Assignment of Neo-Classical Literature : critical interpretation of Gulliver 's Travels.

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 Monday , 30 October 2017
Paper - 2 Neo - classical literature
Prepared by : Gohil Jyotiba M.
Roll No : 18
Assignment  Topic -  Critical interpretation of Gulliver 's Travels.
M.A (English) : Sem -1
Enrollment No: 2069108420180016
Batch : 2017-19
Email  ID : jyotibagohil96@gmail.com
Submitted to : Smt .S. B Gardi , Department of English, MK Bhavnagar University

 ●》Critical interpretation of Gulliver 's Travels : 

 ● Introduction :

     Gulliver 's Travels is written by Jonathan swift.It is a story of Lamuel Gulliver.  He was a practical minded English man . He trained as surgeon who takes to the seas when his business fails. Gulliver 's travels is a adventure story of Gulliver who travels to the fantasy lands of Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa and Houyhnhnm lands. Gulliver 's Travels is a satire and a comic masterpiece. It is a satire on four aspects of Man : physical, political , intellectual and moral . During his voyages he meet many people of different sizes, beliefs and behaviours.

● As a political allegory : 

      There are many forms of satire in the book and one of them is the political satire . When he meet first Liliputians. They are exemplifie English people during the 18th century because of their demanding nature . Swift used Liliputians as a representation of England to show that the British reality . Liliputians are very small individuals who control Gulliver by threatening him :

  " When in instant I felt above a hundred arrows discharged into my left hand , which pricked me like so many needles , and besides they shot another flight into the air , as we do bombs in Europe. " 

    In Gulliver 's Travels swift able to demonstrate the hypocrisy of politics in England through the visitation of Gulliver to the Liliputians. Swift describe the traditions and politics of Liliputians. The tallest man the leader is only a nails length taller than everyone else so it is a way of saying that the king of England  ( King George || ) was  not a big a as he thought he was.  The another political example is that swift offers is the way a Liliputians gains a position of power . There is a rope dancing so people have to dance and jump on a rope to earn a position of power.

     After satirising how the politics were running in the England. Gulliver than looks at the army of emperor of Liliputians.  During the describing the emperor 's army Gulliver reports that the king has 24 troops of calvary . The men had to participate in military exercise. Unlike the duty of protection once country and serving with honor,  the king treats his army like toy soldiers . This is a also satire on KING GEORGE . Because swift is pointing out how the army of England did more for the pleasure and gain of the king than for the country of England.  The king uses army not for protect his country but for his personal use only .

      In Liliputians there was a two types of groups that seems to be leads politics for the Liliputians. The Tramescksan and the Slamecksan.  The Tramescksan have high heels while the Slamecksan have low heels . The Tramescksan and Slamecksan are two groups that are similar to the Tories and whigs in England.  The tories corresponded to the high heels and they were traditionalists and republicans. The whig corresponded to the low heels and they were more liberal . They both are worked for the king so with that swift showing that the difference between both groups is miniscule in the way he makes the fun of internal politics.

     Jonathan swift uses Gulliver and his journey to the Liliputians as a representation of political in Europe during 18th century under the king George second.

● social satire : 

     Gulliver 's Travels is a grate work of social satire. In the first voyage to Liliput Swift satirises on politics and political practiced in England through Liliputians. Liliputians has six inches height . He satirise the manner in which political offices were awarded by English king in his time .

     Gulliver account of annoyance of the empress of Liliput on extinguishing fire in her apartment is Swift 's satirical way of describing Queen Anne 's annoyance with him on writing ' A Tale of Tub ' . Swift satire becomes amusing when Gulliver speaks of the conflict between the big Endians and The little Endians.  In this account Swift is ridiculing the conflict between the Roman Catholic and Protestant. High heels and Low heels represting whig and tory two political parties in England.

     In the Brobdingnag the second voyage there is a satire on human body , human talents and human limitations .  Gulliver gives us his reaction to the ugliness of human body .when Gulliver gives an account, to the king of Brobdingnag of the life in his own country, the wars , the conflict in the religion, the political parties.  The king remarks that the history of Gulliver 's country seems to be satire of rebellions, murders, conspiracy, revolution etc. King condemns the fatal use of gun powder and the books written on the act of governing .

