The Beit Berl English Times 3rd Issue 2011- 2012
Gulliver’s travels by Jonathan Swift
Galit Gefen-Vlassopoulos
[email protected]
When you were kids, at one point or another, you came across the fabulous story of a
man who was traveling on a boat to four different destinations and had adventures like
sailing with pirates, meeting tiny people and giants, meeting talking horses and getting
to flying kingdoms.
But have you ever asked yourself who was the person who wrote this story and what
was his purpose?
Jonathan Swift was the man behind this hugely successful novel. I think we can say that
in our terms, he was, probably, the Steve Jobs of British literature. Swift was born in
Dublin, Ireland in 1667 and died in 1745. He moved back to England when political
troubles in Ireland, surrounding the Glorious Revolution, forced him to leave (it was a
period when he was studying for his Masters Degree). He got a position as secretary
and personal assistant of Sir William Temple. Swift remained as Temple's personal
assistance for several years and then for the following 10 years he moved between
Ireland and Britain.
His writing career was flourishing. In 1726 he wrote,Gulliver's Travels and in its
original name, ‘Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By
Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships’,. This is a
novel that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travellers' tales" literary
sub-genre. The book, Robinson Crusoe, had already been written.
This novel was a hit from the moment it was released. We have to remember that
during this period of time there were many changes, both technological and religious.
One of the technological revolutions was the development of printing press. Think of the
revolution of printing as the internet and the blogs of today’s time. Therefore, apart from
being a fresh and facinating novel, it was also available more easily to a wide
audience.
The opening of Gulliver’s Travels is written in a way that gives the impression of being a
true story with reliable information. However, this is an allegorical story that sets us in
an untruthful and unreal environment, and tells us about something else. This novel is a
reflection about England at that time.
Gulliver was a doctor who decided to travel and earn money to support his family. He
took 4 journeys and each time he landed on a different island, meeting different types of
people. From journey to journey things become more complicated and more painful.
Gulliver goes through a transformation. His understanding of the human nature changes
and he gets more and more disgusted with both humans and with himself.
The Lilliputians are tiny people who found Gulliver and treated him nicely until the
moment he refuses to kill their enemies. From that point onwards they wish to kill him.
These small attractive people like to fight about insignificant issues. Here we can see
the reflection of small minded people everywhere and their danger.
On his second journey he meets the giant kingdom ‘Brobdingang’. This place reflects
and symbolizes intellectual thinking. The moral here is that you cannot be as clever as
you think you are. One should stop being arrogant, thinking that he is above everyone
else.
During his third journey, Gulliver takes us to a flying island where he meets the most
advanced, sophisticated people: physicians, mathematicians, musicians. But although
they are all so smart, they cannot perform any task. They don’t even know how to fix
things which get broken. What are we actually witnessing here? What is the use of
intellectualism when it cannot have any practical usage? Swift reflected on the debate
between the ancient vs modern. Swift claimed that the modern intellectualism is all
mere sham. He believed that talking without doing and practicing the knowledge, is
essentially worthless.
His last trip is to a place where the ‘Hounynhyms’ and the ‘yahoos’ live. The ‘yahoos’
are the humans living on the island and the ‘Hounynhyms’, which are horses, are in fact
their masters. Gulliver finds out that he admires the rulers whilst he cannot stand the
‘yahoos’ (humans). Swift is criticizing politicians, lawyers, and rich people. He is
presenting humans as creatures. This chapter is the only one where the rulers are not
humans. Swift is probably trying to tell us that humans should not rule anywhere as it
only causes wars, poverty, corruption --- in other words, total chaos.
Sounds depressing? Well I am sure that you will not read this full version to your
children as a bed time story. Nevertheless, it is a fantastic story to read and discuss. It
opens your mind to different aspects and perspectives in life.