FREE ESSAY ON GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

GULLIVER'S TRAVELS

Gulliver's Travels
Jonathon Swift
Jonathan Swift was born in Dublin on November 30 in 1967. Swift's father was an English
lawyer died while his wife was pregnant to Jonathan. Right after he was born, his mother
left him to be raised by his brother. He graduated from Trinity College and started a
master's degree, but left to join the Glorious Revolution. The object of this revolution
was to convince James II (King of England) to abdicate the throne.
Swift's last years were a torment. He suffered awful bouts of dizziness, nausea, deafness
and mental incapacity. In fact, Swift's harshest critics tried to discredit this book on
the grounds that he was mad when he wrote it. But he wasn't. The Travels were published
in 1726 and Part IV, which raised the most controversy, was written before Part III and
Swift did not enter a mental institution until 1745.
Swift was dean of St. Patrick's' Cathedral in Dublin when his novel came out. Since in
this book he wrote about political figures, he published the book anonymously. It didn't
take long for people to discover that the author was Jonathan Swift. Not only had he been
involved in some important and heated political events of the time, but he was also a
well-known political journalist and satirist whose style was quite distinctive.
Gulliver's Travels is the tale of Lemuel Gulliver as he voyages to the strange lands of
Lilliput, Brobdingnag, the kingdom of Laputa, and the land of the Houhnnms. (WHIN-NIMMS)
Gulliver is the most important character in this novel. He's the "author" of the Travels.
He's frustrating to deal with for a number of reasons. 1. He's not steady; he changes in
relation to the places he visits and the events that befall him as he voyages. 2. He's
often a victim of swift's satire. This means you have to be on your guard against what he
says, even though he's the guide, you cannot follow him everywhere. 3. It's impossible to
feel relaxed with Gulliver. Swift won't let us trust him enough for that. 4. Because
Gulliver directs a lot of his hostility toward us- readers beyond reform- we in turn feel
hostile toward him. 5. Looking at Gulliver is a lot 
like looking in a mirror. We are by turns fascinated, attracted, disgusted, and ashamed.
You first meet Gulliver at the end of his story, in a letter 
he's written to his publisher. By now Gulliver is out of his mind: 
he's raving, he's nasty, he lies, he's proud beyond the limits of 
pride. But he wasn't always. He grew up in Nottinghamshire, the third of five sons in a
respectable, middle-class family. While in school he held jobs: as an apprentice, he
proved his competence; as a physician, he was able 
to get work on ships, which had been his lifelong dream. 
The first place he travels to is called Lilliput. People here are six inches high and
Gulliver, in comparison is a giant, or a "man mountain" as they call him. This section of
Part I is essentially an allegory of English politics in the early 18th century when the
Whigs and the Tories were fighting over control of the country. His mission here is to
aid the Lilliputians in their war against blefuscu (Lilliput represents England,
Blefuscu, France) Gulliver literally seizes the enemy fleet and strides across the harbor
with it back to Lilliput. For a short time he's a hero. But he urinates in a fire that
saves the royal chambers, but he is impeached for disobeying an ordinance prohibiting
public urination. He escapes and then goes home to England.
Part II begins in Brobdingnag. Gulliver here is seen cruel and vindictive just like the
Lilliputians. One day he's at an outing with the King and Queen and his house "a box" is
kidnapped by a bird and dropped in the sea. It's recovered by an English ship and he
moves back to England.
Part III, Gulliver goes to the flying island of Laputa and some of its nearby colonies.
Gulliver recedes in Part III. Not much happens to him personally, 
for the most part he recounts what he observes in the way of scientific experiments.
Swift uses Gulliver to relate deadpan what he himself considers to be foolish attitudes
and activities. 
Gulliver goes mad in Part IV. Presented with the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos, Gulliver
tries desperately to become a Houyhnhnm, an animal governed entirely by reason. He
cannot, of course. Gulliver isn't able to see the Yahoos as Swift intends them to be
seen- as representing the worst traits in human nature, and the lowest level to which he
might sink. Gulliver sees the Yahoos as mankind, period. 
Gulliver also misapprehends the Houyhnhnms. It is only to Gulliver- not to Swift- that
these creatures represent a human ideal. Gulliver, neither Yahoo nor Houyhnhnm, can find
no species to which he belongs, and so goes mad.
The overarching theme of the novel can be said to be the question, "What is it to be
human?" In this book you are exposed to a host of creatures and situations and systems
that also help you wonder such themes like
Human nature is petty
What is good government?
What are the values of reason?
What are the limits of reason? And
The sin of pride is the most dangerous sin of all
The style of this novel is composed chiefly of satire, allegory and irony. The book is
very entertaining and it 's written to vex you, to startle you into deep reflection and
to invite debate.