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Essay On Flatland

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In Flatland by Edwin A. Abbot, there are many parallels to social interactions and to the mindsets of Victorian England and (in my opinion) today. The biggest connection that I see isn't the injustices to women, irregulars, or unintelligent people. It also isn’t even the social rankings that an oppressive government can very easily have on its people. The biggest connection I see is the closed-minded view that most people in the book (and in real life) have. The first example of this takes place when Arthur has a dream of what he calls "Lineland". In Lineland, he meets The King. The King doesn't understand what Arthur is talking about when Arthur tries to explain the concept of the 2nd dimension. Through the course of the argument each party …show more content…

The problem with this comes when they won't even acknowledge that new and different ideas may actually be true. One of the best examples of this I know of is when the Pharisees won't even consider that Jesus might be the person Moses prophesied about. The Pharisees (just like Arthur and the King of Lineland) heard about a new idea that was controversial to their beliefs, and shut it out. In the book, there is also the complete rejection of anything that is different or new. This takes place when Arthur has a dream/vision about going to Pointland. The point only knows itself and won't even conceive the idea of even just 1 other person. I can see this in today's society. People just will not accept the idea of there even being something else other than their own little world (or at least it appears that way). I see this in people all the time today, especially when it comes to change. People don’t like change. A good recent example of closed-mindedness can be seen in news reporting. There are many people that I see today stating opinions as facts simply because whatever it is matches their personal opinions about the issue. Social media has made this exponentially easier than it was when Abbot wrote Flatland, so it is easier to

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