Gullivers Travels Investigating Satire
Satire produces difficulties, not certainties. When used in prose form, it transforms an idea that seems preposterous into a believable concept that is to be accepted by the reader. In Gulliver’s Travels, author Jonathan Swift uses satire to do just that. He takes a fairy-tale like setting and makes it acceptable to the audience, only to leave them with questions about their own doings. Through Gulliver’s eyes, he illustrates a society that does not conform to the normal ideas of the human race. Gulliver is left by his shipmates on a far off island and discovers a culture most likely unknown to the rest of the world. It is run by Houyhnhnms, governing horses on the island that practice the true ideas of reason. Also inhabiting this island are Yahoos, formidable, deformed animals who exhibit the worst aspects of the human race. Swift uses these two character types to do two things. Firstly, he uses the truly vile characteristics of humanity, both physically and internally, and expresses them in an exaggerated way trough the actions of the Yahoos. Secondly, he depicts the Houyhnhnms as characters of true reason. As this satire was written during the Enlightenment Period, many people of the time strived to be truly enlig
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1329
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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