Assignment : Paper IV

Topic : Gulliver’s Travels as an allegory

Name: Patel payal G

Roll no - 32

M.A.Part –I (SEM-I)

Batch: 2010-11

Submitted to: Miss Ruchira Dudhrejia

Department of English

Bhavnagar University.

Gulliver’s Travels as an allegory

                                                During Eighteenth Century satirical works were more popular which are political and social allegories. For example, John Dryden’s “Absalom and Achitophel” is a political allegory, Alexander Pope’s “The Rape of the Lock” is a social allegory and satire. Similarly, Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” is also a political allegory and social satire.

                                                          “An allegory is a literary genre in prose or verse which is structured in such a way that its meaning could be read on two levels – a primary or literal level, 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 social milieu or recent historical event. It is a figurative mode of representation where ideas are conveyed through symbolism and Metaphor. Swift uses satire to highlight the allegorical elements in his tale and thus the allegory functions as an excellent vehicle of criticism of the English Government and its activities. The allegory and the satire; in a sense are interwoven inextricably and deftly.”

-      ‘Gulliver’s Travels’

                                                           To some extent we are familiar with Eighteenth century politics of England. So, we can put Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels” in the column of political or historical allegory; because the characters and actions are based on historical or political personages and events. This text contains symbolic references to actual people and events in eighteenth century England. In short, characters and actions in the text represent people and events of real life.

                                                            It is at once a delightful, fantastic story of adventure for children, a political allegory, and a serious satire on human nature, on controversies and on the manners and morals of the age.

                                                            In Gulliver’s first travel to Lilliput, he deals with the experiences in the land of the little people. Who are no more than six inches tall. Tiny people symbolize satire on small mindedness of people also meanness and narrow mind. Their size signifies that their motives, acts and humanity are in the same dwarfish.

                                                          Swift also criticizes the religious beliefs of the Lilliputians and England in the first story. In Lilliput, ministers were chosen strictly on agility or their ability to walk or stick jumping. They were able to maintain their rank of minister as long as they could keep these defeating these tasks.

                                                          The political parties of the English Government are represented by the conservative ‘High Heels’  who depict the ‘Tories’ , and the progressive ‘Low Heels’, or ‘Whigs’. As per their names, the distinguishing mark of the parties is the height of their heels within these two parties, Swift criticizes the English political parties and the prince of Wales. Swift also mocks the religion  that was going on in England, through the use of the war between Lilliput and its nearest neighbor, Blefuscu, Swift’s use of the terms ‘High Heels’ and ‘Low Heels’  to compare the meaningless battles of the  Whigs and Tories, such as the height of Heels.

·      Highly  Superstitious Nature of Lilliput :

“They worry their dead with their head directly downwards because they hold an opinion that after eleven thousand moons, they are all to rise again.”

                                                     “Gulliver’s account of the annoyance of the Emperor of Lilliput on extinguishing fire is Swift’s satirical wheel of describing Queen Anne’s annoyance for himself. By representing conflict between Big Endians and Little Endians Swift ridiculous the conflict between Roman Catholic and Protestants.

In his second visit to Brobdingnag, Swift satirizes the physical grossness of the human body. Here, he was tiny person and the people were giant. It shows their over ambitious nature and also man’s love for power. We find here “All is well” mentality to the people.

                                                       His voyage shows us the filthy mental and physical characteristics of man. Gulliver’s first owner in Brobdingnag represents the selfishness of man. He is constantly displayed in public, abused for the profit of the owner. There is a satire on human talents and human limitations. Gulliver gives us his reaction to the ugliness of human body, when Gulliver gives an account of the life in his own country, the trade, the horse, the conflicts, politics, and the religion. Then king of Brobdingnag remarks that the history of Gulliver’s country seems to be a serious of conspiracies, murders, revolutions, rebels, banishment etc. He condemns use of gun powder and the books written on the act of governor. Mocking human race of which Gulliver is an agent, the royal person says, about human being.

                                                    Gulliver ends up in a miniature box which is picked up by a giant eagle and dropped into the ocean. This signals his departure from Brobdingnag and the beginning of his voyage to Laputa.

