Looking Backward
Looking Backward by Edward Bellamy
Julian West, the main character of Looking Backward, was born into a rich family in the late nineteenth century. The gap between the rich and poor was very huge and seemed impossible to fix. Like the other people of his high class, Julian thought that he was greater than the poor people, and he saw their constant strikes with anger and contempt. He was engaged to Edith Bartlett, who was a beautiful and graceful Boston lady. They planned to get married when the construction of their new home was completed, but the frequent strikes by the building trades delayed their marriage for over a year.
Julian was a sufferer of insomnia, and since he couldn’t sleep, he secretly built an underground sleeping chamber to protect him from outside street noises. He employed Doctor Pillsbury, a skilled mesmerist, to help him into a deep sleep. The Doctor trained Julian's servant, Sawyer, to wake Julian up from his sleep. The night before Doctor Pillsbury left Boston for a new job in New Orleans, Julian asked for his help one last time. After Doctor Pillsbury put Julian to sleep and left, a fire destroyed Julian’s home, but the underground chamber protected Julian. Since no one else knew about his secret chamber, they all thought that Julian was dead.
Over a hundred years later, it is now the twentieth century and Doctor Leete, who was preparing the site for the construction of a new laboratory, discovers Julian’s secret chamber. Julian hasn’t aged a day because he has been in a state of suspended animation. Doctor Leete wakes him up and takes him into his home. Julian learns that twentieth century society is extremely different from the nineteenth century. The economy is based on publicly owned capital other than private, unlike the nineteenth century. The government controls the earnings and divides the national product equally between all citizens. Every citizen receives a college level education and people are given a lot of freedom in
Julian West, the main character of Looking Backward, was born into a rich family in the late nineteenth century. The gap between the rich and poor was very huge and seemed impossible to fix. Like the other people of his high class, Julian thought that he was greater than the poor people, and he saw their constant strikes with anger and contempt. He was engaged to Edith Bartlett, who was a beautiful and graceful Boston lady. They planned to get married when the construction of their new home was completed, but the frequent strikes by the building trades delayed their marriage for over a year.
Julian was a sufferer of insomnia, and since he couldn’t sleep, he secretly built an underground sleeping chamber to protect him from outside street noises. He employed Doctor Pillsbury, a skilled mesmerist, to help him into a deep sleep. The Doctor trained Julian's servant, Sawyer, to wake Julian up from his sleep. The night before Doctor Pillsbury left Boston for a new job in New Orleans, Julian asked for his help one last time. After Doctor Pillsbury put Julian to sleep and left, a fire destroyed Julian’s home, but the underground chamber protected Julian. Since no one else knew about his secret chamber, they all thought that Julian was dead.
Over a hundred years later, it is now the twentieth century and Doctor Leete, who was preparing the site for the construction of a new laboratory, discovers Julian’s secret chamber. Julian hasn’t aged a day because he has been in a state of suspended animation. Doctor Leete wakes him up and takes him into his home. Julian learns that twentieth century society is extremely different from the nineteenth century. The economy is based on publicly owned capital other than private, unlike the nineteenth century. The government controls the earnings and divides the national product equally between all citizens. Every citizen receives a college level education and people are given a lot of freedom in