An Analysis of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels - Free Essay Example

Introduction

Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels (1726) ranks amongst the most famous books. Since its appearance in the early 18th century, it has captivated readers, authors, and even artists. As the novel's tale goes, a maritime physician has a succession of “wild and enlightening adventures on four separate voyages overseas” (Swift 129). Although many readers know this work as a classic youngsters' adventure narrative, the four-part satirical work parodies general travelogues of Swift's day in making this tale of a sea-loving doctor's voyages to fantasy overseas lands. While most readers seem to get lost in its fantastical images of mystified giants and small people, Swift's serves a biting satire, combining adventure with savage satire to mock English politics and customs of the day; through an outside observer's lens, the author looks at the aspects of this society's culture, and more specifically, English values and institutions.

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Restoration

One of the primary ideas highlighted by Swift's narrative relates to the era of Restoration. The author fashions some unreal worlds to which the protagonist, Lemuel Gulliver, journeys, and learns that English establishments are not necessarily ideal. In this novel, the protagonist explains how he was "shipwrecked, and swims for his life, gets safe on shore in the country of Lilliput" (Swift 11). In this case, Lilliput represents England. Swift uses this representation to depict England as a pretentious, morally corrupt, and deceitful society. With the Restoration era beginning a few years before the author's birth date, this period marked significant events such as Charles Stuart's ascension to power (King Charles II) as England's novel king and the Protestant Stuart family's Restoration to the throne. The new king was an avid supporter of a strong Anglican church and garnered significant Tories support.

The Restoration era significantly influenced how Swift wrote his narrative; more specifically, the events witnessed during this period drove the author to explore the idea of a utopian society. Throughout Swift's life, the author focused on the notion of a strong church and republic that would limit people's involvement in sin and chaos; this stemmed from the author's subscription to the pre-Enlightenment impression that people were naturally evil. Given this human condition, Swift believed that the existence of rationality and institutions such as the church, administration, and social structure underlined the need to rein in an individual’s inclination to sin.

The idea of strong institutions prevailed in Swift's novel. The author relied on Gulliver's exploration of Brobdingnag and Luggnagg to mirror his (author's) idea of a utopian society. Swift elucidates how the Brobdingnagians were physically and morally superior and did not "suffer war or strife because their political and social structures were far superior to England's" ("Themes and Construction: Gulliver's Travels," para. 3). Swift's idea of this type of society reflected what social engineers perceived of the English society. Unlike English society, Swift believed that a perfect society was one in which war and oppression were absent.

While covering the idea of a perfect society, Swift also references the absurdity of religious conflicts between Christian factions. According to Swift, "Sometimes the quarrel between two princes is to decide which of them shall dispossess a third of his dominions, where neither of them pretends to any right" (185). During Swift's time, the Stuarts' return to the monarchy meant the Anglican church's return as the main national religion and eventually the Tories' establishment as the supreme political power.

The Test Act of 1673 was the primary source of disagreement between these factions. According to this law, every government employee needed to receive communion as per the Anglican church's tradition. As a result, it hindered non-Anglicans from securing employment in government agencies. Generally, this law was the principal bulwark of the church's public office monopoly.

Although he supported the Test Act, he instinctively sought stability in politics and religion. As a Troy and member of the Anglican church, Swift referenced the need for a strong church to keep the balance of power within the administration. In his novel, Swift describes how the truth was corrupted and mishandled by folks who behaved like the Yahoos who "greedily devoured" everything (174). The author believed that the church was a force for moderation and rationality; Swift thought that this stability would ensure personal freedoms. As far as Swift was concerned, politics, morality, and religion were inseparable. As such, the author challenged theological attempts – attempts that he believed created a glide path to anarchic dissent.

Politics

Swift's satire reflects the political events that were happening in England; thus, political disagreements in England were another element that influenced his novel. Throughout the novel, the theme of politics prevails. At the time of writing Swift’s novel, “England was undergoing a lot of political shuffling" ("Historical Context: Gulliver's Travels," para. 1). At the time, George I, a Hanoverian German prince, had taken over Britain's leadership following Queen Anne's demise. Despite being a good and liberal leader, he was loathed because his ministers (comprised mainly of Whigs) used their power and influence to oppress the Tories.

Swift was both a clergyman and a political writer. He profoundly focused on the disagreements between the Whigs and Tories. In his time, Whigs sought more significant parliamentary power. In contrast, the Tories backed the state Anglican church and the kings' deific right to govern. They also challenged amplified control for the British parliament. When Swift was writing his tale, King George I supported the Whigs and filled parliament with his chosen political party. Being a Tory supporter, Swift drew inspiration from the conflict between Tories and Whigs, a high- versus low-heeled shoe conflict of the Lilliputians.

The author intensely begrudged the Whig's actions against the Tories. Throughout the novel, Swift shows the ongoing disagreement between Whigs and Tories reflected by the behavior of "two struggling parties in this empire, … Tramecksans and Slamecksan" (Swift 34). Nevertheless, after some time, it dawned upon him that the Tories also bore part of the blame for engaging in partisan politics. Both parties attacked each other through a series of double-dealing, infighting, and treachery. It is this constant disagreement that inspired much of the author's criticism of the administration, which was soiled in corruption and could not serve the common good. Generally, Swift's portrayal of ruthless and self-centered monarchs in his narrative addresses the English government's chaos during the 1700s.

The author's criticism of the administration accentuated his need to examine the latter's duties and purpose. With the author's intentions for writing his novel underlining the need to shame the administration and individuals working in the government, Swift argued that the administration's primary responsibility was to ensure personal freedom.

Some of Swift's observations, including political leaders' dubious qualifications, unchecked corruption, and partisan politics, contribute to his novel's provocative nature. For instance, the author writes about how potential candidates for a great office often petitioned "the Emperor to entertain the majesty and the court with a dance on the rope, and whoever jumps the highest without falling, succeeds in the office" (Swift, 26). The author uses Gulliver's discussion of the government system and comparison to the one he learns to inquire about the administration's role in wealth distribution, tackling poverty, and public education.

Swift’s observations about the administration reflected the many flaws exhibited by political leaders, especially those affiliated with the Whig party; this element becomes evident in his novel. The author writes of how the emperor commanded chief ministers "to show their skill and convince the emperor that they have not lost their faculty" (Swift 26). By depicting the Lilliputian Emperor as a petty individual, Swift uses the emperor to represent King George I, whom the author believed to be arrogant and too easily inclined by his counselor's egotistic ambitions. During his day, Swift was at the forefront of condemning England's oppression of the Irish people. As a result, he and some of his friends became victims of inconsequential politicking, leading him to ridicule politics' worst aspects in his novel.

Conclusion

In brief, Swift's satire effectively addresses issues specific to 18th-century Britain, and he criticizes this society's social and political problems. The author "satirizes the political events in England and Ireland in his day, as well as English values and institutions" ("Gulliver's Travels" 74). The novel's relevance in today's society stems from the author's ability to address many issues, including needless war and government corruption.

Works Cited

“Gulliver's Travels.” Novels for Students, edited by Marie Rose Napierkowski and Deborah A. Stanley, vol. 6, Gale, 1999, pp. 74-100.

“Historical Context: Gulliver's Travels.” EXPLORING Novels, Gale, 2003. Gale in Context: High School, https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/EJ2111500089/SUIC?u=alph77682&sid=SUIC&xid=1760b63b. Accessed 9 Sept. 2020.

Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. Wordsworth Classics, 1992.

---. “Gulliver's Travels.” Literature and Its Times, vol. 1, 129-135.