Gulliver’s Travels is a work of satire, a genre of literature that simultaneously creates humor and critiques its society. The
satirist diminishes a revered thing by making it appear ridiculous, thus assuming a position of superiority to that revered
thing — a position that the reader can usually share.
In DIRECT or FORMAL satire, the writer speaks directly to the reader, and the work’s
persona is a carefully constructed character. The classical inventors of the form were
Horace (65-8 BC) and Juvenal (60-140 AD). Both poets wrote verse satires that were
extremely regular in form, though they ranged widely in topic. The two styles differ
chiefly in tone.
Horatian satire is: tolerant, witty, wise and self-effacing, general
Juvenalian satire is: angry, caustic, resentful, personal
In INDIRECT or NARRATIVE satire, characters make themselves ridiculous by their
own actions — there is no need for a narrator to speak directly to the reader. This type of
satire can, of course, can be Horatian or Juvenalian in mood, though not usually in form.
Gulliver’s Travels offers a combination of Direct and Indirect satire forms, but Swift is one
of the most famous English practitioners of Juvenalian satire in terms of his tone. We’ll
compare this tone to the more Horatian tone of Alexander Pope soon.
Published (and instantly popular) in 1726, the Irish writer, Swift, is satirizing the
conventions of the travel narrative — as well as the tendency of many readers to believe every word of the accounts they
were reading. The first three books of GT describe, in first person, the adventures of Lemuel Gulliver, a ship’s surgeon who
gets shipwrecked frequently on strange islands that are, in various ways, topsy-turvy reflections of England.
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His first voyage is to Lilliput, a land of tiny people (relative to Gulliver) whose petty, minutiae-obsessed ways poke fun
at similar pettiness in English culture (satirizing the court of George I). We learn that Gulliver is very good at recording
details such as foreign customs, measurements and vocabulary, but very poor at putting this information into any useful
perspective.
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The 2nd voyage, to Brobdingnag, an island of giants, satirizes England’s appetite for excess (in food, drink, and sex), as
well as its over-inflated, grandiose feelings of self-importance.
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The 3rd voyage, to the floating island of Laputa, populated by mad scientists and loony academics, satirizes the English
craze for the latest technologies and “scientific” discoveries – and also satirizes the belief that the best solution for any
problem is a technological one.
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The 4th and final voyage, to the land of the Houyhnhnms (pronounced “Hwinn-ems”), is the most complex, because
Gulliver loses what little objectivity he ever possessed and becomes convinced that the godlike, rational horses that populate
the island are indeed superior beings, and that the despicable, apelike Yahoos are indistinguishable from humans. He
becomes horribly confused as to which group he should identify himself with.
Note: Gulliver’s name is based on the same root word as “gullible.” Always question whether we are meant to share his
opinions about what he sees.
Swift particularly satirizes the trend in travel narrative for the narrators of such voyages to claim that they are impartial
observers, purely empirical in their reasoning (i.e., their knowledge was supposedly based on observation alone). The
reality is that they often imposed their own cultural, political, and religious assumptions on what they observed.
Published seven years after Daniel Defoe's wildly successful Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver's Travels may be read as a systematic
rebuttal of Defoe's optimistic account of human capability. Swift regarded such thought as a dangerous endorsement of Thomas
Hobbes' radical political philosophy and for this reason Gulliver repeatedly encounters established societies rather than desolate
islands. The captain who invites Gulliver to serve as a surgeon aboard his ship on the disastrous third voyage is named
Robinson.
Possibly one of the reasons for the book's classic status is that it can be seen as many things to many different people. Broadly,
the book has three themes:
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a satirical view of the state of European government, and of petty differences between religions.
an inquiry into whether men are inherently corrupt or whether they become corrupted.
a restatement of the older "ancients versus moderns"
In terms of storytelling and construction the parts follow a pattern:
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The causes of Gulliver's misadventures become more malignant as time goes on - he is first shipwrecked, then
abandoned, then attacked by strangers, then attacked by his own crew.
