“A Modest Proposal” and “Gulliver’s Travels” by Swift

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Table of Contents

Introduction
A Modest Proposal
Gulliver’s Travels
Summary
Works Cited

Introduction

Jonathan Swift is a master of satire and irony. In his works, “A Modest Proposal” and “Gulliver’s Travels” Part IV Swift skillfully satirizes contemporary society and morals. In both works, Swift underlines that people do not like those who differ from them doing everything possible to level the differences. In general, satire can be defined as a literary tool which attacks low morals or foolishness of people through acute irony. Swift follows a specific way of argumentation using lengthily descriptions and facts. He does not attack directly landlords and the state, but unveils usefulness of their actions and plans. Thesis Using objectives and facts, Swift criticizes the immoral life of this new world, foreseeing the death of civilized values.

A Modest Proposal

“A Modest Proposal” vividly reflects his epoch portraying ineffective functions of the government and foolish decisions. He informs readers about the proposal and its obvious benefits, possible consequences and ‘importance’ for an average child. On the other hand, he gives some facts about depopulation of Ireland and questions outcomes of the proposal. Following Stovel, Swift effectively combines argumentation and lists some facts and historical data which lead to depopulation. Swift states: “After all, I am not so violently bent upon my own opinion, as to reject any offer, proposed by wise men” (Swift 58). The main advantage of the argumentation is that the author sets images of story for readers to understand the purpose of the work. He presents his thesis at the end of the proposal as a conclusion. He states that the government and landlords pay no attention to the needs of poor families: “that there will ever be some hearty and sincere attempt to put them into practice” (Swift 59). Stovel underlines that “this cannibalistic conceit is presented ironically, through an imaginary speaker, a persona capable of conceiving and arguing for such a plan” (Stovel). Using satire and sarcasm, Swift shows low morals of landlords and false promises to change the life of poor people. His satire is based on argumentation and clear facts which unveil the false ‘value’ of the proposal.

Gulliver’s Travels

The book “Gulliver’s Travels” Part IV discusses relations in the Houyhnhnms country and social structure of the house household. Swift satirizes human society and vividly portrays evils and drawbacks of human communication. Indeed, the rise of science as a discourse of authority in the Enlightenment directly inspired both an explosion in utopian thought and a corresponding of dystopian themes. In her cortical work, Bloom underlines that in the course of the 19^th century utopianism reached its peak satire becomes an important and identifiable cultural force. A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms is a comic satire that allows Swift to explore the subject of intolerance and thereby to convey a statement in support of his own relativistic philosophy. The message seems clear: there is no single truth but many truths, and the proclamation of any ideology as the human values can lead only to dire consequences. In particular, there is a severe danger that any group that considers its ideology correct will feel justified in employing any means to achieve its ends. Swift writes: “My master, after some expressions of great indignation, wondered “how we dared to venture upon a Houyhnhnm’s back; for he was sure, that the weakest servant in his house would be able to shake off the strongest Yahoo; or by lying down and rolling on his back squeeze the brute to death” (Swift 187). Using this example, swift satirizes relations between humans and their life style which seems strange to the Yahoo (Bloom).

Gulliver’s Travels” Part IV satirizes religion, capitalism, communism, and nationalism. It also makes a gloomy comment on human history. The invention of the new social values initially promises to bring unprecedented happiness and prosperity to all of society. That it instead leads to disaster suggests the impossibility of such utopian developments. Indeed, Gulliver’s Travels” Part IV implies a cyclic history in which no real progress is made and in which the mistakes of society are repeated endlessly. Following Bloom: “Critics sometimes call Gulliver a “persona” for Swift, meaning that Gulliver is a mask which Swift can put on and from behind which he can make certain critical statements” (Bloom). In particular, the book is constructed from a complex patchwork of events and relations imported from a variety of genres and discourses, endowing the work that acts to combat the single-mindedness of the authoritarian tendencies Swift wishes to oppose. War with the people thus has a great deal in common with the tradition of satire, which is central to discussions of the novel as a genre. Swift explicitly links the exploitation of the people to imperialism, implicating not only technology, but also the efficiency of modern business in the motif. Those who would seek to exploit the citizens for profit argue that proper management, along with advanced society in areas like transportation, should speed the process (Bloom).

Swift portrays that humans parallel the traditional techniques of social relations in their central use of religion as a means to subjugate the citizens. Social oppression is used to teach the citizens much in the way that missionaries have traditionally worked hand in hand with colonizing powers all over the world (Stovel). This effort leads to a great deal of competition among rival sects, each of which seeks to have its own doctrine win out in the battle to save the souls of the citizens –though there is considerable debate over whether or not the citizens in fact have souls. The Yahoo are able to overwhelm their human rivals largely through sheer force of numbers, as they are able to reproduce far more rapidly than humans. Once again, however, the most negative feature of society is the complete lack of love (or any affection) between the sexes. According to Swift: “”

Another thing he wondered at in the Yahoos, was their strange disposition to nastiness and dirt; whereas there appears to be a natural love of cleanliness in all other animals” (Swift 194). Critics state that the presence of horses serves merely to create entirely impersonal relations which somehow cause the citizens to become more polite and communicative (Bloom). The Yahoo serves as a parody of a number of human systems, including capitalism, and fascism; it is able to do so because it is first and foremost a parody of patriarchal systems based on oppression and male dominance, which encompass all of the above. “Gulliver paints them with the unsubtle and unreliable brush of a fanatic” (Bloom). At the end of the voyage, the character concludes: “I could, with great pleasure, enlarge further upon the manners and virtues of this excellent people; but intending in a short time to publish a volume by itself, expressly upon that subject, I refer the reader thither; and, in the mean time, proceed to relate my own sad catastrophe“ (Swift 203), This quotes relates to the human society and its false ideals and values followed aimlessly by generations of people.

Summary

In sum, Swift uses satire as the main stylistic device which helps him to unveil false ideals and traditions of modem society, Swift’s satirical point is that the Yahoo are in fact suspiciously similar to the humans they replace as masters of the world. The human society also serves as parodies in their almost total lack of regard for culture.

Works Cited

Stovel, B. A Modest Proposal: Overview. Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991.

Bloom, C. An overview of Gulliver’s Travels. Exploring Novels, Gale, 1998.

Swift, J. Gulliver’s Travels. Penguin Classics; Revised edition, 2003.

Swift, J. A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works. Dover Publications, 1996.

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“A Modest Proposal” and “Gulliver’s Travels” by Swift

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