Various Introductions
For centuries man has told tales of monsters and fiends found across the
ocean or hiding amongst us in the shadows. Since the dawn of mankind, humans
have constantly invented and feared a great number of creatures. Yet a few
have come to realize that the greatest monstrosities on this earth are not
vampires, werewolves, or ghosts, but men themselves. Mary’s Shelley’s Gothic
horror Frankenstein and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels both satirically
explore the inhumanity of humankind, express disdain of many devilish practices
of the scientific establishment, albeit in different ways, and wrangle with each
other about the role of women in the world.
The names Mary Shelley and Jonathan Swift are easily recognizable as
gifted British authors. While both writers have been fairly prolific in their work,
Shelley is most known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein, and Swift is most
associated with his satire Gulliver’s Travels. Both novels share themes involving
the limits of human understanding and the individual versus society, but differ in
their treatments of family.
Books that are recognized and revered by several generations usually
reach the status of “classic.” These books deal with universal themes and,
therefore, easily pass from generation to generation without losing their ability to
communicate with readers. Two such examples of classic novels are Mary
Shelley’s Frankenstein and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. These classics,
though drastically differing in genre, both share characters who endure personal
suffering, explore the ramifications of physical appearance, and present apparent
lines to the limits of one’s knowledge.
Two of the most influential works to grace the pages of literature came
from two British writers. Jonathan Swift wrote Gulliver’s Travels as a satire
against Great Britain. Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein as a horror story on
human creation. Although Swift’s satirical Gulliver’s Travels and Shelley’s horror
tale Frankenstein do differ on their own take on family devotion and the impact
of nature, the novels are united through their themes of pursuing knowledge and
its limit in nature and human understanding.
The two British authors Jonathan Swift and Mary Shelley have many
recognized works. One well-known piece of Jonathan Swift’s satirical works is
Gulliver’s Travels. Mary Shelley’s ghost-story masterpiece is Frankenstein. These
two novels differ in their treatment of physical appearance but share themes
involving passive women and human understanding.
The two British writers Jonathan Swift and Mary Shelley are well known
for their great works in literature. Swift is famed for his book Gulliver’s Travels,
and Shelly for her horror novel Frankenstein. In both novels, nature and abortion
affect the main characters in very similar ways, but the characters differ in how
they handle stressful situations.
Jonathan Swift and Mary Shelley are both recognized as great British
authors. Of all the pieces of literature they’ve written, Gulliver’s Travels and
Frankenstein are the two most well known and widely studied, and of course,
each work is shaped by events in the authors’ lives. Gulliver’s Travels and
Frankenstein share protagonists who pursue knowledge and must conquer the
external conflict of individual versus society, but each main character differs in
his commitment to family.
Readers recognize that satire and gothic are separate genres, and these
same readers would expect novels representing these two genres to be more
different than alike. Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Mary Shelley’s
Frankenstein defy this expectation. These novels, from two distinct genres, share
themes of acceptance and the importance of language, yet differ in the role
travel plays in each plot.
Versus this incomplete one (doesn’t set context):
Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein were
published ninety years apart. Though they showcase vastly different genres, the
authors express the same outlook on life and the power of knowledge.