Preview

Gulliver's Travels

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1066 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Gulliver's Travels
Caleb Foard
9/7/10
Ms. Hanson
Thematic Essay

Gulliver’s Travels is a satire of England’s government in the early 1700s. Gulliver’s
Travels was written by Jonathan Swift. During the late 1600s to early 1700s Swift took part in politics. Swift was not treated well by most politicians. Noticing all of the corruption and abuse of power around him, Swift decided to write a book based on the corruption of England’s government. The abuse of power becomes a recurring theme throughout Gulliver’s Travels. Part I of Gulliver’s Travels reveals the abuse of power that recurs throughout the novel. Gulliver is on a boat called the Antelope. The Antelope runs into a storm causing Gulliver and 6 of his crewmates to make their escape on a small rowboat. Soon enough the storm causes the rowboat to capsize. Gulliver safely swims to shore but loses track of his crewmates and never sees them again. That night, Gulliver lies down on a patch of grass and falls asleep. When Gulliver awakens he notices that he is tied to the ground and cannot move. When Gulliver looks down he notices miniature people that couldn’t be more than just six inches tall. One of them was standing on his stomach and the rest were scattered along the ground. The people bring him to their capital city. Gulliver soon learns that the name of this city is Lilliput. Gulliver is then introduced to the emperor of Lilliput. The emperor gives him food and drinks, but he has Gulliver chained up. The emperor commands some of his soldiers to guard Gulliver in case he breaks out of his chains. When Gulliver begs for his freedom, the emperor will not grant him his freedom, but he tells Gulliver to be patient. Soon enough the days comes when the Lilliputians decide to unchain Gulliver, but in order for this to happen Gulliver must obey to the articles that the Lilliputians have put forth. The articles state that Gulliver must help with the construction of buildings and help the Lilliputians in times

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    A Modest Proposal

    • 2940 Words
    • 12 Pages

    Yet, astonishingly, a book of 1726 by Swift, almost equally savage in its satirical intentions, becomes one of the world's best loved stories - by virtue simply of its imaginative brilliance. It tells the story of a ship's surgeon, Lemuel Gulliver.…

    • 2940 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Three of the works that we have read have been Gulliver’s Travels, Candide, and The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano. The three have been widely different in their approach, but they all come back to the theme of a corrupt, evil, narrow-minded society that the main character believes should be fixed. Through all their journeys, the characters show us that through perspective we can see the necessary changes that need to be made to society. Of the three, I believe that Gulliver’s Travels is the best because it offers an outside view and opinion of our society from the Houyhnhnms that is not available in the other stories.…

    • 881 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is a famous, classic novel that satirized many aspects of government, religion and human nature. Written in the eighteenth century, this three-hundred-year-old novel remains well known today because of its timeless criticism that can still be applied to contemporary politics and religious faiths. In eighteenth century England, the home of both Swift and his character Lemuel Gulliver, the ruling constitutional monarchy was made up of two governing bodies, the monarch and his or her personal advisors, and the English Parliament, the members of which were elected by the people. Though this may have seemed like a well structured government, it was in fact deeply flawed and had many illogical systems. England was also Protestant at the time, where the church had significant influence in the nation, and even started wars against their Catholic neighbour, France. Arguably, the religious system of England acted very unreasonably and contradictory to its own ideals, including keeping peace. Swift, the creator of this novel, was not only an author, but also an English politician and a Protestant priest. This made him very qualified to make judgments about England, and offers a reason why his satires can be used as evidence against eighteenth century England. Swift wrote these satires due to his disappointment with certain aspects of England. Through the numerous adventures and satires found in Gulliver’s Travels, Swift proves how England during the eighteenth century had an illogical government system, specifically a constitutional monarchy, as well a flawed religious system.…

    • 2139 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gulliver's Travels Satire

    • 837 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Firstly, the passage is written in the form of prose. The eighteenth century literary realm was dominated with English prose, and is called an age of ‘prose and reason’. With the critical literary writers of the period in need of something more than poetry to rationalize what was going on in their society, English prose took the forefront. Politics were rampant at the time, with the two battle groups the Whigs and Tories at each other’s throats. Prose brought a modern simplicity and practicality that was easily comprehensible, void of any rhythmic structure aimed to inform and relay information of factual discourse and produced works of topical fiction. Swifts use of prose makes every scene, no matter how surreal seem convincingly natural. A second feature indicating the passage as an eighteenth century text, is the questioning of Gulliver’s political stance, if he is a Whig or a Tory “…asked me whether I were a Whig or a Tory”(p.96). As mentioned above the eighteenth century was a period where politics were rife. Swift was a member of the Tory party and loyal to the Stuart family the former successors of the crown. Mentioning the two known political labels in the passage ensures a direct identification that the writing is of the eighteenth century, as this is when the two parties conflicts were most prominent. A third feature of eighteenth century literature present in the passage is that of the capitulation of nouns. The elements of capitalisation that still remain today are present in the passage- a capital letter at the beginning of every sentence, proper name and place. However it was common for eighteenth century literature to use capitalisation of any noun the author felt was important. For example not all the…