Gulliver’s third voyage, to the floating island of Laputa is one of the whole books. There were scientists and philosophers who have not any practical knowledge. Therefore, there is satire on human intellect mind, science and philosophies as well as scientists want to extract sun beans out of the cucumbers. They try to convert human excrement into food. In this voyage Swift criticizes the Royal Society of England in which he says is composed of useless philosophies, inventions, and scientists. The floating island signifies that the inhabitants are composed of the same airy constitution as the environment. The flying island itself expresses not only the desertion on the common earth of reality but their conversion of the universe to a mechanism and of living to a mechanical process.

                                                 The scholars and the philosophers of Laputa were so concerned with theoretical abstractions that the practical aspects of everybody living were completely over locked. Laputa is an allegorical representation of the development with regard to science in the contrary. The experiments in the Academy of Legato and those practiced in the lands below such as building a house from its roof downwards and the modern methods of cultivation only leave the general populace miserable and the country ruined. This does not, however, stop the scientist from continuing with their experiments.

                                                   As a political allegory of European civilization, Swift presents the aspect of war and the European prosperity for destruction, particularly in the parallels that one can draw between Lilliput’s desire to enslave an already defeated Blefuscu and the strained relationship between England and France. He also indirectly criticizes the arrogance of European impartialities who ‘civilized’ through brutality and oppression  while masking their chief motive which was greed patterns of war and destruction are woven into the allegorical motif here to explicate  the existing political situation that swift is satirizing.

                                                 Part -4 is a voyage to the country of the Houyhnhnms narrates the experiences of Gulliver in the land of the Houyhnhnms or horses, and the Yahoos. These horses are creatures governed solely by reason, free from any emotion or passions, while the Yahoos who physically resemble human beings are ruled purely by ‘animal instincts’. Houyhnhnms symbolizes an ideal stage of life whereas Yahoos suggest corrupt humankind and sexual perversion.

Here, there is a bitter and poignant satire on human morals and also satire on mankind through the description of Yahoos.

                                                      By contrast, the Houyhnhnms are noble who are governed by reason and heed and ordered life to be compelled by the Houyhnhnms be needed a pinching criticism on human beings. He tells that wars in European countries were sometimes due to the ambitions of kings and sometimes due to the corruption of the ministers. He gives an account of deadly weapons used for destructive purposes. Many people ruin themselves by drinking, gambling. Many people are guilty of murders, theft, robbery, forgery and rape.

                                                       Swift’s purpose is to attribute to horses certain qualities which would normally be expected in human beings but which actually lacking in them. Through this voyage he explains the customs practiced in England, including the wearing cloths by humans, the government of the people, the loyal system and the uses of money as instruments of purchase.

He quotes;

“Upon the whole, I never beheld in all my travels so disagreeable and animal, or one against which I naturally conceived so strong an antipathy.”

                                              -[Swift, Text 215]

                                                    Swift portrays the Yahoos as savage animals with human characteristics, which is the biggest mockery of mankind in the whole book. The Yahoos were so greedy, that they would fight over enough food to feed an entire army of fifty soldiers, just to keep it to themselves. They would poison their own bodies by sucking a root, similar to alcohol to reach a high. The female population of the passing by males gives the impression of a woman hiding her face behind a fan.

                                                     The smell associated with the female Yahoos, is similar to man. By the time Gulliver is returned to England, he become a complete antisocial, who desires to become a Houyhnhnm gives the reader the impression that he is a pathetic man, who strives to become someone he can never be.

· Conclusion :

                                                 Through Gulliver, Jonathan Swift travels to four different countries, each representing a corrupt part of England Swift criticizes the corruption of these parts and focuses on the government, society, science, religion, and man. He has covered most of the subject through his writings. Not only does Swift criticize the custom of each country, he mocks the native man who has the inability to figure out the double meaning of things. Gulliver, being gullible himself, believes everything he is told, which symbolizes the irony of the English.

                                     The end

                                   Thank You