The Narrator

The narrator is an unnamed crewman—presumably a captain, though this is never explicitly stated—of a Spanish ship sailing from Peru to China in the early 17th century. Lost at sea, the narrator prays to God for deliverance, only to be deposited on the shores of the mysterious island of <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Symbols & Motifs" href="https://www.supersummary.com/new-atlantis/symbols-and-motifs/#184731">Bensalem</a>. Acting largely as an <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.supersummary.com/audience/">audience</a> surrogate, the narrator learns about Bensalem through conversations with three interlocutors who recall participants in Socrates’s philosophical dialogues. First, he learns about the civilization’s history and conversion to Christianity from a governor-priest; second, he learns about the island’s moral and cultural customs from Joabin; and finally, he learns about the community’s astounding academic and technological works from the Father of Salomon’s House, the island’s national academic institution. Through these three respective dialogues, Bacon paints a portrait of Bensalem’s spiritual, civic, and scientific identities, which complement one another in producing what the author believes to be an ideal utopian society.

The Father of Salomon’s House

Near the end of the unfinished novel, the Father of Salomon’s House requests an <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Literary Device" href="https://www.supersummary.com/audience/">audience</a> with the narrator. When the Father arrives in the city, it is with great pomp and circumstance, as he is surrounded by 50 attendants and carried on a chariot.

Joabin

The Governor of the Strangers’ House

Fiction

Allegories of Modern Life

Literary Area of Study

British Literature

Historic & Literary Period

Colonialism & Postcolonialism

Fantasy

Society

Nation & Nationalism

Humanities

Philosophy, Logic, & Ethics

Government & Business

Politics & Government

Science Fiction & Dystopian Fiction

Francis Bacon

Adult

Short Story

Guide

Study Guide

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Overview

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New Atlantis

Character Analysis

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