Alex Medina
Mrs. Marmo
11 CP-Period 4/5
20 January 2009
Flatland
In the book Flatland, there can be numerous motives that the author is trying to tell the reader through very detailed text in the story. Often the author mixes a scientific plot with a narrative figure telling the story. Many of the motives in this story express themselves and eventually intertwine to answer and solve the main characters’ problems in the story. One of the motives that the author is trying to reach to his audience is the explanation of higher dimensions to a second dimension creature also know as the square. The author includes this in his story to educate the reader or the audience on a better understanding of math, and how dimensions play a big role with geometric shapes. The author follows this idea through the whole book, as this motive shapes the main character’s personality of how he acts to his fellow flatlanders.
Through the beginning of the story, a square explains many of the traits of Flatland to his readers. In the story he usually explains his ideas or motives to the reader to help better their understanding of Flatland and his environment that surrounds him. “Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight lines, triangles, squares, pentagons, hexagons and other figures.” (Abbott 15). Throughout the story, a square comes to the conclusion that his simple life is the greatest and the most superior to all of the shapes of Flatland; Not knowing that there are more answers and adventures to be discovered, which might change his life and understanding of Flatland. A square is a very strict character, as he likes to shape his own beliefs based on Flatland laws. Every one is placed based on their shape and no one is different because they are all from the same dimension. “Thus the Son of a square is a pentagon: the son of a pentagon, a hexagon; and so on” (Abbott 23). The Laws of Flatland state that other shapes originate from each other, but there are not higher...