   " The most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth ."

      In the third voyage to Laputa there is a satire on human intellect,  human mind and science , philosophy and mathematics. In this greatly amused by useless experiments and researches. Which are going on at the academy of projectors in Lugado . In here scientists wants to extract sunbeams out of cucumbers to convert human excrement into its original food , to produced books on various subjects by the use of machines without having to exert one 's brain . Swift amuses us by making a fun of the people whose sole interests are music and geometry.

" They made a lot of theories but practically nill."

      Swift here ridicules scientists, academic,  planers , intellectual and all other people who  proced only the basis on theory which are useless when they come to actual practice. He satirise historians and litaray critics though Gulliver 's  interview with the ghost of famous dead.

       In the next fourth and last voyage of Houyhnhnms there is bitter satire on human .voyage contains some of the most corrosive satire on mankind .By comparison with Houyhnhnms and yahoos.  Houyhnhnms are noble and benevolent. Horses who are governed by reason and lead on ordered life. In comparison human race to Houyhnhnms they are excellent beings . They hold meetings at which the difficulties of their population are discussed and solved . They regulated their populations.

       Swift 's purpose here is to attribute to horse certain qualities which would normally lacking in them . Gulliver feels so much admiration for Houyhnhnms and with so much hatred and disgust for human beings .so because of that he has no desire even to return to his family. Thus we can see that Gulliver 's Travels is a great piece of art containing social satire in it .

● As a Dystopia and utopian novel :

       Swift 's Gulliver Travels is one of the most famous satires written in the history of English Literature.

   • Meaning of Utopia :

       Utopia is the imagination place or state that never happen in reality and it never happens in real world .

   • Meaning of Dystopia : 

       Dystopia is the imagination place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad typically a totalitarian or environmently degraded one. It happen in reality .

     Swift make comparison between events that take place in the story and events .Utopia refers to an idealized state where harmony and entire satisfaction are omnipresent. Dystopia is incomplete without Utopia. Dystopia often refer to totalitarian societies and personal freedom .Dystopia critically reflect social imbalances and lack of essential and personal liberty . This novel contains Utopian and Dystopian elements within the scope of satire . So thus it making it Utopian as well as Dystopian novel. Jonathan swift with the use of Irony talks about both an ideal society which is an Utopia and of the real world which is Dystopia in the all four parts of the novel.  A vivid image of the human society has been reflected through the Utopian and Dystopian elements in this novel. Dystopian elements as well as beautified portrayed by Swift through the image of Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos respectively.  Gulliver 's relationship with  the Houyhnhnms and swift repreted the idea of great Utopian society as impossible. Which proves that this novel is Dystopian novel .it is a Dystopian novel because Gulliver faces the same ups and downs , witnesses , certain human follies .

      Gulliver 's Travels has four different lands Liliput , Brobdingnag , Laputa and country of Houyhnhnms and Yahoos .they all have been depicted in various ways. Swift pictures Dystopia in Liliput in three sets of societies of little,  gaints and normal size merchant and how in fourth part of Houyhnhnms 's society of horses and savage like  humans . He pictures both Utopia and Dystopia.  The most crucial is to understand the fourth voyage to the land of Houyhnhnms.  In this shown as Utopia at least in eyes of Gulliver.  Utopian to mean idealistic or perfectionist about human society . Houyhnhnms society is clearly not Utopian in "idealistic and perfectionist. "  It also pictures Dystopian society. Their society includes something very much like caste system. Cast system is one of the bitter reality of our world and a world without these things we holds as hopes , individuality, genius can't represent a Utopia for humans.

        Gulliver is the mouthpiece of Swift . Through the possibility of Utopian and Dystopian societies encountered by Gulliver and his experiences there , swift depicts the folws and beauties of human nature . Swift is generates a" parallel universes. " Inhabited by weird being and illogical realities. Yet this can't be done without the characteristics traits of a world outlined with powerful objectively. Jonathan swift 's dramatic satire ' led to creation of his Anti -Utopias , Dystopia . Even through the novel contains Utopian elements more still we find Dystopian elements as well.

