The Use Of Satire In Gulliver's Travels

Satire is “the use of humor, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.” It is commonly used in books and films as a way to blow issues out of proportion and make issues more prevalent. There are ways in which satire can be used correctly, where it makes a point. At other times, it can be over used and is too absurd or offensive. In his book Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift wrote as a means to show his opinions on the political status of England at the time and to attempt to publicize issues he believed to be prevalent. However, did he use it effectively or ineffectively?
Gulliver’s Travels, although very strange at times and …show more content…
At one point, Gulliver finds himself in Brobdingnag, a country of giants in which he finds himself to be the trivial being. Once people believe he is capable of speech and thinking, he is able to see the king and become friends with him. Gulliver and the king often had long discussions, in one of which Gulliver described the current status of England and its government workings. After this, the king completely condemned England and pointed out flaws in its government and found it to be utterly terrible. Gulliver was shocked but realized that many of the king’s conclusions were correct; Gulliver’s ideology had clouded his judgment. He had just accepted the government the way it was and even taken pride in its magnitude. Through this, Swift made the point that people must not just accept things, especially government, the way it was but to notice and find ways to improve these …show more content…
The last place that Gulliver finds himself in is the land of intellectual horses, which call themselves Houyhnhnms, and also strange creatures they keep called Yahoos. These creatures, as he discovers later, are actually humans reduced to an animalistic state of being and mind, which have an insatiable hunger for animal flesh and are covered in dirt and hair. Gulliver becomes acquainted with the Houyhnhnms, learns their language, and finds himself quite at rest with them enjoying their simplistic lifestyle. He also discovers the true nature of the Yahoos and is physically revolted by the demeaned state of humanity and comes to detest humans, even his own reflection. He becomes even more dismayed by humanity after discussing the state of the world with the Houyhnhnms. He then comes to realize how simple life could be without the issues of the world that humans concern themselves with. He resolves to never return to the real world, for to him, humanity is horrendous.
Eventually however, the Houyhnhnms discover that Gulliver is also a Yahoo and make him leave their land, much to his consternation. Once he returns to the real world, he is disgusted by humanity and, although eventually being able to be in company with humans, still finds them revolting and spends the majority