Though literature can do many things, one of the most important aspects to great literature is the ability to make readers think about themselves and their world in a new way. Jonathan Swift’s book, Gulliver’s Travels, does this through a satirical travelogue highlighting many of the problematic aspects of English society and human nature itself such as the ideas of perspective, beauty, and governmental corruption. Though Gulliver’s Travels was written in the early 1700s, many of these societal flaws still exist in our society today, making his book a relatable and relevant work that has the potential to provide a new perspective to the reader. Gulliver’s second voyage, to the land of giants in the country of Brobdingnag reveals the importance of considering perspective when looking at physical beauty as well as government and politics. Through Gulliver’s humorous and entertaining adventures, Swift reveals the many social ills that we fail to see until we look at them through a new lens and are exposed to other worlds, making it a relevant and thought provoking read that leaves us with a fresh view of how to interpret our own lives.
In his second voyage, Gulliver’s diminutive size allows him to gain a new perspective on the world through his interactions with the people of Brobdingnag. After being bought by the Queen of Brobdingnag as a form of entertainment, Gulliver becomes a fascinating toy for the people there. For example, the Maids of Honor often invited Gulliver to their apartments in order to use him as a kind of sex toy (Swift 110). Gulliver reflects that, “They would often strip me naked from top to toe, and lay me at full length in their bosoms…” (Swift 110). However, upon seeing these women so closely, Gulliver becomes horrified at their appearance and extremely aware of their flaws. Throughout this voyage, we learn that even something that appears perfect and appealing at a distance has flaws and imperfections when seen from a closer and deeper perspective. For example, upon seeing the women up close, Gulliver notes that, “Their skins appeared so coarse and uneven, so variously colored when I saw them near…” (Swift 111). Although he would have found these women to be doll-like and beautiful if he were their size, he is able to clearly see their flaws from this new perspective.
Though on the surface, Gulliver is reflecting on the magnified ugliness of the women , this comment can also be applied to the broader issue of government. For example, Swift’s choice to use the word “uneven” could be applied to the corruption within England’s government as the word often signifies improper correspondence or inequality (Oxford English Dictionary??). From a distance, England’s government seems like a wonderful system that runs smoothly, but when we look at it closely, it is not as pure as we thought, like the Maids of Honor. These women have layers of varying colored uneven skin, just as the government has layers of complexity, chaos, and corruption.. Similarly, government leaders often falsely portray themselves as honest, just, and patriotic; yet, like the giant women who hide underneath the façade of makeup, our leaders are often corrupt and greedy liars only interested in themselves.
Gulliver further continues to scrutinize the appearance of the women with his grotesque description of a mole, “…as broad as a trencher and hairs hanging from it thicker than packthreads” not to mention his utter disgust with their need to use the bathroom (Swift 111). This scene exemplifies the obsession with perfectionism that western society has on both personal and governmental levels. We tend to think that our own ways of governing are flawless, but when we truly stop and think about them up close, the wide variety of issues such as corruption and inequality become obvious. Although Swift wrote this book hundreds of years ago, the notion of perfectionism is still a relevant theme that we may not realize without satirical literature.
In order to make readers question themselves and the world around them,, Swift more directly critiques the English government and culture through Gulliver’s conversation about his native country with the King of Brodbingnag. After Gulliver proudly shares several details about the workings of his native country, the king responds with several snarky questions and scoffs at England’s government, particularly upon their involvement in foreign wars. For example, Gulliver notes that the king, “…Wondered to hear me talk of the chargeable and extensive wars; that, certainly we must be a quarrelsome people, or living among very bad neighbors, and that our generals must needs be richer than our kings” (Swift 121). The king has a negative view of these wars and interprets Gulliver’s people as disagreeable and unable to maintain peace. His use of the word “quarrel” gives the reader a feeling that these wars are petty and unnecessary from the view of an outsider. Conversely, Gulliver sees the wars as a source of pride as he mentions the “valor and achievements” of the English forces (Swift 119). The king of Brodbingnag further critiques England’s system in noting that the generals should be “richer than our kings” since they are the ones fighting, while the king receives all of the money, indicating that the system is corrupt and unfair. NEEDED????
