Gulliver Travel As an political Allegory

Jonathan Swift was born in 17 th century and he contributed to the 18 th century

prose by writing essays. Satire is the powerful weapon of swift and he attacks the
social institution of his times directly in his works. Apart from being a man of
letters, swift was active in the politics of his time. King George-I those ruled the
British empire in those days. There were two powerful parties known as Whigs and
Tory. The king George-I favored the Whigs and in the beginning Swift supported
the king George-I and also the Whig But later, he became the victim of the kings
indifluence and anger, He then started writing for me Tories. Apart from the
politics in religions also, there was the constant conflict between Catholics and
Protestants. Swift started thinking negatively about everything and his cynicism
could be traced out from his works. His satire is always sharp, sometimes bitter
and it real pessimistic vision of swift.
There is something ill or corrupted or morbid in his satire. Unlike the innocent
harmless sunny satire of Addition and Steels, Swifts satire creates adverse effect in
our minds. In his pamphlet he recommends with ironic seriousness that every Irish
woman should produce children for the Englishmans fable. Irois is a literary
device by which an author uses words or expressions in which he more or less the
exact opposite of what he intends to convey. Their very contrariness is intended to
shock the reader, while highlight their real meaning. Swift exposed the pathetic
state of the Irish peasant whose only solution to poverty would be able to see their
children as delicacies for the English noblemans fable.
Swift took the holy orders and was ordained a priest of the Anglian church. He
wrote a witty allegory on the religious controversy of the time entitled A Tale of
a Tub . An allegory is a literary device which consists of the use of symbol to
express a deeper meaning. Serious ideas are symbolically conveyed satire through
a simple fable or parable.
Although swift was cynical about women and skeptical of human relationships, a
biographical study reveals his deep attachment to two young women, Esther
Johnson and Esther Vanhomrigh addressed by him as Stella and Vanessa. This
private correspondence with Esther Thomson, published as a journal to Stella
reveals the depth of his affection and the warmth and humor of Swift - the man.
Swifts greatest literary work is GULLIVERS TRAVELS published in 1728
although Swift professed to hate the species called man, he loved individuals
GULLIVERS TRAVELS, apart from its great merit as a classic for children, is a
satire on human nature though swift posed as a cynic and misanthrope and his
satire was harsh and bitter, he was steadfast in his concern for humanity and was
honest as a critic. The principle aim of GULLIVERS TRAVELS INSTRUCTS
and correct through ridicule, irony and sarcasm. The book exposes with great
intensity, the ugliness of human nature, the conceit, pride and cruelty but the
underlying tone is consistently one of compassion a desire to instruct humanity and
put them on the right path of Christianity.
An allegory is a literary prose or verse which is structured in such a way that its
meaning could be read on two levels - a primary or literal level and a secondary
and more complex level. An allegory is defined as a narrative in which the
characters plot, setting and occasion while making sense in themselves also signify
a second layer of meaning where they point at another set of people, events and
setting either from me writers social thilier or recent historical events. It is a
figurative mode of representation where ideas are conveyed through symbolism
and metaphor. Swift uses satire to highlight the allegorical elements in his tales and
thus the allegory functions as an excellent vehicle of criticism of the English
Government and its activities. The allegory and the satire, in a sense, are
interwoven in extricably and deftly.
The books of eighteenth century politics of England see in the book, we can find as
it is often studied as political or historical allegory.
The character and action are based on historical or political personages and events.
Allegories work as a critical interpretative frame and in historical and political
allegories, characters and actions in the text present people and events in real life.
Gullivers Travels is political allegory in which the text contains symbolic
reference the actual people and events in eighteenth century England. Allegory and
satire are closely interwoven one form serving the other. In short allegory means a
simple that can be objects, characters, figures or colour used to represent an
abstract idea or concepts. Swift uses this novel to criticize the political condition of
England at the 18 th century.
Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels is not merely the story of Gullivers Travels
visits to the four islands but it tells something more. Some critics interpret the work
as a political satire and also as an allegory.
An allegory is a story in which double meanings run parallel through the text and
the verbal meaning or the surface meaning is not enough for the full appreciation
of the work on hand. The verbelum reading of Gullivers Travels suggest that
Swift tells one thing and means another thing. The first voyage of the book is
regarded as a sustained political allegory.
The critics like Michael Foot, W.A. Speak, Sir Charles firth and A.E. case inquired
into the nature of Gullivers Travels. They tried to identify the events and the
personalities of the voyage to Lilliput with those in Swifts England. It was argued
by firth that the account of Lilliputian was written in 1714 and partly after 1720.
He sought to explain the incident of the Lilliputian queens indignation at
Gullivers Travels effrontery in extinguishing the palace fire with his copious urine
with reference to the established fact inapt Queen Anne viewed A Tale of a Tub
with great anger and never forgave Swift for writing it. Moreover, the character of
Fimnap refers to Sir Robert Walpole and his skill on the rope symbolizes
Walpoles desclerity in parliamentary tactics and political intrigues while which
the cushion that broke his fall represents the Duchesses of Kendal, one of George-I
mistresses. The coloured threads represent the orders of Thistle, Bath and Garter.
The allegory has been divided into four sections referring to four voyages of the
protagonist. First voyage refers many allegories and in this voyage Gullivers visit
to the island of the word Lilliput suggests very small things. The dimension of size
is symbolic and the dwarfishness of Lilliputians stands for triviality and
shallowness of the English Society of Swifts time. Swift uses the tern high-heels
and law-heels and they refer to Whigs and Tories of his times. To be precised low
heels stands for Whigs and high heels stands for Tories. Similarly Big Endians
stands For Catholics and little Endian stand for Protestants.
