Problems In The Book
. In Ecotopia, there are environmental issues
that are already solved in the book when William goes to investigate. For
instance, the food system. " All food wastes, sewage, and garbage were to
be turned into organic fertilizer and applied to the land where it would be
again enter into the food production cycle"(page 18). By having this done,
food is accessible to all citizens in Ecotopia and there is no reason for
people to suffer from hunger. This is an issue that is mentioned briefly
because to the people who live in Ecotopia, it is not seen as something major
since they have always lived that way
.Another issue that is
already solved is pollution by eliminating the use of cars." These zones
at first covered only downtown areas where pollution and congestion were most
severe. As minibus service was extended, these zones expanded and now cover all
densely settled city areas"(page 26). Eliminating the use of cars helps
the environment because cars run on fuel and gas which creates pollution. It
allows the people to use other methods of transportation without hurting the
environment such as walking, bicycling, and hiking. To the Ecotopians, these
issues are not seen as issues instead it is seen as normal.
. The problem of race is
mentioned in the book briefly. “Many Ecotopians sentimental about Indians and
there's some sense in which they envy the Indians, their lost natural place in
the American wilderness"(page 31). In this quote, Indians are mentioned by
they are never shown in the novel probably because the majority of the
characters in the novel are white Americans. In Ecotopia, there is no other
race being shown except for when it is convenient." The black population
whose economic deprivation under white control had made it increasingly
nationalist and separatist even before the Independence"(page 107). It's
implied that there is still some level of segregation even in a supposed
utopian society. Given that the book was written in the 70s, there was still
racism surrounding not only African Americans but Indian and Arab Americans as
well. The problem of race is not solved in the book because it was not seen as
important by the people who lived in Ecotopia.
. The people of Ecotopia
want to live a pollutant environment. The problem is how plastic is sold. The
solution: “One was to produce the plastics, at low cost and in a wide range of
types: light, heavy, rigid, flexible, clear, opaque, and so on to produce them
with a technology that was not itself a pollutant” (page 83). The problem was
solved by the solution because it provided a foundation for a stable system
that works for the people of the city
Future Research
. Some of the future
research the author Ernest Callenbach points to are things that we have now in
modern day such “picture phones” (page 15) and “recycle chutes” (page 22), both
are used throughout the book. The picture phones refer to cellphones and the
recycle chutes refer to the recycle bins that are used constantly today. Also,
baths (page 168) were used towards the end of the book when William is taken by
members of the camp to relax. The baths reference the hot springs that many
people go to relax and get rid of any stress that they may be feelings that
day.
.The world building is
vivid because it is seen as a city that is surrounded by trees and water. It is
clearly shown that most of the city has many forests, rivers, and buildings
around the highways that have trains. While the city is clear to visualize, I
had trouble picturing the part where the family camps were set up and the way
the hospitals looked.
Character Development
William is the main
narrator of the book. In the beginning of the book, he is bias to everything
that he encounters in Ecotopia. He starts off hostile, judgmental, and
patronizing towards everyone that he meets in the city.
(page 24)”Find myself
worrying if I get sick or have an accident”. He thinks that by even trying
their food, he will get sick from it or bleed to death.
( page 25) “You can’t argue
with these people”. William has a patronizing attitude with a clerk worker
because he wants him to read his work to make them feel bad for laughing at
him.
- After a while, he meets
Marissa, who he starts a relationship with and introduces him to the wars game
and the way their society works. On page 89, Will and Marissa are having an
argument because she told her family at the camp all of the intimate details about
her relationship with him. While, Will feels that she violated a sense of
privacy. This scene was interesting to see because it’s the first time that
they have a disagreement besides sleeping together majority of the time. The
perspectives between them show how they each see things differently. Will thinks that a relationship should be
between two people while Marissa feels that it’s okay for a person in a
relationship to be open with it.
- By the middle of the
book, Will has grown accustomed to camp life and people have asked him to
entertain them with a song. He sings a nursery song and everyone joins him,
having fun and not caring how they sound. By page 107,
- Will has adapted to the
Ecotopian lifestyle, He hangs out with the people at the Cove, has
conversations with the people from there such as Bert who’s a friend he makes.
- Women are the ones who
lead the Survival parties. In the meetings, Will notices that people are open
to ideas and opinions from different people and insomnia indicates a social
problem instead of a medical one.
- At Crick School, Will
gets to see how the educational system works when it comes to the children. He
is surprised that all children are able to go school and that there is no
excluding children who come from low-income families. Similar to modern
society, there are exams that the children have to take at the end of the year.
- A second war games causes
Will’s perspective to change. Before, he didn’t understand the point of the
games because he thought they were not fighting to win anything. Now, he’s
excited to see the games and enjoys the idea of embracing conflict. The
hospital that he is treated have interesting methods. He’s attracted to his
nurse and sleeps with her before he leaves the hospital. The way he describes
her was weird to read since he’s basically saying that she’s not smart but
she’s a nurse who is very attractive.
Will is shallow throughout the book. This changes a little bit towards
the end, but not by a lot.
- Throughout the book,
Will’s main objective was to report back to New York about his findings. But, he
is taken by a group of strangers towards the end of the book. At first, Will is
resistant to these strangers because he thinks that they’re working for
somebody who wants money from him. However, after a while he gets used to them and
joins them in the baths. It is during the baths where he has an epiphany that
he is going to stay in Ecotopia for good.
- The change is Will’s
character happens gradually as time goes on. At first, he is closed-minded
about the city and the people because he looks at them as strange and too
emotional due to situations that he’s seen of them. The fight scene between the
man and the women in the beginning is interesting because Will later on does
the same thing with Marissa towards the end of the book. It shows how he starts
off judging people to doing the same thing and not caring about his actions
later. He sees himself having a life with Marissa and enjoying his life in
Ecotopia. Since he’s unemployed at the end, it makes me wonder what job would
he get in Ecotopia, I assume he can be a reporter for them. That part is left
open-ended.
General
Thoughts
- - I thought that the book was okay.
The plot did not intrigue me at all. I hated the narrator. I did not like the
tone of the book. The tone was dry and narrow. It did not feel like I was
reading a book, it felt more like I was reading a newspaper.
- -I wanted to have more things to
say about Marissa, but sadly she’s just there as the love interest for the
narrator which does not surprise me at this point.
- - I think the diary format could
have been used more throughout the book. I just wanted to get more from the
narrator. I couldn’t understand the choices that he would make sometimes.
Sleeping with the nurse, just seemed like something that he wanted to do just
because she was attractive.
- - It’s progressive when it comes to
the educational system, the way politics are handled. Men and Women both take
care of their families. There is no such things as gender roles in their
utopian society.
- -The ending made sense but I’m
still confused as to what William will work in now that he quit his job to stay
in Ecotopia.
- - Honestly, if it wasn’t for this
class I would not have picked up this book in a bookstore. For me, the books that
I read has to grab my attention. Books like The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, and
The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
S
Sources
https://sites.google.com/a/micds.org/american-race-and-racism-1970-to-present/home/1970
https://books.google.com/books/about/Ecotopia.html?id=KWOdE2cK7f4C&source=kp_cover&hl=en
