49 pages • 1 hour read
William MorrisNews from Nowhere
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1890A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Why is it necessary for the story to be told in the first, rather than third, person? How does this perspective reinforce the themes and political message of the novel?
How does Morris use the confusion of characters like Dick and Clara to criticize 19th-century society as described by Guest? Use specific examples from the text.
What do the descriptions of the history and structure of this imagined socialist society reveal about the possible criticisms of socialism? What critiques might Morris find most challenging? Use textual examples.
How does Morris establish the “natural” structure of his socialist society? Why is it important that it seems natural, rather than artificial?
What role does religion play in the novel? How does the discussion—or relative lack thereof—reinforce the other themes?
What kinds of reservations does Guest hold about 21st-century society, and how does he resolve them? Analyze specific examples.
What purpose do Dick and Clara serve in this novel? What aspects of the future society do they embody?
What purpose does the historical background provided by Hammond and Morsom serve in constructing this future world?
What does Guest mean at the end of the novel when he insists that his experience should be taken as a vision, instead of a dream? How does this final comment reinforce the themes as a whole?
