News from Nowhere Essay Questions

Old Hammond tells William that there is no problem with gender inequality in the socialist utopia of 21st-century England. Do women seem truly equal to men in News from Nowhere?

Despite Old Hammond asserting that there is no gender inequality in the 21st century - saying, "The women do what they can do best, and what they like best, and the men are neither jealous of it or injured by it. This is such a commonplace that I am almost ashamed to state it" (58) - women still seem to be objectified in the 21st century. This can be seen when Dick sees William looking at a pretty young woman. Dick tells William, "''Tis a good job there are so many of them that every Jack may have his Jill: else I fear that we should get fighting for them. Indeed,' said he, becoming very grave, 'I don't say that it does not happen even now, sometimes. For you know love is not a very reasonable thing, and perversity and self-will are commoner than some of our moralist's think'" (35). In this quote, women are still treated as goods to be had. Besides this, women are also shown to work the same types of jobs as they were relegated to in the 19th century, such as serving and keeping the house; even being allowed to join the harvest was not unusual since the cycle of agriculture requires work such as planting and reaping to be done quickly and with as many people as possible.

Why do you think Morris chose the title, News from Nowhere?

In his choice of a title, Morris seems to communicate what a pity it is that the society in his novel does not truly exist. He does this by using the strong word "nowhere" to underscore what William realizes at the end of the novel - the society he witnessed was only a dream (or perhaps a vision, as the character hopes). The alliteration used in the title also encourages readers to take interest in the novel.

Why do you think Morris named his main character "William Guest"?

The first name Morris chooses for his protagonist is clearly intended to draw a parallel between the author and character, both named William. The reader knows right away that much of what the main character will do and say is meant to represent the author's own views. Giving the character the last name Guest underscores how he doesn't, and never will, belong in the socialist utopian society. At the end of the novel, William Guest seems to believe this is why he can't stay in his dream; his immersion in the culture of 19th-century England makes him only able to witness socialist society as an outsider and take back what he has learned into his own life and society.

Why did Morris choose to have the narrator of the story not be the character who actually experienced the events?

At the end of Chapter 1, the narrator stops telling the story in the third person about a friend and takes on the story as their own, telling the reader that they will use the first person to narrate the story since they "understand the feelings and desires of the comrade of whom I am telling better than any one else in the world does" (5). This is never discussed much again in the story, but it serves to distance the narrator from the action of the plot, perhaps signalling to the reader to take the story with a grain of salt.

Choose one topic William discusses with citizens of 21st-century England, such as education or crime. Compare and contrast how this topic is dealt with in the utopian society described in News from Nowhere and in your country or community.

As a citizen of the United States in the 21st century, my country's education system seems similar to the education system used in 19th-century England. Almost all children are educated in certain subjects at certain ages, and only wealthy families are able to send their children to elite educational facilities. This is very different from the education system shown in News from Nowhere where children, and people in general, are left to their own devices to learn about whatever they are interested in. Like William Guest, I am somewhat skeptical of this system, but at the same time see many flaws in the United States' current education system and the way it prepares students to acquire skills outside of formal education.