Modern Boston
Julian is convinced that he is in the 20th century when he is shown the transformed city where he emerged from sleep. The Boston he woke up into was the complete opposite of the city he was used to seeing; the streets were clean, imposing buildings could be seen everywhere along with happy people walking in the streets. There was no poverty and everyone could enjoy the same things. The image presented in the chapter where Julian wakes up represents the way the author envisioned a perfect society and he tried to transmit this image through his writing.
Selfish world
In contrast with the society from the 2000s, the society from where Julian came from was characterized by greed. Through the descriptions offered by the narrator, the reader can envision the 19th century as being dominated by rich greedy men who only wanted to get richer and did not care about those around them. The reader is offered the possibility to see the 19th century as described by someone who was born in that time and who was given the chance to see how the society will progress if men were to put aside their own selfish desires.
Equality
The building that impressed Julian the most was the distribution center. This structure is described as being impressive and as being found in other iterations all over the globe, both in rural and urban areas. The image of the distribution center is important to Julian because it is an image that becomes associated with the idea of equality and perfectly distributed goods.
Public umbrella
Another image that remained rooted deep into Julian’s mind was the image of the common citizens all taking shelter under a common umbrella during a heavy rain. The image of the umbrella is associated with the idea that just like the umbrella protects the people from rain, the state protects its people from poverty ad it provides them with the safety and shelter they need.
