Name: Dodiya Asha
Semester:1
Roll no: 12
Work: Assignment
Topic: - A journey of Gulliver Travels.
Email. id: ashadodiya15@gmail.com
Submitted bY: Smt. S. B. Gardi,
Maharaja Krishnakumarsinhji Bhavnagar University.
Department of English.
Before
we see more about Gulliver’s Travels, Let’s see first of all about journey and
satire.
What is an
journey?
An
journey is a literary genre which is structured in such a way that its meaning
could be read on two levels, and a secondary and more complex level. An
allegory is defined as a narrative in which the characters, plot, setting and
occasion, while making sense in themselves also signify a second layer of
meaning where they point at another set of people, events and setting either
from the writer’s mass, milieu or recent historical events. It is a figurative
mode of representation where ideas are conveyed through symbolism and metaphor.
In
“Gulliver’s Travels”, Swift uses satire on highlight the allegorical elements
in his tale. He has used allegory as a vehicle in an excellent way.
:- What is a
satire?
Satire
is a literary genre in which human vices, weaknesses, foibles and follies are
held up to ridicule. Wit and humor are commonly used as instrument of satire.
In
“Gulliver’s Travels”, Swift uses satire as a vehicle to point out to the
depraved state of human kind. Some critics have observed that Swift is a
misanthropist because the paints human nature as a whole in a sordid and gloom
light, almost as if there are no redeeming features to humanity.
Swift seems to
be holding up a mirror to society so that in viewing the gross magnification of
its vices, humanity has a hope for the future.
The
journey and satire, in a sense, are
interwoven inextricably and deftly.
:- Part- 1 : - A
Voyage to Lilliput
This deals with Gulliver’s experiences in
the land of the little people, who are no more than six-inches tall. It is on
one level an absorbing tale of the adventures of the giant Gulliver among the
midgets of Lilliput and on another level rich in England. It is above all a
scathing satire on the moral pettiness of human as seem in the behaviour of the
Lilliputians. Human beings are filled with and importance and cannot view
themselves and objectivity. Their pride and boastfulness are revealed as ridiculous
when perceived from Gulliver’s great height.
As we saw
that the people of Lilliput are more than six-inches tall. All their acts and
motives are on the same dwarfish, petty quarrels of these dwarfs, we are
supposed to see the littleness and humanity. The statesmen who obtain place and
favour by cutting monkey capers the tight rope before their sovereign and the
two great parties, the little-endians and big-endians, who plugs the country
into civil-war over the momentous question of whether an egg should be broken
on its big or on politics of Swift’s own days and generations.
In
society, also, we see that type of people who shows littleness in their nature
and also shows the narrow mind. All their actions and aims in life are at low
level. They never try to come out from it. Their narrow and they live their
life.
They are
always busy in petty things because they can’t think they can’t think to go
ahead in life. This shows in trivial matters.
:- Part – 2 : - A
Voyage to Brobdingnag
In this
voyage, the situation is reversed. Gulliver is now marooned and dwarfed in the
land of giants who are over forty feet tall. He now becomes the midget he had
laughed at in Lilliput, observed through the microscopic eyes of Gulliver, the
Brobdingnagians are hideous in size and stature and Gulliver realizes that he
must have been just as hideous to the little people in Lilliput. Here, Swift
satirizes the physical grossness of the human and the grotesque ugliness of the
human body. Gulliver is little more than an insect in Brobdingnag and at his
best, an amusing toy.
When
Gulliver tells about his own people, their ambitions and comes and conquests,
the giants can only wonder that such great venom could exist in such little
insects. Here, in the second part, Gulliver is alone among the giants. He is
showed as insects among the Brobdingnagians because they think this way.
Here,
Swift satires on the Brobdignagian’s unpleasant and unattractively large body.
In a way, there are lots of people in society who are huge at status but their
thinking shows their narrowness.
Also he
satires on the ugliness of the Brobdignagians. It shows that the thinking of
that time of people who has very ugly motif in their life to fulfil their
wishes.
We can
see this, Brobdignagians, type of people around us and also both we can see the
physical grossness and ugliness in people. By this, we can know their aims of life.
They just boast on their endeavor, conquest.
This
type of people believes that others are nothing before them. They show others
inferior but in reality, their unattractivity and ugliness becomes them
inferior.
:- Part – 3 :
- A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi,
Language, Glubdubdrib, and Japan
In this voyage, Swift satires on the Scientist and Philosophers of the
age. The people of Laputa have extraordinary physical features- head turned at
angle, one eye turned upward and the other inward. Through the people of
Laputa, Swift ridicules the experiments of the royal society and allied
institution of the time.
The frightening emptiness and sterility of a purely scientific society
is evident from this book. The philosophers who worked eight years to extract
sunshine from cucumbers are typical of Swift’s satire treatment of all
scientific problems. It is in this voyage hear of the struldbrugs, a ghastly
race of the men who are doomed to live up on the earth after losing hope and
the desire for life.
The picture is all the more terrible in view of the last years of
Swift’s own life in which he was compelled to live on a burden to himself and
his friends.
In this third good, Gulliver’s
journeys go through different people, culture, custom and rules. The strange
thing of the people of Laputa regarding the physical structure of the body
shows types of people at that time. Also Swift’s disliked the society of his
time that’s why he satires on it.
Here, cucumber
is the typical of Swift’s satiric treatment of all scientific problems. This
shows the ridiculous thing of scientific problems show that time of things.
There are different types of people who show different types of culture
of swift’s time.
:- Part 4 :- A
voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms:-
In
this voyage, Gulliver narrates his experiences of his journey to the land of
the Houyhnhnms and the yahoos. The horses are creatures governed by solely by
reason, free from any emotions and passions, while the yahoos who physically
resemble human beings are ruled purely by animal’s instincts.
Swift seems to indicate to us that the nature of the human is complex
and defies definition unlike that of the yahoos and the Houyhnhnms. The book
for all its harsh satire and anger, instructs human to see themselves with
humility and honesty and it condemns pride ego and myopic self-esteem. It urges
every person to use reason to be a good Christian. Swift here tries to say that
we have to live our life in away in which we can show the humanity.
Swift emphasized on the yahoos that despite of human being, they are
unspeakable persons who show the brutality of that time. Also by the female
yahoos Swift shows the lust in their nature this also a picture of his time.
We
have to live like a good Christian and try to avoid that all things which
damages humanity.
:- Conclusion :-
By these four voyages, Gulliver’s journey goes through different types
of people, culture, customs, beliefs etc. they show the society of swift’s
time. Like, how they cure narrow minded also interested in petty things and
unattractive appearances and ugliness of humanity etc.
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