"Gulliver's Travels"

Book Review # 103026

Literature > English

An analysis of Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels".

1,290 words () | 0 sources | 2003 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper takes a look at how Jonathan Swift, a master satirist, used his writing as an outlet for his frustrations with the English nation and as a way to convey his antipathy towards the general state of the society in which he lived. The paper examines how this is illustrated in his novel "Gulliver's Travels" in particular. The paper asserts that, by using clever satire, Swift is able to place Gulliver in situations that often make his opinions very clear. However, the paper also states that the reader is sometimes left questioning whether Gulliver is a representation of Swift's true beliefs or merely a character used to show different extreme views. The paper concludes that this variegated portrayal is perhaps Swift's warning to English society about the pitfalls of following either.

From the Paper:

"When introduced to a Yahoo servant Gulliver exclaims, "My horror and astonishment are not to be described, when I observed in this abdominal animal a perfect human figure". It is at this point that Gulliver realizes that the only difference between himself and the Yahoo is the Yahoo's lack of cleanliness and clothing. Other than those two minor factors, a Yahoo looked to him to be indistinguishable from any other human. At this moment Swift's satire is able to achieve its main goal: to show the overwhelming flaws of humanity which, if left to develop and expand this far in the emotional direction, could lead to the complete humiliation of the entire human race."