A Personal Utopia

Utopia?

In the novel, The Journey of Ibn Fattouma by Naguib Mahfouz, the title character represents a traditional traveler. Ibn Fattouma is a young man who leaves his homeland in search of the mysterious and unknown land of Gebel. Fattouma travels through different lands with the ultimate desire to make it to Gebel and learn how to create and live in a truly utopic society. On his journey to Gebel, Ibn Fattouma encounters many things that both surprise and enlighten him. He travels through different societies and learns that not every land operates in the same manner. At first he is defensive and contesting towards new ideas but as his journey progresses he become more genuinely interested in these foreign concepts which help him to grow as an individual. Through this realization, Ibn Fattouma is able to learn and grow from his experiences, which are key traits of the traditional traveler.

Ibn Fattouma begins his journey in the land of Mashriq. For me, this land symbolizes a more primitive and old-fashioned society. It is a Pagan, matriarchal society where its inhabitants opt to wear little clothing while going about their daily lives. All of these characteristics make Mashriq appear to be somewhat undeveloped and not modern. As Ibn Fattouma continues on his journey he stops at other places which each give him a new outlook on society as a whole. It is Ibn Fattouma’s goal to learn the principles and practices of new places in order to bring them back to his homeland. In doing this, he hopes it will enhance the lives of his native people and make them a stronger society. Many people travel in order to learn what its like to live another way. People are innately curious about other cultures and societies, which gives them an urge to travel as a means of education.

Among the many concepts that Ibn Fattouma is educated about perhaps religion is the most prevalent. In the first destination, Mashriq, its inhabitants worship the moon. This is far different from the second land, Haira, where its people worship god as their king. These contrasting ideas of religious worship allow Ibn Fattouma to reevaluate his own religious beliefs. In a way, this is all apart of the journey to finding utopia. Each of the destinations that Ibn Fattouma visits gives him glimpses into different ways of life. In each of the lands the people seem to be content with the way they lead their lives. This allows Fattouma and the reader to see that different things can make different people happy. Even though a practice may seem ludicrous to one person, another person may see it as a positive idea.

I think that Mahfouz intentionally left the ending and description of Gebel ambiguous in order to force his reader to pick his or her own utopia. If the author added a chapter entitled “The Land of Gebel”, Mahfouz would be in essence telling his reader what they should categorize as utopia. To me, the idea of utopia is personal and different for every individual. Mahfouz successfully presents a myriad of societies and then leaves it up to the reader to chose which one is closest to utopia.