    • 837 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Gulliver's Travels

    • 3312 Words
    • 14 Pages

    In 1726, the first edition of Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World {Gulliver 's Travels) was published to great fanfare, first in London and early the following year in Continental Europe. Upon publication, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu wrote, "Here is a book come out, that all our people of taste run mad about. This is no less than the united Work of a dignified clergyman, an Eminent Physician, and the first poet of the Age, and very wonderful it is, God knows" (qtd. in Williams, Kathleen 65). This great adventure story, fable and satire has entertained and confounded readers for the better part of three centuries. It is at once a parodic treatment of travel writing and a satirical exploration of politics, colonialism, human characteristics and human ideals. When dealing with a multi-genre text like Gulliver 's Travels, criticism can easily lock the book into one particular category. On one level, Travels appears to be a travel narrative and the subtext appears to be a political satire and fantasy, not a historical chronicle. Moreover, the text's "surprise factor" for all intents has been "spoiled" through its reputation. Modem readers recognize the text as an imaginary tale of little people, giants, flying islands, and horse-people, so they probably do not approach the text in the same way reading one reading the text for the first time did in 1726. As a history text, criticism tends to link Travels to the historical works of Clarendon, as Swift considered him the most important historian of the seventeenth century (Brownley xiii).…

    • 3312 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    English

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Gulliver's Travels is a novel written by Jonathan Swift, an Irish writer, that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "traveller's tales" literary sub-genre. Alternately considered an attack on humanity or a clear-eyed assessment of human strengths and weaknesses, the novel is a complex study of human nature and of the moral, philosophical, and scientific thought of Swift's time which has resisted any single definition of meaning for nearly three centuries.…

    • 842 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    sea adventures and art

    • 371 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The sea trips in films , literature and painting Lіterature Daniel Defoe " Robinson Crusoe " The novel is about a young man named Robinson Crusoe, who dreams of going on sea voyages. On the journey the ship is attacked by pirates and Crusoe is taken as a slave. After slavery, he dramatically escapes and lands on an uninhabited island.…

    • 371 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    In Jonathon Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel there are many characters who have power over others, some of these characters abuse it other characters do not. Swift gives many details and examples of how the character uses or abuses his or her power. Swift relates many of his characters to real life people of his time…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    At first, Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels comes off as a fantasy/adventure, but it is in actuality a satirical commentary on society. Gulliver’s travels is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the “traveler’s tale” literary sub genre. The fascination of the tale lies in the fact that although every phase seems immediately comprehensible, the whole subject matter is endlessly complex. The novel offers a clear parody of colonialism and it’s working against what is conventionally known. Swift takes up the different ideas surrounding the working of colonialism and gradually debunks them by offering a reversal of scales. He redirects the tropes of colonial discourse and turns them against the masters in a very adroit manner. And interestingly all this is done with great wit and slapstick humor: be it Gulliver’s urinating to extinguish the fire or the experiments taking place at the Grand Academy of Lagado.…

    • 1909 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Steven Zwicker (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to English Literature, 1650-1740 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998).…

    • 437 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Restoration in England

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gulliver’s Travels is a satire in which each part exhibits a different view in which how Swift could change for the better. In part one, Swift used the big/little ender dispute to show the differences and fighting between England and France at this time. He pokes fun at English Parliament and their political practices. One example of how he pokes fun at them is with the Articles of Impeachment against Quinbus Flestrin. Swift mocks how people with no understanding of politics can make laws that have such large consequences. Part 2, in Brobdingnag, Gulliver mocks the king saying that his people are dumb, and can’t even understand simple concepts such as science and politics. This being said, the giant people of Brobdingnag represent the ideal society. Gulliver’s ignorance towards the Brobdingnags can be compared to the ignorance that the English show towards the rest of the world. Swift thought that England should not put themselves on a pedestal and realize that there are good things that come from other cultures and societies. Part 3 takes a swing at English imperialism. The land of Laputa forces the countries below to make payments and fund Laputa’s needs for scientific and technological advancement. Swift felt this was a…

    • 894 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    husb - 2nd marriage - 1st wife sues for bigamy under S494 IPC - conceded by appellant that marriage out of HMA in light of S2(2) of the act(Schd Tribe) - appellant relied on alleged custom in tribe which mandates monogamy as a rule - could not prove the same - burden on proof on one who is alleging the custom - court observed S29(2) HMA recognizes importance of customs - to prove that the custom is ancient, certain and reasonable - no proof of alleged custom making the 2nd marriage void - hence no offence under bigamy S494 IPC…

    • 4188 Words
    • 17 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Gulliver Travel

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The world shows many different and unique characteristics in life. The movie “Gulliver’s Travel”, it shows a little bit more than that. There were many things that have happened to Gulliver throughout his life. One of the important memories he’s had was the time he summoned some people from the past; historians. All of this was a big metaphor, and very satiric. This part of Gulliver’s Travel is very important because it is very much symbolic; it symbolizes a lot about Gulliver. Gulliver summoned historians by cutting his finger using his blood. There are many symbolic reasons to why and how Gulliver summoned the historians. Some examples include that Gulliver was stuck in time; he did not know where or how her got there, he realizes what happening to him, and he uses blood as a sacrifice.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Jonathan Swift’s renowned novel Gulliver’s Travels is possibly the greatest work of literary satire ever written. Ever since its publication, it has been an important and thought-provoking piece in English literature. As defined by a dictionary, satire is “The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues”. Originally, when it was first published, Swift refused to sign the book, fearing prosecution from the government. Swift himself admits that he penned ‘Gulliver’s Travels‘ in order "to vex the world rather than divert it." In this novel, the main character, Gulliver, travels to four very different lands. He is exposed to a vast array of political and social settings, and his view on politics and the human race as a whole deteriorates as the journey progresses. Often thought to be misanthropic, Swift uses satire to express his own unfavorable opinion on humanity, knowledge, and government.…

    • 963 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Gulliver's Travel Satire

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Gulliver's Travels is written from the perspective of a shipboard doctor named Lemuel Gulliver, and tells of four of his journeys into remote parts of the world. At the time Jonathan Swift wrote (1726), the increase in exploration of all parts of the globe had made stories of travels quite popular; the travels Swift wrote of, though, were fictional and satirical, even though presented as if a factual account written by Gulliver himself.…

    • 891 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays