Safety
The only place where Julian could fall asleep was in an underground room, far away from the everyday commotion and worries. The room provided him with a space where he could feel at peace and relax but it also served as the room that ended saving his life during the fire that destroyed his home. Because of this, the underground room is used here as a symbol for safety and it represents a safe space for Julian in a world that is the complete opposite of the perfect world Julian dreamt of.
Connections
While many may have the first impression that Julian is just a character in the novel, he is actually used as a symbol by the author to help him transmit his ideas. Julian represents the typical 19th century reader, wealthy and learned and with the desire to help the world around him. By using Julian’s voice, the author hoped that he will facilitate the communication between him and his readers and that it will make the readers more open to accepting new ideas.
Progress
A motif found in the novel is the idea that progress never stops. A century will always be better than the other and the society and world in general will keep moving forward, always finding new ways to become better and fix certain aspects that need to be changed. Through this motif it is also transmitted the idea that is a society believes that they reached the highest point in their progress, they will fail in trying to provide its citizens with equal rights and the safety they need.
Perfect Industrial Nation
In the novel, America is used as being the perfect industrial nations. Every other country followed the example set by it and continued to progress until every country reached a level of industrialization and equality that is supreme. Thus, in the novel, America is used as a symbol for the perfect industrial country and used as a model to be followed.
Inferiority
While every person seems to be equal in the place where the novel is set, there are still nations considered as being inferior and this idea was commonly found in the 19th century. Generally, Africa and certain parts of Europe were seen as being uncivilized and inferior to the highly industrialized nations of the world. This idea survived in the future imagined by Bellamy and thus those nations are used as a symbol for inferiority and lack of knowledge.
