Question

Read the excerpt from Utopia. The Utopians wonder how any man should be so much taken with the glaring doubtful lustre of a jewel or a stone, that can look up to a star or to the sun himself; or how any should value himself because his cloth is made of a finer thread; for, how fine soever that thread may be, it was once no better than the fleece of a sheep, and that sheep, was a sheep still, for all its wearing it. They wonder much to hear that gold, which in itself is so useless a thing, should be everywhere so much esteemed that even man, for whom it was made, and by whom it has its value, should yet be thought of less value than this metal . . . What is the central idea of this excerpt?

Answer 1

The extract from Utopia questions the value placed on material possessions and criticizes the idea that objects like jewels and gold should be more esteemed than human life itself.

Step-by-step explanation:

The central idea of the excerpt from Utopia is a critique of materialism and the value that humans place on objects such as jewels, fine cloth, and gold. The text questions why these items are so highly valued when their existence and worth are ultimately the result of human perception and societal structures. This idea is reinforced by the Utopians' bewilderment at the prioritization of inanimate objects over the intrinsic value of human life.

Answer 2

Seems like the central idea is that Utopians wonder how a man can classify himself as better than others just because he wears fine clothes or lots of jewelry.