Critical analysis of Guliver travels by Swift

Topic :  Critical analysis of guliver travels by swift  (1726)

Name : Nasim  r. Gaha

Roll no: 30

Enrollment no :  2069108420190014

M. A: sem-1

Year : 2018-2020

Email-id :  gahanasim786@gmail.com

Paper no : 2 (The Neo- classical literature)

Submitted to :smt. S. B. Gardi Department of English mharaja krishankumar sihji bhavnagar university.

Ø Introduction

    

       Jonathan swift was born in Dublin in 1667. Though his parents were of English origin, swift loved the land of his birth and fought for the Irish cause with great loyalty. England had invaded Ireland and conquered it. Land had been taken away from the Irish and Irish economy was at the mercy of the English aristocracy who engorged themselves and left their Irish tenants in a state of miserable poverty and starvation. It was this state of affairs that prompted swift to write a fierce satire on the English landlord in  A modest proposal. In this pamphlet, he Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language,[1] and is less well known for his poetry. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms – such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M. B. Drapier – or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.

His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".he would never have written Gulliver's Travels. Like all great satires, the principle aim of Gulliver's Traver is to instruct and correct through ridicule, irony and sarcasm. The  book exposes with great intensity the ugliness of human nature, the vices of conceit, pride and cruelty, but the underlying tone is consistently one of compassion -a desire to instruct humanity and put them on the right path of Christianity.

Jonathan Swift's story, Gulliver's Travels, is a very clever story. It recounts the fictitious journey of a fictitious man named Lemuel Gulliver, and his travels to the fantasy lands of Lilliput, Brobdinag, Laputa, and Houyhnhmn land. When one first reads his accounts in each of these lands, one may believe that they are reading humorous accounts of fairy-tale-like lands that are intended to amuse children. When one reads this story in the light of it being a satire, the stories are still humorous, but one realizes that Swift was making a public statement about the affairs of England and of the human race as a whole.

In the beginning of the story, Gulliver explains to the reader a bit about his background, why he was on these journeysGulliver's Travels, or Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships (which is the full title), is a prose satire[1][2] by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, that is both a satire on human nature and the "travellers' tales" literary subgenre. It is Swift's best known full-length work, and a classic of English literature. He himself claimed that he wrote Gulliver's Travels "to vex the world rather than divert it".

 to begin with, and where he finds himself at the beginning of his tale. The story begins with Gulliver recounting how he was shipwrecked the land of Lilliput. He awakens to find himself tied down and held captive by a tiny race of people. To the inhabitants of Lilliput, Gulliver is something of a giant. He could not move, because he was tied down, but he notices a a race of tiny people moving about him. These people take all of his possessions for inspection, for they are in awe and fear of his great size. They feed him, and soon untie him but still keep him in confinement. While in his confinement, he is visited by the emperor who likes Gulliver. Gulliver learns there language and the customs of the people of Lilliput. In this book Swift, by describing the ludicrous system that Lilliput's government fashions in, is satirizing the English system of governing. He uses parallels that seem absurd at first glance but make more senses when looked

The term ‘utopia’ has come to be synonymous with an ideal world or an ideal society. ‘Dystopia’ was conceived of as the opposite of utopia and obviously describing an unpleasant, nightmarish world.By the end of the story, my impression of the Lilliputians changes for the worse. When the articles of treason were written and presented against Gulliver, my opinion changed. Gulliver’s main crime was the means by which he extinguished the fire in the palace. While it was a disgusting way to do it, Gulliver didn’t have many options and had to think fast. He was only trying to help the Lilliputians and still, they looked for reasons to turn his assistance against him. The Lilliputians also write Gulliver up on other crimes for his interactions with the Blefuscudians, when the main reason Gulliver interacted with them in the first place was to help the Lilliputians get an upper hand on their rivalry . When Gulliver holds up the rational as perfect and when he cannot find a rational man to meet his ideal, he concludes in disillusionment that humanity is totally animalistic, like the ugly Yahoos. In addition to being a satire and a parody of travel books, Gulliver’s Travels is an initiation novel. As Gulliver develops, he changes, but he fails to learn an important lesson of life, or he learns it wrong. His naïve optimism about progress and rationality leads him to bitter When Gulliver holds up the rational as perfect and when he cannot find a rational man to meet his ideal, he concludes in disillusionment that humanity is totally animalistic, like the ugly Yahoos. In addition to being a satire and a parody of travel books, Gulliver’s Travels is an initiation novel. As Gulliver develops, he changes, but he fails to learn an important lesson of life, or he learns it wrong. His naïve optimism about progress and rationality leads him to bitter disillusionment.

2) The Voyage to Brobdingnag in part two

          In this part of the novel, Swift shows us the people of immense stature. These people are gifted with a sound and cool judgment, look at the principles and politics of Europe. Here, satire has general nature. Some particular references to political events: and no circumstances are mentioned. Which are not applicable to all places, while Lilliput was a land inhabited by Pigmies or dwarfs, Brobdingnag is the land of giants or persons of an immense stature.

3)The Voyage to Laputa in Part-III:

          In this part, the abuses of science are the aim of satire. Swift’s target here are the projects – who leaving their common sense behind them, wander into the vast regions of speculative philosophy. It is noticeable here that the satire is not aimed at true science but its hazards.

4)The Voyage to the land of the Houyhnhnms and the yahoos in Part-IV:

          In this part the satire is intense. This voyage represents mankind in a satire is too exaggerated. The author succeeded in portraying the disgusting yahoos. The Houyhnhnms are devoid of all those tender passions and affections without which life become a burden. The Houyhnhnms do not appeal to us as models of perfection.●       Swift – a master of satire:

          A satire many roughly and briefly be defined as a humorous or witty exposure. A satire can be defined as a means by which the author can expose the reality of individuals communities, or all mankind by employing irony, mockery, ridicule, sarcasm, and even invective as the weapon’s of attack. Swift uses all the above means to succeed in satirizing. He uses irony in double way. He is a master or corrosive as well as comic satire. His comic satire makes us laugh. Corrosive satire is serious and creates hatred. This corrosive type of satire is fully developed in book-IV of Gulliver’s Travels. The first part is rich in comic fictional illusion.Swift – a master of satire:

          A satire many roughly and briefly be defined as a humorous or witty exposure. A satire can be defined as a means by which the author can expose the reality of individuals communities, or all mankind by employing irony, mockery, ridicule, sarcasm, and even invective as the weapon’s of attack. Swift uses all the above means to succeed in satirizing. He uses irony in double way. He is a master or corrosive as well as comic satire. His comic satire makes us laugh. Corrosive satire is serious and creates hatred. This corrosive type of satire is fully developed in book-IV of Gulliver’s Travels. The first part is rich in comic fictional illusion.

Conclusion:

          Gulliver’s Travels has been an outstanding book by the author. This novel interweaves many aspects. It is political Allegory as it deals with many political allegories. It is the novel Adventurous novel. The novel deals with travel. From beginning to end it is travelogue. The novel depicts funny or comic elements and thus can be called comic novel. The novel satirizes on human vices so it can be called satirical work of art. It short, the novel is quiet successful in presenting what the author wanted. A reader can enjoy the novel reading even from any one