● Colonialism :

   Meaning of colonialism : 

                  

     " Exploitation of weak people by large power or control over the dependent nation "

       In the first voyage of Liliput Gulliver bounded by small and unnumerable tiny people . They are not affair of Gulliver. They use Gulliver as a source of entertainment and uses him for fight against blefuscue .they are the people who display the power and authority. In the second voyage of Brobdingnag a farmer brings Gulliver in his home and treats him as a curiosity and exbities him for money. Farmer sells him for money to a queen. In this land he treated as a doll or plaything.  Queen make a ' Traveling Box' for Gulliver as a symbol of confinement. In the last voyage of Houyhnhnms he meet a race of talking horse who are civilised and they ruling over Yahoos they are uncivilised and always fighting with each other. So here we can see that Houyhnhnms are colnizer and Yahoos are colonized people.

● As a children's literature :

     Gulliver 's  Travels is considered as a children's literature. In children's literature including the stories, books , magazines, poetry so that they all  are enjoyed by children. Gulliver 's Travels is a imaginative story. In the voyage of Liliputians they all are smaller but quite dangerous for Gulliver. They repentanced English and their small size represting England. The Brobdingnag are physically larger a lot than Gulliver but they don't realise their potential power .The Laputa is a floating land. In this voyage all Laputians are intelligent and spent a lot time in studying but they failed to produce anything. In the last voyage of Houyhnhnms representing a successful society. They are reasonable and civilised,  they have decent principles.  The Yahoos represting all the bad human have . They are uncivilised, greedy and violent. So it is a perfect book for family reading and children. It is holding the attention of all the ages. Children are open to see the new ways of life after reading this.

  

●  Misanthrop : 

In this novel Gulliver shown as a misanthrope means hater of mankind.  In the very first travel of Gulliver appears one land where lives an unbelievable human creature not more than six inches high . Swift represting of impossible physical smallness of human race is desired to show the possible mental smallness.  The human beings have an instinct to make quarrle and war. The  long war between the Liliputians and blefuscue on a small issue for a long time proves their love for war. They continue war for many years on the point that which end of an egg to break larger or smaller end .so this is baseless thing for fighting with  each other .

Swift most serious attack on mankind is in the fourth voyage the country of Houyhnhnms. In this Houyhnhnms representing horses and Yahoos represting mankind.  But the most objectionable thing is that Yahoos have been shown in deformed ugly and inferior in both ways mentality and physically. While the Houyhnhnms are rational and orderly and civilised. Gulliver didn't want to disclose his body in front of the Houyhnhnms. He always wanted to distinguish himself " as much as possible from the cursed race of yahoos ". But once this secret is reviled and he is asked to put off his dress in front of Houyhnhnms. So it is very shameful thing for him.

  So this " voyage of Houyhnhnms is a real   insult upon mankind ". So to see the reality of Yahoos and their behaviour towards each other and they are uncivilised and violent in nature .so with that Gulliver feels hatred towards all human beings .

● Conclusion :

     So the Gulliver 's Travels is a great work of satire. So it is satire on a four aspects of Man : physical , political, intellectual , moral. It is satire upon social , political. It also shows a reality of life .it is based on the theme of colonialism at swift 's time. In it the voyage of Houyhnhnms shows as a real insult upon a mankind. In this swift uses both the element Utopia and Dystopia.  So it is shown as s grate work of Jonathan swift.

● Work sited :

▪http://www.academia.edu/31811384/GULLIVERS_TRAVEL_AS_A_DYSTOPIAN_NOVEL

▪http://www.cssforum.com.pk/css-optional-subjects/group-v/english-literature/285-swifts-gullivers-travels-social-satire.html

▪http://malinotes.blogspot.in/2012/06/jonathan-swift-misanthrope-or-hater-of.html?m=1