Irony, Ambiguity, Symbols, and Symbolism in Gullivers Travels Essay

Use of Irony, Ambiguity and Symbolism, in Gullivers Travels Although it appears simple and straightforward on the surface, a mere travelogue intended solely for the amusement of children, Gullivers Travels, by Jonathan Swift, proves, upon closer examination, to be a critical and insightful work satirizing the political and fond systems of eighteenth-century England. Through frequent and successful employment of irony, ambiguity and symbolism, Swift makes comments addressing such specific topics as current political controversies as well as such universal concerns as the moral degeneration of man. While he incorporates them subtly early in the novel, these observations and criticisms counterbalancetually progress to a point where they may infract or offend even the most unsuspecting reader. In order to witness this evolution of presentation, one need only observe the development of the works primal character, Captain Lemuel Gulliver, as Swift has designed his novel in such a way that, as his aspersions harshen and intensify, so do Gullivers actions and attitudes. For instance, in oblige one, A Voyage to Lilliput, when Gulliver finds himself lost in a world one-twelfth the size of his own, he proves himself to be quite naive and impressionable. Although he is simply too greathearted to perceive them in detail, Gulliver judges the countrys inhabitants he meets to be as perfect and innocent as their toylike appearances. He refers to the Lilliputian emperor, a being not even six inches high, as His Imperial Majesty and blindly agrees to perform any demanded service, even though he could easily overpower the tiny natio... ...throughout the stage in the form of irony and satire, Gulliver himself offers a solution to his situation at the close of the novel. He realizes that there is little he can do virtually being human he simply must learn to live with himself. To achieve this, he suggests looking in a mirror as a lot as possible, not only so that he might learn to bear the sight of his own person but also so that he may be constantly reminded of those shortcomings he seeks so desperately to overcome. Works Cited and Consulted Backscheider, Paula R. A Being More Intense A Study of the Prose Works of Buynan, Swift, and Defoe. radical York AMS Press, 1984. Carnochan, W. B. Lemuel Gullivers Mirror for Man. Berkley University of California Press, 1968. Swift, Jonathan. Gullivers Travels. Oxford Oxford University Press, 1998.