Gulliver’s Travels as a Political Satire
Gulliver’s Travels is a notable literary work by Jonathan Swift. A complete discussion of this literary work is given, which will help you enhance your literary skills and prepare for the exam. Read the Main texts, Key info, Summary, Themes, Characters, Literary devices, Quotations, Notes, to various questions of Gulliver’s Travels.
Answer
Evaluate “Gulliver’s Travels” as a political satire.
Or, How does Swift satirize the contemporary politics of England through his voyages to Lilliput and Brobdingnag?
“Gulliver’s Travels” (1726) is a satirical work by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), a renowned satirist and clergyman. It is a satirical work on human nature and the author’s contemporary social and political issues. Through Gulliver’s adventures, Swift critiques various aspects of European society.
“Gulliver’s Travels” as a political satire: The societies of Lilliput (England) and Brobdingnag (France), in particular, offer a stark contrast in terms of government, war systems, and politics. Below is a discussion of the questions.
The Conflict Between Whig and Tory: As a former Whig party member, Swift knows the political dispute in England well. In Lilliput, the author satirizes the petty nature of political conflicts. The Lilliputians’ absurd disputes over the correct way to break an egg symbolize the trivial and arbitrary nature of political disagreements in England. This mirrors the real-life conflicts between the Whigs and Tories. To emphasize the triviality of political contention between the Big-Endians and the Little-Endians, he writes,
All true believers shall break their eggs at the convenient end.
This line highlights the ridiculousness of such conflicts, resembling the English political conflicts.
Nature of Intrigue: The King’s servants are mostly submerged in conspiracy. The Admiral (Skyresh Bolgolam) and the Treasurer (Flipnap representing England’s first prime minister, Robert Walpole) plot against Gulliver. They poison the Emperor’s mind to banish and punish Gulliver and become successful.
Moral and Ethical Limitations: In Brobdingnag, Swift focuses on English society’s moral and ethical shortcomings. The Brobdingnagian king’s reaction to Gulliver’s description of England is particularly telling. The king is horrified by the corruption, violence, and greed that Gulliver describes. The king remarks,
I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.
Mal Administration: Swift leaves no stone unturned to attack the follies of his society allegorically. He attacks the Lilliputian court. Here, employees are selected based on how they can play two games: rope-dancing and leaping and creeping. If the Emperor disfavours anyone, he can not join the government body as an official. This is evident in the following quote:
The disbelief in a Divine Providence renders a man in-capable of holding any public station.
Pride and Corruption: Swift’s mouthpiece, Gulliver, makes his first adventure to Lilliput. This is a land of small-bodied people of six inches. These physically undersized folks possess infinite pride and corruption. The Lilliputian Emperor shows his arrogance when dealing with his fellow countrymen.
Criticism of Colonialism: Lastly, Swift critiques the concept of colonialism through Gulliver’s refusal to claim the lands he discovers for England. Gulliver argues that the Lilliputians are not worth conquering and that humans would be no match for the Brobdingnagians. This reflects Swift’s disdain for the violent and exploitative nature of English colonialism. After hearing Gulliver’s narration, the Brobdingnagian king comments on the nature of English politics.
Heap of conspiracy, rebellion, murder, massacres, reveloution and banishment.
This line is enough to understand how the English society was.
In conclusion, the ruler of a state represents his society. So, to attack contemporary English politics, the two rulers of these two lands are presented here. With various contrasts, these two lands possess the same trait: Swift’s tool to criticize English politics. Through his comparisons, Swift critiques his contemporary European society’s complexities, corruption, and irrationalities.
Finally, Swift advocated simple and moral methods for governing a state and for resolving disputes among the citizens of the nation.