Gulliver's Travels
Author and Context
Jonathan Swift
Born in Dublin (Ireland) in 1667
Studied at Dublin university, but was not the best student and only obtained his degree by a special favour.
After university, he became very studious, but this was not always helpful to his career. He began to feel like society is letting him down
He was then continually let down by people like the king, and lords, who did not keep their promises of hiring him.
He wanted then to become a poet, but his cousin did not like his poems.
He wrote some pieces of little importance including his first satire in 1704, and some political pieces that gained some attention
Finally he had some success when he wrote Gulliver's travels in 1727. Criticism was lost for a while because of the wonder of such a radical new piece.
After that he produced a few more pieces, but none as big as Gulliver's travels. In 1741 he was assigned guardians because of madness, and he finally died in 1745
Significance
Gulliver's Travels is more significant for its method than for its content
Before Gulliver's Travels there was really no category for novels. Prose was only reserved for nonfiction, while adventures and conflict was well established in the theater and in poetry.
In addition to establishing the novel, he used fiction as a weapon and as entertainment. His entire book is satire (funny mocking) of civilization
Summary and Setting
Story about Gulliver, a ship's doctor that travels new and silly places
The story really only has 2 characters: Gulliver and humankind
Gulliver has seen mankind from every angle, and he despises us.
Worldview
Swift was not a jovial (easily laughable) person. His book is actually not primarily to make people laugh, but rather to despise mankind. Gulliver sets out amused by mankind and it's folly, but ends up despising it
Explaining the satire of the journeys
1) Lilliput:
Gulliver sees the puny little fights between the 2 rival kingdoms. He likens the English people to the Lilliputians: petty, trivial, and self-obsessed. Views mankind as small and insignificant, yet arrogant
2) Brobdingnag
Sees mankind from the opposite perspective: big, crude, vulgar and ugly. In depth discussion of cultural habits
3) Series of kingdoms
- Mocks the academy
- Mocks the courts of Europe
- Mocks dreams of Englishmen (immortality)
He has seen himself (mankind) as minute and petty; he has seen himself as huge and vulgar, and now he looks himself in the eye
4) Houyhnhnms (Yahoos)
He now looks at mankind from outside the race itself. Horse-like creatures = peaceful, wise, no struggle. He finds peace and enlightment here.
In contrast to them he sees the Yahoos (Mankind) as beasts. Cruel, filthy, and vulgar. Could not understand how mankind could achive reason. He starts to hate mankind
5) Gulliver return to family
This all compounds Swift to hatred of mankind. He only saw people as Yahoos. He loved horses more that his own wife. Swift concluded there is no hope for mankind
Gospel lacking in Gulliver's travels
Most of Swift's criticisms of mankind was legitimate:
- Mankind = proud/self-important (Lilliputians)
- Bloodthirstiness of kings
- War = wrong
BUT our response should be laughter, not hatred for mankind.
God still created us, sent His Son to become a Lilliputian for us. We should acknowledge our folly, but be thankful in the hope we have in Christ
Swift fails to see God's image in mankind. He sees mankind as pompous, proud, crude, and abominable, BUT God still created us in His image
We can use Swift's satire to see ourselves from new and strange perspectives, we should respond by living faithfully for Christ
Gulliver's Travels is a story without hope (story of despair), because it forgets the incarnation
Biblical Misanthropy (a dislike of humankind)
Gulliver is unwilling to accept the humility of being a human. So he wanders off trying to be a horse
Because of the Biblical doctrine of judgement and sin. Many criticize Christians of hating human beings.
This is not true:
- Biblical misanthropy is the loathing of creation (the Fall)
- We do not hate the silly things of humanity like eating, sleeping, and perspiring. Jesus Christ did all these things.
Swift is attacking the very image of God in man by his satire. A biblical satirist attacks idolatry and sin - meaning defending the image of God in man.