Flatlands Research Paper

Hunter Reaux

Flatlands begins in a world with only two dimensions where there is no conception of depth. only length and width. The world is only able to appear vertical because the rain simply falls from the north and the south resulting in pentagon shaped houses to be built in order to defend from the rain. One of the most common ways to distinguish among inhabitants (as there is no depth) is fog. In this two-dimensional world, all men are polygons and all women are lines. The amount of equilateral sides one has determines their class in society. Isosceles triangles are the lowest order and working class/soldiers, equilateral triangles are the merchant class, squares are lawyers, pentagons are doctors, and so forth. The closer you get to circular the

However, the more sides you have, the more vulnerable you are. Women, who are only lines, are among the most dangerous things in Flatlands. In that particular societies' beliefs. they lack intelligence and are ruled by feelings. They can easily pierce almost any polygon. Women are known to go crazy killing everything around them and not realizing the crimes they committed afterwards. They are forced to let out cries regularly because when looked upon from the front they are only points. Figures that are deformed or irregular are almost always destroyed when found. Despite this some are found among the criminal class of Flatlands. Advancement within the ranks of society is possible, but only by generations. A triangle's son might be an equilateral, and his son might be a pentagon therefore adding a side every generation. At one point, painting is discovered. This caused an upset in social order because it allowed all polygons or triangles to look like another. Stratifications of society were erased as a result. Shortly after a reaction to this occurred and painting was outlawed causing the social order to return to what it previously was. Lower orders are also treated very poorly. Some are executed