Gulliver Travel's - Satire of Society
Gulliver Travel's - Satire of Society
The novel Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift shows the problems of basic human society through the dynamic journey of a shipwrecked doctor. Many of the societies that are encountered have the same views, while each has its own colorful twist. Jonathan Swift satirizes war, the separation of social classes, and the power of perception; all issues remain universal to present society.
The societies that Gulliver encounters are extremely diverse. Though each is different, the act of war is a commonly addressed issue. Gulliver encounters the ridiculous nature of war. His first encounter of war is in the form of a dispute over the way to eat an egg. A former king took the right of personal preference away from his people by telling them to eat the egg from the small end instead of the large end. Swift relates this trait to the situations where a dominant ruler oppresses nations. It also shows how a simple, ridiculous act can bring forth war. The fight continues through generations, soon the people continued to fight without really understanding why. This is very common in present day. Generations fight and die for a cause that is never really understood by either side. Later on, Gulliver finds a land oblivious to war that is ruled by giants. He makes an attempt to explain the complex subject of war to the giants. Swift tries to use this oblivious nature to prove that life can exist without conflict. Gulliver spends a lot of his time trying to explain war. It is obvious that Swift is showing how important war is to modern society. Gulliver also finds on the floating island. In this place the war is within the family. It splits the family and places the son in the middle. Here Swift is using the family to explain the extent of war. Not only can war destroy nations but it can also destroy the strong bonds of family.
Swift continues his satirization of war when Gulliver visits a man who can bring to life important figures from the past. Almost all of the important figures are those who had done horrible acts, or who were war heroes. This is another example of just how influential war is on society....