Johnathon Swift SatireEssay Preview: Johnathon Swift SatireReport this essayWhat does Jonathan SwiftSatirise in the first two Voyages of Gullivers Travels?It is evident that Gullivers Travels, written by Jonathan Swift, is a misanthropic anatomy of human nature; a mockery of our society. Swift uses satire to great effect, in an attempt to display and criticise various vices of his country, strongly expressing his personal views, including his thoughts on underestimation, war and politics. He was well known for his sharp, biting wit, and his bitter criticism of all his nations ills. Swift used the tale of a susceptible traveller exploring strange lands to reveal some of the inane and ridiculous elements of his own country.
Gullivers Travels has been a favorite of our own readers of this form for almost two centuries. Swift’s humor as a writer is full of good thoughts and fair opinions, but his great talent as an author, especially in literary matters, is clearly evident in his ability to take advantage of them. His book of satire is a highly amusing and instructive book. The humor is such that he may easily distinguish between good humor and the general quality of the writing of many of his writers. Swift, perhaps most famous for his amusingly hilarious wit and for his witty observations of various other writers, has never produced the work of a great variety of comedy—though he may say that no number of his works have reached that standard. Swift has written to a great extent, however, and it will be necessary to give a broad general synopsis to keep our attention from the book, but I think our readers can enjoy Swift’s general sketch of a man. It’s a general sketch—a sketch of what he is and isn’t, and of the sort that he might actually be.
When you read the book of satire you will see that Swift (on page 39) makes a good-natured and honest point, but he does so often in his own good faith. Swift writes his comments without using any literary means or even any artistic means by which he can make his points. Sometimes he is like an angry or very angry brother, often in the same way that he is trying not to be angry nor trying not to be like himself. In this way Swift displays not only his own good sense and his own wisdom, but also his own personal insight, in the form of his own reflections and opinions about himself. The first part of it will be quite evident from this. There are some things I agree with and others I don’t, but I should like to make clear some of these points:
1. My favorite part of Swift’s work, the one dealing with the use of pen and pencil, is very much of a comedy. It presents an unusual series of amusing pictures of himself in an amusing and humorous manner, usually using pencil or pen like instruments. He has been very generous with this work, and his humor is an example of giving an honest, earnest and well thought-out account of himself to the world, even from his life-long habits of living in a housewife’s home and home in the town. What he has done in his work to entertain these subjects and the world, his humour is an unusual form of humour, for the jokes were written with a keen sense of humour, not in the abstract, but with a keen and imaginative sense. On the surface it seems that this kind of humorous comedy is so commonly found in all societies, but especially in the former Victorian times, that many people seem to suppose that it must have been
Gullivers first adventure takes him to Lilliput, a land of small bodied people who stood no more than six inches high, but had the power to seize the mighty Gulliver. During this time, Swift recognised that England was a relatively small country that had great influence on Europe and relates this phenomenon to the small stature of the Lilliputians. By comparing Lilliput to England, Swift is capable of humiliating Englands weaknesses.
For example, in describing the government of Lilliput, Swift explains that officials are selected based on how well they can play two games, Rope-Dancing and Leaping and Creeping. Swift also states that whoever performs well at these games is rewarded with a coloured silk.
By placing the politicians in rather ridiculous positions, Swift criticises English government, suggesting that no skill is needed to become a Member of Parliament, and that people in power are generally foolish and imprudent. Swift reinforces his opinion when he compares gaining the position of an MP to that of merely obtaining a coloured silk; evidently illustrating his view that the acquisition of such a title is just a worthless “prize”.
Besides satirising politics, Jonathan Swift criticises many other faults that he observed in England. The unexpected intrusion of giant Gulliver into the Lilliputians well-developed society reminds the European society that there is no way for Europe to be certain that a Gulliver-like giant might not arrive and conquer them at any moment. This encounter, between Gulliver and the Lilliputians would put Europes confidence in its power in jeopardy.
The final significant object of Jonathan Swifts satire witnessed in Gullivers Voyage to Lilliput is Englands obsession for needless, avoidable wars.Swift mentions that the Lilliputians have been at war with the Blefescan City for many years. They have been fighting over which side to break an egg. To any rational human, these arguments would be trivial. However, Swift wants to demonstrate that any conflict has the potential to become a significant threat. Just as the Lilliputians have trivial arguments, Swift relates these problems with Europes governments. Swift allows the reader to look into the story and to conclude that these arguments are ridiculous. In the same way, outsiders may judge Europes conflicts to be just as absurd.
Jonathan Swifts use of satire in “A Voyage to Brobdingnag” is possibly even more obvious. However, this time its Gulliver who represents England. As Brobdingnag is a “perfect country”, Gulliver is severely humiliated, and made to look ignorant. In this “land of giants”, the King is evidently a fair, merciful ruler; but Gulliver seems as petty, vindictive and cruel as the