Independent Reading Project

Independent Reading Project
Rachel Webb
"Gullivers Travels"

Gullivers Travels is a book written by Jonathan Swift in 1943. It is written in the style of first person past, through the recountings of "Lemuel Gulliver". Jonathan Swift was born in 1667 in
Dublin, Ireland, and was educated at Trinity College in Dublin as well. He served as a secretary to Sir William Temple off and on from 1689 to 1699. Swift wrote several other books as well as Gullivers Travels, including but not limited to; " The Battle of the Books", "A Modest
Proposal" and "The Tale of a Tub." The latter being his first work published. After he had published his first two books, Swift began to gain reputation as a writer, which led to lifelong friendships with Alexander Pope, John Gay, and John Arbuthnot, which he eventually formed the "Marcus Scriblerus Club" with. He originally published all of his stories under pseudonyms­ such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, MB Drapier, or anonymously. Swift is regarded as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. Jonathan Swift died on
October 19th 1745 nearly to the age of 80. He was buried in Saint Patrick's Cathedral in
Dublin. Swift, always being the writer, wrote his own epitaph which roughly translated reads:
"
Here lies the body of Jonathan Swift, Doctor of Divinity and Dean of this Cathedral,Where savage indignation can no longer lacerate his heart; Go traveller and imitate if you can, this dedicated and earnest champion of liberty." Although there is never a specific date mentioned in the book, The time period of the novel is believed to be set in the early eighteenth century, an area of change known as the reformation period. The way Swift wrote the book suggests some of the political themes of the time period, including the well known satire. There are many different themes suggested throughout the whole of the book, but the largest theme represented is the abuse of power.
The Lilluptians, despite their small size, wield considerable power over Gulliver, taking advantage of his well­meaning, and gullible nature to attack him with arrows, hold him prisoner, and finally try to entrap him through treachery. Lilliput is governed by a vain ruler who has his subjects tortured and executed for trivial matters. His ministers are appointed to office not based on their suitability, wisdom, or virtue, but on their skill at "leaping and creeping." The correspondences between Lilliputian people and events and English political life means that Swift intended his portrayal of Lilliput to reflect abuses of power in the English monarchy and government. Swift continually questions the reasons why certain people hold power over others.

Several stylistic devices that are used in Gullivers Travels are Satire, Irony, Similes, and
Allegory. Gullivers Travels in itself is a Satire, which is proven throughout the different themes of the book. Swift used Gullivers Travels trying to demonstrate a theme because of the heavy politics. Swift relentlessly satirizes politics, religion, and Western Culture. Criticizing the party politics in England, Swift writes: “that for above seventy Moons past there have been two

struggling Parties in this Empire, under the Names of Tramecksan and Slamecksan from the high and low Heels on their shoes, by which they distinguish themselves.”(37­38) Swift also criticized mankind, when he had one of the Brobdingnab's remark: "Mankind, the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth." (97) "Gullivers Travels" is an Allegory in itself as well, the Allegory being him demonstrating the politics. The Irony in the book is simple, going along with the Satire, and simply assisting it. The irony of each situation is to be found in all the four parts of Gulliver’s
Travels. In Lilliput, Gulliver finds himself in the midst of people who are no more than six inches in height. In Brobdingnag, Gulliver finds himself in the midst of people of a giant size by comparison with whom he himself is a pigmy. In Laputa and in Balnibarbi he finds himself among people who are queer in one way or another. Finally, he finds himself in the midst of the Yahoos and the Houyhnhnms, the former bearing a close physical resemblance to human beings and the latter being horses in their physical shape and appearance but having an intelligence much superior to that of human beings. In all these cases, Gulliver thinks himself to be literally among pigmies, giants, or horses as the case may be; but we realize that in each case Swift is giving us a portrayal of human beings themselves though the description of the various kinds of inhabitants of the different countries as determined by the requirements of the satirical intentions of the author. The similes in Gullivers Travels are the easiest to recognize. There are many similes in the book, but here are several examples. “ a hundred arrows discharged on my left hand, which pricked me like so many needles
”(9), “he desired I would stand like a colossus
, with my legs as far asunder as I conveniently could” (18), and “I was first taken up, had seen a great black substance lying on the ground, very oddly shaped, its edges extended round as wide as his Majesty's bed­chamber, and rising up in the middle as high as a man
; that it was no living creature, as they at first apprehended, for it lay on the grass without motion;" (18) Gullivers Travels is a wonderful book, and is a well loved classic. While some may only see this as just a fun story, It is a clever allegory meant to show some of man's foolishness, and describe what was really going on in that time period.