Samuel Butler’s Novel Erewhone is a Satirical/Dystopian novel and published anonymously in 1872. It offers an exciting country life plot in Erewhon. The Erewhon presents a fictional country where the living standards of the residents seem bizarre. Samuel Butler satirises Victorian society through this story. They follow mindless rules and norms in the administration of their country. It describes them as an ambiguous nation who links them with Victorian society.
Author: Samuel Butler
Genre: Satire / Dystopian
Pages:272
Goodreads Rating: 3.31 of 5
My Rating: 7.1 of 10
For the Latest Price: Erewhon by Samuel Butler
***Warning Spoilers Below This Point***
The first few chapters of the novel deal with the discovery of Erewhon. These chapters became based on Butler’s own experiences in New Zealand. Higgs, who is the narrator of the story, asked Chowbok to take him to the other side of the mountains. Chowbok guided him to the mountains and left him alone. He returned after he feared the Erewhonians. Higgs arrived at a mysterious place in the mountains, where he became tired and fell asleep. He woke up and noticed some girls herding a flock of goats.
They ran away and returned with a couple of men. The men confiscated his watch and took him for medical examination. They looked interested in his health condition. They showed him a museum packed with several machine parts and placed him in jail with other natives. He learned the regime places sick people in jail and treat them like criminals.
Criminals who committed murders and robberies became labelled as sick and forgiven of their crimes. After a few days, he visited Nosnibor as a guest. He received good treatment and Nosnibor asked him to marry his elder daughter, Zulora. A prophet of ancient times forbade them from eating meat. A Priest explained people live closer to plants and humans should not eat them out of respect. The economy seemed unique, and they had two different monetary systems. Higgs loved neighbour’s younger daughter Arohena, and they eloped.
Samuel Butler discussed many aspects of Victorian society in Erewhon. The author included religion and criminal punishment. According to Erewhonian law, they treat offenders as ill people and sick people as criminals. They also hate machines as they consider them dangerous. I rate this story a 7.1 out of 10 because of the interesting and complex plot presented in the novel.
For the Latest Price: Erewhon by Samuel Butler
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