Satire in ulliver's Travels

A detailed Summary of Satire in ulliver's Travels

he Satire of Jonathan Swift Revealed

During the eighteenth century there was an incredible upheaval of

commercialization in London, England. As a result, English society underwent

significant, "changes in attitude and thought", in an attempt to obtain the

dignity and splendor of royalty and the upper class (McKendrick,2). As a result,

English society held themselves in very high regards, feeling that they were the

elite society of mankind. In his novel, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift

satirizes this English society in many ways. In the novel, Swift uses metaphors

to reveal his disapproval of English society. Through graphic representations

of the body and it's functions, Swift reveals to the reader that grandeur is

merely an illusion, a facade behind which English society of his time attempted

On his first voyage, Swift places Gulliver in a land of miniature people

where his giant size is meant as a metaphor for his superiority over the

Lilliputians, thus representing English society's belief in superiority over all

directly on his distaste for the self imposed supremacy of English society over

Gulliver also talks of their moles, "here and there as broad as a trencher, and

the reader Gulliver's shame in carrying out a basic function of life, Swift

that upon seeing the woman's breast he, "[reflected] upon the fair skins of

own size" (Norton,2088). In showing Gulliver's disgust at the sight of such

criticizes the attitude of English society for considering themselves to be so

Approximate Word count = 742
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: English

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