Symbolism and Irony in "Gulliver's Travels"
Although it appears simple and straightforward on the surface, a mere travelogue
intended solely for the amusement of children, Gulliver's Travels, by Jonathan Swift,
proves, upon closer examination, to be a critical and insightful work satirizing the
political and social systems of eighteenth-century England. Through frequent and
successful employment of irony, ambiguity and symbolism, Swift makes comments addressing
such specific topics as current political controversies as well as such universal
concerns as the moral degeneration of man. While he incorporates them subtly early in
the novel, these observations and criticisms eventually progress to a point where they
may shock or offend even the most unsuspecting reader. In order to witness this
evolution of presentation, one need only observe the development of the work's central
character, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, as Swift has designed his novel in such a way that,
as his aspersions harshen and intensify, so do Gulliver's actions and attitudes.
For instance, in book one, "A Voyage to Lilliput", when Gulliver finds himself lost
in a world one-twelfth the size of his own, he proves himself to be quite naive and
impressionable. Although he is simply too large to perceive them in detail, Gulliver
judges the country's inhabitants he meets to be as perfect and innocent as their toylike
appearances. He refers to the Lilliputian emperor, a being not even six inches high, as
"His Imperial Majesty" and blindly agrees to perform any demanded service, even though he
could easily overpower the tiny nation. It is only after his services have been
exploited and himself banished that Gulliver realizes how cruel and deceitful the
Lilliputians truly are and his personality begins to transform.
In book two, "A Voyage to Brobdingnag", Gulliver faces quite an opposite situation,
for in this world everything is twelve times its expected size. Somewhat hardened by his
unfavorable experiences on Lilliput, Gulliver approaches the Brobdingnagians from the
outset with some degree of suspicion and contempt. Although it is apparent to the reader
that this particular race is far more benevolent and trustworthy than its predecessor,
Gulliver bestows upon it a great deal more criticism and disrespect. He demonstrates his
hypocrisy, for instance, when he expresses his revulsion at the sight of the
Brobdingnagians' physical imperfections but never attributes his ability to see their
defects in such detail to his own diminutive size. Furthermore, it becomes obvious that
his dissatisfaction relates directly to his inferiority among these colossal beings.
Gulliver himself admits,
how vain an attempt it is for a man to endeavor doing himself
honour among those who are out of all degree of equality or com-
parison with him.
In essence, he is beginning to shed his role of observer and become personally involved
in the moral controversies he observes. In the same way, Swift, who devotes much of his
satire in the first two books of Gulliver's Travels to social and political conditions,
begins at the close of part two to discuss and criticize situations in which he is
personally at fault.
By the end of book four, both Gulliver and the direction of Swift's novel have been
utterly transformed. In this part, titled "A Voyage to the Houyhnhnms", Gulliver becomes
trapped in a world where horses represent civilization and reason, while men, indignantly
referred to as Yahoos, run wild, savage and ignorant. As the horses, called Houyhnhnms,
make him realize how truly corrupt his untruthful and immoral race of human beings is,
Gulliver learns to love their virtuous society while gradually beginning to abhor his
own. Just as Swift denounces the state of society outright, by depicting men as
offensive, irrational beasts, Gulliver assumes a similar stance, declaring himself a
shamed and spiteful misanthropist. When he finally returns home after his adventures, he
discovers that he cannot endure the company of other humans, he cannot even bear to look
at his own reflection, knowing what degeneration it represents.
Notably, however, neither Swift nor Gulliver leave the novel without exercising that
one attribute they believe man to possess, his capacity for self-understanding and
change. While Swift proposes his constructive criticism throughout the story in the form
of irony and satire, Gulliver himself offers a solution to his situation at the close of
the novel. He realizes that there is little he can do about being human; he simply must
learn to live with himself. To achieve this, he suggests looking in a mirror as often as
possible, not only so that he might learn to bear the sight of his own person but also so
that he may be constantly reminded of those shortcomings he seeks so desperately to
overcome.
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