In second voyage, Gulliver visits the island of Brobdingnag next to Lilliput of this
land and in this voyage also we can find many allegories which is used by Swift to
show the real life style of people at that time in England.
For Example
In the Brobdingnag, the people are giants and everything is magnify on a large
scale and Swift has again used the dimension of size to highlight the imperfections
and deficiencies of human beings. Gulliver is disgusted at the sight of a woman
feeding her child. There is the long description of the abnormal size of the breast of
the woman and man Swift praises the normal size and fair skin of English ladies.
In part-III of the book we come across parody of the royal society that pursues
strange scientific experiments. There is a satire upon the projectors who hold
schemes and projects connected to different fields. The members of different
society carry on the experiments must are Miraculous and unbelieving. Swift
attacks on the so called scientific inventions and fears, the damage done to
mankind through these experiments. Sometimes Swift becomes most bitter and
cynic in his satire. His dislikes and hatred for modern civilization becomes intense
in the fourth part. He also starts hating himself for being a part and parcel of the
English Society of his time and he depicts all these things in
GULLVERS TRAVELS by using allegory.
There are also several allegorical references like, The main events of the time were
the South sea Babble, the return to the of Walpole, the return from the exile of
Bolingbrook, the removal of Carteret from the English cabinet, the supremacy of
Walpole and the struggle over woods patent in Ireland. It was the period of the end
of Queen Annies reigh and the beginning of the George-I who was a Whig
presented as a law heel. The reference of the neighborhood state Blefuscue stands
for France and there is always the fear of attack from the enemy kingdom.
Gullivers Travels is interpreted as a political allegory because many events refer
to real political events of Swifts own time. When Gulliver puts out the fire in the
palace of Lilliputian empress by urinate, the empress gets energy with him and
decides never again to use the palace. This reference refers to Queen Anne who
was disgusted with Swifts publication of A Tale of a Tub and Swifts political
career was at stake. He could not get promotion to me higher office in the church.
Similarly Lord Balgolam was that chief enemy of Gulliver in Part-I and he
represents the Earl of Nottingham in real life. It was the earl of Nottingham who
stopped swifts promotion. Bolingbroke was in close contact with Swift through
correspondence. Swift identifies Gullivers condition in Lilliput with the condition
of Bolingbroke who was wrongly accused of Treason and exiled from England. In
fact Bolingbroke stopped war between England and France. The character of
Flimnap the lord Treasurer of Lilliput refers to Robert Walpole of England who
involved in politics intrigues. The silken threads awards to winners in Lilliput refer
to English distinction.
The green thread represent the order of the thistle revived Queen Anne and the red
thread represent the order of the Bath revived by George-I and the blue thread
represents the order of Carter Bestowed on Walpole. The character of Raldresal
refers to lord Carter. The king of Brobdingang proves to be Swifts mouth piece
contemporary topics and when Gulliver visits the capital of Boarding and meets
the miserable beggars allusion refers Dublin beggars.
There are several allegorical referrer to life in the Royal court of George-I in the
first section of the novel. The Flippancy and hollowness of court life are satirized
through the Lilliputian ministers and their antics. The punishment decreed for
Gulliver, name of putting out his eyes and starving him instead of putting him to
death at once is curiously reminiscent of the crowns decree on lord Bolingbrook
and the earl of Oxford. They were accused of high misdemeanor instead of high
treason and hence escape the death penalty, for the sentence only entailed a loss of
their titlesss and estates Lilliputs hostility toward and the battle with Blefuscu
brings to mind the antagonism between England and France at the time.
The lat seventeenth century was also the age of scientific enquiry and religious
skepticism. Charles-II was a patron of me arts and science. In 1662 he established
the Royal society which carried out scientific experiments and encouraged the
growth of other branches of learning In the Grand Academy of Lagado and its
outlandish experiments, Swift found an avenue for satirizing the Royal society, its
experiment and publications. The scholars and philosophers of Laputa were so
concerned with theoretical abstraction that the practical aspects of everyday living
were completely over looked. Laputu is an allegorical representation of the
developments with regard to science in the century. The experiments in the
academy of Lagado and those practiced in the lands below such as building a
house from its roof downwards and the modern methods of cultivation only leave
the general populace miserable and the country ruined. This does not however,
stop the scientists from continuing with their experiments.
As a political memory of European civilization, Swift presents the aspects of war
and the European propensity for destruction, particularly in the parallels that one
can draw between Lilliputs desire to enslave an already defeated Blefescu and the
strained relationship between England and France. He also indirectly criticizes the
arrogance of European imperialists who civilized through brutally and
oppression while masking their chief motive which was greed. Patterns of war and
destruction are woven into the allegorical motif here to explicate the existing
political situation that swift is satirisin.
Conclusion :
Swift clarifies the objective of his allegory in Gullivers Travels. He says that
through satire he aims at correcting the vices of his society. He intends to attack
the evil of his society and thereby to wake improvement. He hopes the betterment
social life of his time. Thus the category the Gullivers Travels has basically a
moral purpose. At times Swift becomes very laud while conveying his message but
otherwise he is not didactic and he has treated the topic taken up most skillfully
and delicately. And the parts have deep implications and cut sharp satire on the
corrupted English society of the 18 th century.
Through out the text Swift continues reminding the England of his time. There are
differences of opinions among the critics to what extent Swift has used allegory in
Gullivers Travels. However there are many references that tally with the social
political life of the English society of Swifts time and therefore us to figure out
today..