About Flatland!
Flatland is a story about this land that has only 2 dimensions. To visualise this, imagine that you are in a world where there you are laying on your belly and the only 2 dimensions are forward-back and left-right. This is the way it would look all the time in Flatland. The inhabitants of Flatland have no up-down direction in their world. All they "see" is a line, like this:
The first part of the book is all about the world of Flatland.
Section 1
Section 2
Section 3
Section 4
Section 5
Section 6
Section 7
Section 8
Section 9
Section 10
Section 11
Section 12
The Second part of the book is about the actual adventures of A.Square.
Section 13
Section 14
Section 15
Section 16
Section 17
Section 18
Section 19
Section 20
Section 21
Section 22
Click on the section number below to read from the story itself! [top of text] [disclaimer] [beginning of story]
Part One:This World
Section 1:Of the Nature of Flatland
This Section is the first one in the book and is about the physical aspects of Flatland, and how to imagine yourself in flatland.
Section 2: Of the Climate and Houses in Flatland This section details the details about what life is like in Flatland: the weather and houses.
It this chapter you find out some interesting facts about life in Flatland. For example, there are 4 compass points: North, South, East and West, just like here in spaceland. The rain always comes from
the north, and they can also tell their way because they have a slight attraction to their south pole. Also, in Flatland, there are no windows, for light comes into Flatland "equally at all times and in
all places."
Section 3:Concerning the inhabitants of Flatland This Chapter describes the Hierarchy of Shapes in Flatland.
Section 4:Concerning the Women In Flatland, the women are all just straight lines. [See Note.]
Flatland Women have to either stay in their houses all the time, constantly make some kind of noise, or be followed by a male. This is so that other males don't get stabbed and killed by one of the female's
ends (which are only a point and very deadly).
Section 5:Of our methods of recognising each other This chapter is about "feeling", the main way of one shape telling what kind another is that
it meets. "Feeling" is in Flatland what shaking hands is in spaceland: a sort of getting to know or meeting. This practice is only common among the lower classes though.
Section 6:Of Recognition by Sight This chapter tells all about the practice of recognition among the upper classes: Recognition by Sight.
Section 7:Concerning Irregular Figures(Abbott was very descriptive with his section names!) This chapter is about irregular figures.
An irregular figure is a figure whose sides aren't congruent, angles aren't congruent, or isn't convex.
Section 8:Of the Ancient Practice of Painting The practice of painting (themselves) was "invented" by a pentagon whose name was reported to be Chromatistes.
It took only 1 year for everyone to start following this fashion trend, even the nobility. The only people who didn't participate in this ritual were the women and the priests.
Section 9:Of the Universal Color Bill The universal color bill was legislation in Flatland saying that the front half of the women and the priests had to be painted red, and the
hind half painted green. This caused much confusion amongst the inhabitants of Flatland.
Section 10:Of the Supression of the Chromatic Sedition In this chapter, the use of color is abolished and law and order are brought back to Flatland by Pantocyclus, the ruling circle at the time.
Section 11:Concerning our Priests In this chapter one finds out that the priests are not only religious men, but also "Administrators of all Business, Art, and Science;
Directors of Trade, Commerce, Generalship, Architecture, Engineering,
Education, Statesmanship, Legislature, [and] Morality."(p. 35) in our book.
Section 12:Of the Doctrine of our Priests This chapter talks about circles, irregulars, women having to have a valid pedigree in order to marry, and other stuff. :-)
Part Two:Other Worlds
Section 13:How I had a Vision of Lineland This chapter gets into the real adventures of A. Square, the main character. In this chapter, A. has a dream about lineland!
Section 14:How I vainly tried to explain the Nature of Flatland This chapter is where A. is talking to the ruler of Lineland, but he can't quite get the ruler to understand what Flatland is all about.
Section 15:Concerning a Visitor from Spaceland This chapter is the one where A. first encounters the visitor from spaceland.
Section 16:How the Stranger Vainly Endeavoured to Reveal to Me in Words the Mysteries of Spaceland This chapter is about how Sphere tries to tell A. about spaceland, but to no avail.
Section 17:How the Sphere, Having in Vain Tried Words, Resorted to Deeds This chapter is the one where A. gets in an argument with Sphere...
Section 18:How I Came to Spaceland, and What I Saw There... and at the beginning of this chapter, A. Square is lifted up into Spaceland. He looks down and sees his whole family in his house, and Flatland iteslf.
Section 19:How the Sphere Shewed me Other Mysteries of Spaceland, I Still Desired More; and What Came of It In this chapter, A. learns more of the mysteries of Spaceland, indluding the differences between circles and spheres, and between
plane figures and solids. But at the end, A. wants to learn too much, so Sphere drops him back into Flatland.
Section 20:How the Sphere Encouraged Me in a Vision This chapter is about the vision that A. gets after he is dropped back into Flatland. The Vision is about Sphere taking him to the land of no dimensions: Pointland. The rule of pointland cannot count to two:
he doesn't understand the concept of plurality, of there being more than one of anything.
Section 21:How I Tried to Teach the Theory of Three Dimensions to My Grandson, and with What Success As the name of the chapter says, this chapter is the chapter where A. Attempts to teach the Gospel of the 3 dimensions to his grandson, who, earlier in the book,
comes up with the idea that 3³ must mean something...
Section 22:How I then tried to Diffuse the Theory of Three Dimensions by Other Means, and the Result This is the last chapter in Flatland, and in it, A. Square tries to get others to believe the Gospel of the 3 dimensions, and eventually he gets thrown in jail for it.
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