Although it appears simple and
straightforward on the surface, a mere travelogue intended solely for the
amusement of children, Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift, proves, upon
closer examination, to be a critical and insightful work satirizing the
political and social systems of eighteenth-century England. Through frequent and successful employment of
irony, ambiguity and symbolism, Swift makes comments addressing such specific
topics as current political controversies as well as such universal concerns as
the moral degeneration of man. While he
incorporates them subtly early in the novel, these observations and criticisms
eventually progress to a point where they may shock or offend even the most unsuspecting
reader. In order to witness this
evolution of presentation, one need only observe the development of the work's
central character, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, as Swift has designed his novel in
such a way that, as his aspersions harshen and intensify, so do Gulliver's
actions and attitudes.
For instance, in book one, "A Voyage
to Lilliput", when Gulliver finds himself lost in a world one-twelfth the
size of his own, he proves himself to be quite naive and impressionable. Although he is simply too large to perceive
them in detail, Gulliver judges the country's inhabitants he meets to be as
perfect and innocent as their toylike appearances. He refers to the Lilliputian emperor, a being
not even six inches high, as "His Imperial Majesty" and blindly
agrees to perform any demanded service, even though he could easily overpower
the tiny nation. It is only after his
services have been exploited and himself banished that Gulliver realizes how
cruel and deceitful the Lilliputians truly are and his personality begins to
transform.
In book two, "A Voyage to
Brobdingnag", Gulliver faces quite an opposite situation, for in this
world everything is twelve times its expected size. Somewhat hardened by his unfavorable
experiences on Lilliput, Gulliver approaches the Brobdingnagians from the
outset with some degree of suspicion and contempt. Although it is apparent to the reader that
this particular race is far more benevolent and trustworthy than its
predecessor, Gulliver bestows upon it a great deal more criticism and
disrespect. He demonstrates his
hypocrisy, for instance, when he expresses his revulsion at the sight of the
Brobdingnagians' physical imperfections but never attributes his ability to see
their defects in such detail to his own diminutive size. Furthermore, it becomes obvious that his
dissatisfaction relates directly to his inferiority among these colossal
beings. Gulliver himself admits,
how vain an attempt it is for a man to
endeavor doing himself
honour among those who are out of all
degree of equality or com-
parison with him.
In essence, he is
beginning to shed his role of observer and become personally involved in the
moral controversies he observes. In the
same way, Swift, who devotes much of his satire in the first two books of
Gulliver's Travels to social and political conditions, begins at the close of
part two to discuss and criticize situations in which he is personally at
fault.
By the end of book four, both Gulliver and
the direction of Swift's novel have been utterly transformed. In this part, titled "A Voyage to the
Houyhnhnms", Gulliver becomes trapped in a world where horses represent
civilization and reason, while men, indignantly referred to as Yahoos, run
wild, savage and ignorant. As the
horses, called Houyhnhnms, make him realize how truly corrupt his untruthful
and immoral race of human beings is, Gulliver learns to love their virtuous
society while gradually beginning to abhor his own. Just as Swift denounces the state of society
outright, by depicting men as offensive, irrational beasts, Gulliver assumes a
similar stance, declaring himself a shamed and spiteful misanthropist. When he finally returns home after his
adventures, he discovers that he cannot endure the company of other humans, he
cannot even bear to look at his own reflection, knowing what degeneration it
represents.
Notably, however, neither Swift nor
Gulliver leave the novel without exercising that one attribute they believe man
to possess, his capacity for self-understanding and change. While Swift proposes his constructive
criticism throughout the story in the form of irony and satire, Gulliver
himself offers a solution to his situation at the close of the novel. He realizes that there is little he can do
about being human; he simply must learn to live with himself. To achieve this, he suggests looking in a
mirror as often as possible, not only so that he might learn to bear the sight
of his own person but also so that he may be constantly reminded of those shortcomings he seeks so desperately
to overcome.
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