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The lives of Edward Bellamy and his fictional character Julian West seem very different. However in some ways they can be seen as parallel. Edward Bellamy was born to a long line of New England Baptist Ministers who were clergy, which was considered part of the upper class (Looking Backward). Julian West was born into a nineteenth century aristocratic family, also of the upper class (Sparknotes.com). Julian’s family had wealth passed down from generation to generation whereas Edward Bellamy had a less wealthy background in which his family had to acquire wealth (Looking Backward). In the nineteenth century you were born into your class without much chance for advancement, therefore, Edward Bellamy nor Julian West had much problems becoming educated and finding work. Julian West as part of the aristocracy, held some animosity towards the working class. This could be attributed to his upbringing and also to the strike that was taking place before he went into his deep sleep. The working class had gone on strike, which had postponed the building of his house for he and his future bride, Edith Bartlett (Looking Backward). On the other hand, Edward Bellamy’s problems with the aristocracy may have been attributed to the fact that his grandfather and father were pushed out of the church for having unorthodox views.
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