Gulliver's attitude hardens as the book progresses — he is genuinely surprised by the viciousness and politicking of the
Lilliputians but finds the behaviour of the Yahoos in the fourth part reflective of the behaviour of people.
Each part is the reverse of the preceding part — Gulliver is big/small//ignorant, the countries are
complex/simple/scientific/natural, forms of Government are worse/better/worse/better than England's.
Gulliver's view between parts contrasts with its other coinciding part — Gulliver sees the tiny Lilliputians as being
vicious and unscrupulous, and then the king of Brobdingnag sees Europe in exactly the same light. Gulliver sees the
Laputians as unreasonable, and Gulliver's Houyhnhnm master sees humanity as equally so.
No form of government is ideal — the simplistic Brobdingnagians enjoy public executions and have streets infested
with beggars, the honest and upright Houyhnhnms who have no word for lying are happy to suppress the true nature of
Gulliver as a Yahoo and are equally unconcerned about his reaction to being expelled.
Specific individuals may be good even where the majority is bad — Gulliver finds a friend in each of his travels and,
despite Gulliver's rejection and horror toward all Yahoos, is treated very well by the Portuguese captain, Don Pedro,
who returns him to England at the novel's end.
HOMEWORK: First reading – parts 1 and 2 (to page 107) Due Tues 11/2 or Wed 11/3
Since this is one of the older and more difficult books we will read this year, I will provide you with a more structure approach.
Everyone must do task A:
Track irony/satire in the novel by either tabbing sections of the reading or writing down quotes and page numbers. Find at least
5 instances of irony or satire and be ready to explain why they are ironic or satirical to the class.
Task B (choose one element to focus on):
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If you are struggling with the reading, answer the reading questions that I have attached (they can be basic answers).
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If you want to focus on being prepared for the open essay, choose three prompts from our list and brainstorm ideas
based on what you know about Gulliver’s Travels, list several short quotes that apply, then write a thesis for each
prompt.
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If you want to focus on being prepared for the passage analysis essay, pick three passages out of this reading, develop
a prompt for each of them (look at examples from “The Dead” packet), brainstorm on approaches to answering your
prompt.
Task B – option one – answer on a separate sheet of paper
Part one questions:
1. Why does the Lilliputian government go to such trouble to feed and shelter Gulliver if he is so
dangerous because of his size?
2. What does the inventory of Gulliver’s belongings tell the reader about the differences between Lilliput
and England?
3. How does Gulliver ingratiate himself to the Emperor?
4. What is the first event that gets Gulliver into trouble?
5. How does putting out the fire in the palace get Gulliver into deeper trouble?
6. How does Gulliver explain the difference between the ideal laws of Lilliput and its present corrupt
condition?
7. How are children brought up in Lilliput?
8. What are the main charges brought against Gulliver by the Lilliputians?
9. What is the original proposed punishment of Gulliver, and what is the final punishment?
10. How does Gulliver escape from the Lilliputians?
11. How does Gulliver leave Blefuscu?
Part two questions:
1. How does Gulliver get to Brobdingnag?
2. How do people of gigantic size appear to Gulliver (say more than big)?
3. How does Gulliver struggle with Brobdingnagian animals?
4. What does the farmer plan to do with Gulliver? And how does Gulliver feel about this?
5. To whom does the farmer sell Gulliver?
6. What do the Brobdingnagian philosophers think Gulliver is?
7. What does the King of Brobdingnag think of England? And how does Gulliver react?
What is the most hateful sight in this country?
8. What do the Maids of Honor do in front of Gulliver and why? And how is he affected?
9. What does Gulliver do after watching the King of Brobdingnag shave?
10. Why does Gulliver tell the King of Brobdingnag about gunpowder? What is the King’s reaction to
what Gulliver tells him about gunpowder and firearms?
11. What does Gulliver think of the King of Brobdingnag’s ideas about government?
12. What are the Brobdingnagian books like according to Gulliver?
13. What is the Brobdingnagian army like according to him? And why do they have an army?