in the year 1888. Bellamy started off his career as a journalist ... to represent the new society. Within the first chapter Julian West is the narrator describing to his listeners how society ... back than. There were four classes: Rich, Poor, Educated, and Ignorant. In the 1800's, Julian tells the readers that this ...
On the other hand, Edward Bellamy’s problems with the aristocracy may have been attributed to the fact that his grandfather and father were pushed out of the church for having unorthodox views. Shortly after, Bellamy himself left the church because he felt that they were very passive towards the bad conditions of the present day and instead emphasized getting rewards in the afterlife (Sparknotes.
com).
In other words, Bellamy and West both had issues with the way present day society was but they both placed the blame in a different place. Bellamy Was educated in the United States and Germany and studied law, however he did not practice law, he decided to become a journalist. West was also educated but held no job due to the inheritance that he had received.
The comparison here is based on two educated men in the same class. Though they went about it in different ways they both sought to get an education feeling that it was of importance. Julian West noticed the divisions of the class system and held his resentment toward the working class because he had to depend on them for his house to be built (Looking Backward).
Edward Bellamy also had resentment towards the class system, he dislike the inequality there was among the classes (Nation of Nations).
Bellamy is well aware of the problems of this class system while West seems to think that it is a natural human society that needs to change. However Julian West at the beginning if this novel could be considered a younger, more na ” ive age Edward Bellamy, and after he awakes from a deep sleep and sees the new world he matures to new ideals.
West awakes to a world without war or poverty, where the economy is based on public capital and every citizen is given the same chances to succeed. It takes time to adjust but then Julian sees how peaceful of a world it has become and begins to adjust graciously. When West hears a sermon given by Mr. Barton he begins to feel guilty because he knows that he contributed to the brutal times of the nineteenth century (Looking Backward).
The Term Paper on Class V Caste System
A Class vs. a Caste System In any country's history, a high stage of social development is reached only when the main social divisions are formed. "The caste system penetrates the Hindu society to a level unknown elsewhere. It plays some part in other civilizations but in India it has invaded the whole. It is in this sense that we may speak of the caste system as a phenomenon peculiar to India" ( ...
This can be compared to Bellamy in such a way that maybe he feels like he contributed to the times of the nineteenth century as well because he was a part of the upper class.
Before Bellamy’s family was pushed out of the church they were in a sense a part of the class system that showed such inequality. Overall the comparison of Edward Bellamy to the fictional Character of Julian West is that of growth. Edward Bellamy Uses his character as a picture of himself. He used to be young and na ” ive and think that things were fine the way that they were, but then one day, as Julian west did in the novel, he woke up. Things had changed for the better and people were happy and everyone had a piece of the American dream.
That is the way that Edward Bellamy wanted the world to be and he used this novel and his fictional alter ego to express his views and ideas. These two people compare to each other because they are in a sense the same person. They both came to accept socialism because socialism is a system in which capital is controlled by the government rather than by private enterprise or individuals, therefore it is guaranteed that everyone is going to get a piece of the pie. In the end that is what both Edward Bellamy and Julian west both want, equality for all.
Bellamy, Edward. Looking Backward. Dover Publications, INC: New York 1888. Davidson, James West; William Gie napp; Christine Herman; Mark Lytle; Michael Staff.
Nation of Nations. McGraw Hill: New York 2002. Context. web Feb 13, 2003.