Swift’s inclusion of this scene highlights Gulliver’s ignorance of England’s corrupt problems and demonstrates how we are often uninformed about issues regarding our own countries as we only see it from our own point of view. He wants to make the reader question the reality of his or her government as it is often hard to understand what is really happening until we see how outsiders view our way of life. For example, Gulliver views England’s treasury management as “prudent”, whereas the country was really drowning in debt as the King of Brobdingnag notes later on. While Gulliver tries to impress the king about England, the king reveals that he, “…Cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the Earth” (Swift 123). Swift invokes this final comment from the king to highlight the flaws impacting England, but also to show Gulliver’s naivety in his wholehearted pride and naïve acceptance of his country’s system and culture. Swift uses this section of the book to shed light on our tendency to blindly accept our own societies and embrace them, even when they are flawed. Integrating the king’s perspective as a response to Gulliver’s discourse on his country emphasizes the need to see situations from varying points of views and to swallow our pride in order to understand and discover the social ills that plague our societies. Although Gulliver may not realize the shortcomings of his country, the reader can recognize the insignificance of themselves or their country.
One reason Gulliver’s Travels is still so widely read today is that many of the satirical themes meant to criticize the English government can still be applied to our society today, especially in the United States. Through Gulliver’s deep pride of his home country’s government to his utter repulsion at the Maids of Honor, Swift subtly sheds light on our human outlook and need for perfectionism through a fictional story that entertains us, but at the same time makes us question ourselves, our cultures, and forces us to search for a deeper meaning in the work. Although the Maids of Honor scene is grotesque and uncomfortable to read, it is this shocking nature that makes us think about why Swift included it. It could be interpreted as trying to describe the nature of perfectionism in western culture. Women in the 1700s were not expected to be much more than beautiful during this time. They were not expected to be intellectuals or think and act for themselves. Rather, they were expected to look like china dolls, with perfectly powdered white painted faces in order to find a suitable husband and have children. Although technology has surpassed any expectations people may have had, the notion of perspective and perfectionism is equally as relevant today. *try to keep all points in answering why this is still a great work *is this paragraph needed?
Today, there is an extremely high social expectation for beauty and perfection with the use of social media. Rather than cosmetics being the way to conceal flaws, social media seems to have taken over. For example, girls often try to hide any insecurity by making themselves appear extremely confident on social media by strategically posting the most flattering pictures or pictures with large groups of friends to make themselves appear happy and confident, when inside maybe they are struggling. For example, during the first few weeks of college, I felt like I was in the wrong place and as if the other new students at Wake Forest were having the time of their lives, making new friends by the day, and excelling in their classes. By the look of their social media profiles, all of this was true. I saw pictures of big groups of friends and beautiful scenic pictures captioned “love my new home!” all over my feed. Yet once I began to talk to my friends, I soon realized that most of them were struggling to adjust just as much as I was. Like Gulliver upon seeing the women’s imperfections from a magnified perspective, I too began to see that the filters and captions people put over their staged photos were really just an to conceal their emotional struggles. Though the notion of idealizing beauty and perfectionism has not changed since the publication of Gulliver’s Travels, we now take comfort and are put more at ease knowing that others struggle with the same internal battles of self-confidence and meeting the cultural expectation to appear both intellectually and physically perfect.
What would be the point of literature if it didn’t make us be introspective? I came out a more educated and well-rounded person after reading Gulliver’s Travels than I was when I started the book. Despite being written almost 300 years ago to satirize the English government, Swift sheds light on many of the problems that we still face today, such as perfectionism, inequality, and corruption. Gulliver’s Travels reminds us that it is human nature to be naïve about the issues that plague our own societies because we know no different and accept them unthinkingly. Though Swift may have wanted the reader to see the corruption, mismanagement, and inequality in English society, his words remain profound, thought provoking, and relevant as they continue to be differently interpreted throughout time. STANDS TEST OF TIME; ENLIGHTENED