In 1726, Jonathan Swift published a story about a man named Lemuel Gulliver who went on a series of odd adventures. Although the tale is like a bedtime story, it was a revolutionary literary work that described hinted the problems with Englishmen at the time. Swift uses Gulliver’s Travels to satirize politics, political factions, the state of European government, and ultimately the malicious nature of mankind.
Throughout Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver is exposed to a variety of intriguing experiences. Gulliver is the typical average Englishmen. He is the third of five sons and comes from a modest background with an average education. It be interpreted that he is the epitome of gullible. Gulliver is honest so the things he says can be taken as accurate. On Gulliver’s first venture to sea, he is shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput. Gulliver gradually discovers that he has become a prisoner of hundreds of six-inch tall men. The Lilliputians are tiny, pretentious, mean, nasty, vicious, morally corrupt, hypocritical, deceitful, jealous, greedy, and ungrateful; in Swift’s eyes, they are completely human. One of the first incidents that occur upon Gulliver’s arrival is the argument the Lilliputians have with the country of Blefescu. In Lilliput, people once broke eggs on the big end. However, the current emperor’s grandfather once cut himself breaking the egg this way. So it was determined by the king at that time that all eggs were to be broken on the small end. Some of the people did not like this new law, so they found safety in Blefuscu. Of course, to Gulliver, this argument seemed ridiculous; he could barely distinguish the different ends of their eggs. Swift clearly intends for Lilliput to represent England and Blefuscu to represent France. The war between Lilliput and Blefuscu over which ends eggs were to be broken is a direct satirization of the senseless arguments between England and France.
Additionally, Swift often mocks politics and political factions throughout Gulliver’s Travels. At one point during his stay in Lilliput, Gulliver witnesses a bizarre rope dance that is used to choose the next elected officials. The best ropedancer receives the higher office. Swift intended for this electoral method to ridicule how England chose elected officials based on who could pay the right person, rather than merit or vote. At that time, the people of England could choose Parliament representatives. However, the King would often buy the votes of the people and parliament by promising things like Cabinet positions and land. These elections did not represent the people; they are as irrational as choosing a government based rope dancing skills. Readers are shown another bizarre custom when Gulliver signs for his freedom from Lilliput. Similar to England’s absurd codes and laws, Gulliver must swear to the articles by right foot in his left hand on top of his head with the right thumb on the tip of his ear. At the end of book one, Swift has pitted the normal, gullible man, “Gulliver”, against the viscous politician, the Lilliput.
literary slaying of everything wrong with Englishmen. Swift uses the voyages of Gulliver to
As the epic of Gulliver continues, Swift’s use of satire begins to focus in humanity in general. Gulliver escapes the island of the miniature Lilliputians. After a short stay in England, he returns to the sea for more adventure. Once again, Gulliver finds himself in the strange land of Brobdingnag. Unlike in Lilliput, whose vile inhabitants are six inches tall, Brobdingnag is a land of giants. Gulliver is now the small being, and everything around him is giant. The people of Brobdingnag are described as moral, reasonable, kind, and governed by justice. They believe in goodwill and moral virtue. Their laws encourage charity. Brobdingnag is a moral utopia. In contrast of these virtuous super humans, the once gullible Gulliver is now seen as proud and accepting of England’s political and societal corruptness. While speaking to the Brobdingnagian king, Gulliver tries to lie about England’s malicious nature, to which the King immediately dismisses, saying the English are “odious vermin” (Swift, 255). Nonetheless, even the Brobdingnagians are not without flaws; they cannot treat Gulliver with the respect as another human being. The giants see him as a play toy, which is insensitive to Gulliver. Despite such imperfections, the Brobdingnagians are consistently moral. Swift gives praise to these ethical giants. Unlike the petty Lilliputians, whose pride and self-righteousness are exaggerated, the Brobdingnagians have created a society where such vices are diminished. Their goodness is not impossible for humans to attain, but because it takes so much personal growth to reach the height of a moral giant, few attain it.
After leaving the Brobdingnagians, and another short stay at his home in England, Gulliver, once again, heads out to sea. Eventually, Gulliver ends up on the flying island of Laputa. It is on this journey that Swift begins to use Gulliver as a guide for the reader, on his view of humanity. Gulliver comments, "How low an opinion I had of human wisdom and integrity, when I was truly informed" (Swift, 240). Here in the story, Gulliver, as well as the reader, are fully aware of Swift's negative view of human nature. Gulliver’s travels onward where he reaches the land of the Houyhnhnms. The Houyhnhnms are horse-like animals. They are described as idyllic, orderly, rational, judicious, and simple beings who devote their lives wholly to reason. Each Houyhnhnm knows what is right and acts accordingly. These creatures are untroubled by greed, dirty politics, or lust. Houyhnhnms live a life of cleanliness. They are cultivated by reason and totally governed by it. There is no word for a lie in their society; there is no need for it. Swift intends for the Houyhnhnms to represent innocent human nature. In contrast, it on this same journey, that Gulliver encounters the Yahoos. Yahoos are humans that act like animals, eating meat and garbage, an allusion to the foods prohibited in Levitical law. Their heads and breasts are covered in wild hair. There are in human form, but behave far from it; these beasts are mankind depraved. Gulliver comments that, "My horror and astonishment are not to be described, when I observed in this abdominal animal a perfect human figure" (Swift, 274). The only difference between himself and the Yahoo, would be the Yahoo's lack of cleanliness and clothes. Disgusted with this and himself, Gulliver tries to make himself more like a Houyhnhnm horse, but he cannot. He will always be more of a Yahoo than a Houyhnhnm. With this, Swift's goal has been reached. He has succeeded in showing the flaws of humanity, and if these vices continue, total degradation of the human race could occur.
Throughout his travels, Gulliver's perceptions change as do his narrations. This allows Swift to perfectly convey his satire and opinions of the humankind. After the first two voyages, Gulliver’s image of humanity is little changed. Swift uses the first two adventures to make it clear through the Lilliputians and Brobdingnagians that no form of government is ideal. Steadily, after this point, Swift moves from political corruptness to the overall corrupt human race, as seen through the Houyhnhnms and Yahoos. These two species provide the extremes on a spectrum with Gulliver in the middle. Humans were created innocent, but over time have become depraved, leading to their ultimate decline. Although Gulliver’s Travels was written almost three hundred years ago, Swift’s satire still holds much of the same truth in today’s times. Much of the social calamities that Swift exposes in his writings, such as political corruptness, religious strife, political factions, pettiness between nations, are all things that occur today. Unless humans attempt to become more like the moral giants of Brogdingnag, they will become like the Yahoos, corroded in glutinous immorality.
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