Wrap-Up for Gulliver's TravelsChoose Your Printing Options:Print Complete Wrap-UpPrint Wrap-Up for Part I (pp. 21-76) Print Wrap-Up for Part II (pp. 79-139) Print Wrap-Up for Part III (pp. 143-201) Print Wrap-Up for Part IV (pp. 205-271) Part I (pp. 21-76)In an introduction to Gulliver's Travels Paul Turner writes,
It's great that Swift begins his tale with the Lilliputians. Animals that are small tend to be thought of as cute and innocent. It's very rare that someone says, "That's a cute elephant," particularly in reference to an adult. It's hard, almost, to take the Lilliputians seriously, but as we progress through Part I the cuteness of the Lilliputians disappears. I like the way Swift begins this story so matter-of-factly. The beginning is almost tedious and lulls one into thinking this will be another boring story, but that tone gives it a sense of it reality that might otherwise not have. There are three things that Swift is satirizing. The first is travel books in general. Many of the travel books of Swift's day contained outlandish tales only meant to entertain and amuse the reader, not present them with the truth of the place the author had visited. The great thing about Gulliver's Travels is that Swift presents, in his mind, the truth about humanity with events that, obviously, could not have happened. Secondly, Swift is commenting on historical events that took place in England and Ireland sometimes involving his friends and himself. Thirdly, and this it the most important, Swift is commenting on humanity in general. Swift has been characterized as a misanthrope. A misanthrope is a person who hates or mistrusts mankind. This is true as is made evident throughout the rest of this book, particularly as we progress into the later chapters. But it was mankind as a whole that he hated, not all individuals. Swift once wrote,
In Part I and in the parts that follow Swift is careful to tell us about Gulliver's natural needs: eating and drinking and what naturally follows these activities: urinating and defecating. Why does he do this? Particularly the latter? How often do you read a book or see a movie where these are portrayed as often as we need to heed "the call of nature" in our real lives on a daily basis? What is Swift doing? Remember, part of what Swift is saying to us is that we are human and if you don't think so just see how long you can survive without submitting to the "Demands of Nature." Not long. And if the descriptions of Gulliver's bodily functions repulse you or make you uncomfortable, Swift says, "Why should this make you uncomfortable? This is what we all do—everyday. What should really make you uncomfortable is seeing the moral faults of humanity because these, too, are a part of you." Swift gives us some indication of this when Gulliver justifies giving us the details of discharging his "Body of that uneasy load."
This is funny because Gulliver (sounds like gullible) thinks the attacks about his Cleanliness from others has to do with his physical body. He takes the word literally, which he shouldn't do, just as if we take this story literally we'll miss the point of the book. Swift is also telling us that things that may not appear very momentous are very important. One of my favorite scenes is the conclusion the two Officers come to upon examining Gulliver's watch. They figured it must be his God because Gulliver said "he seldom did anything without consulting it." It makes one wonder about one's own actions that may seem very sensible and appropriate, yet to another who has a different perspective they may appear foolish and inappropriate. The challenge is to step outside ourselves, as much as this is possible, to attempt a new perspective of the way we live and what we think.
We begin to see with the silly actions the Lilliputians have to go through if they want to have a high place in the government what Swift thinks of government officials. The "Dance on the Rope" reminds one of "walking a fine line" and "Diversions," as Swift calls them, for obtaining the silken threads reminded me of "jumping through hoops" to get what one wants. As a reader these look very silly, but again Swift wants us (if I can speak for him, and I will) to think in terms of what real people do to get real positions in real governments. They often lie, cheat and steal to climb the political or even corporate ladder. The posture of Lilliputian oath is nearly as silly and, presumably, the manner in which all Lilliputians swear their commitment to keep their word. As crazy as these antics are it gets worse. First we have the high-heels and the low-heels representing political parties. Next come the Big-Endians and the Small-Endians denoting the best end of the egg to break. This represents between the Roman and Protestant Churches. Swift writes: "Schism in Religion" and "our great Prophet Lustrog." It is Lustrog who wrote, "That all true Believers shall break their Eggs at the convenient End," but apparently both sides do not interpret the words to say what it seems they so obviously do. After Gulliver captures the entire fleet of Blefuscu he begins to see the King in a different light. The King wants him to continue, to capture the rest of the fleet and force those evil Big-Endians to break the small end of their eggs. Gulliver notices that after refusing to do this his relationship with the King begins to change. He writes, "Of so little weight are the greatest Services to Princes, when put into the Balance with a Refusal to gratify their passions." (p. 52) Gulliver also comes into conflict with the Law. By putting out the fire with the largest available quantity of liquid Gulliver saves the palace but breaks a law and this is used against him at his trial. However, it is also interesting to note that the laws and customs of the Lilliputians, if practiced, would produce a moral and good society. (see pp. 56-57) The Lilliputians, or at least many of them, are not able or willing to do so. Swift wrote this about Gulliver's Travels:
Though capable of reason in Swift's view humanity doesn't exercise it very often and this idea will be further explored in Part IV. Though Gulliver is describing what is happening to him he very often misses the point or seems childlike in his interpretation of things. The Lilliputians are the same. For instance, the Court-Scandal between Gulliver and the Treasurer's wife is laughable. What is going to happen between a woman and man who is 1,728 times bigger than she is? Also look at Gulliver's reaction to the punishment that has been prescribed for him (that he should be blinded in both eyes). He says of it,
Gulliver doesn't trust himself because he still has a lot of respect for those persons in authority even if the facts indicate he should think otherwise. Clearly the King is wrong, but Gulliver still doubts himself. However, he has learned something. When the King of Blefuscu offers Gulliver his "gracious Protection" if he will serve him Gulliver says, "I resolved never more to put any confidence in Princes or Ministers, where I could possibly avoid it." Gulliver is changing and he will change even more as the story progresses.
Part II (pp. 79-139)In Lilliput we have, in one way, been looking at humanity from a distance, almost as if we were looking through a telescope. The small buildings, humans and animals have a cute, unblemished look to them. He says in Part II, "I remember when I was at Lilliput, the Complexions of those diminutive People appeared to me the fairest in the World . . ." It is only as Gulliver becomes acquainted with their personalities and their deeds that he sees past this. In Brobdingnag, however, it is as if we are looking at humanity through a magnifying glass or a microscope. Gulliver is often repulsed at both the size and what he sees on the physical bodies of the Brobdingnagians: the breast of the The Nurse makes Gulliver "nauseous", the queen's giant mouth taking in food, the holes in the beggar woman's cancerous breast, the cyst on the beggar man, the lice on the beggars and the coarse skin, the moles and the hairs on the Maids of Honour. But Swift throws in a nice twist with the first two parts of Gulliver's Travels. Though the Brobdingnagians are more repulsive physically because of their size, they are, except for the Houyhnhnms, categorized by Gulliver as "the least corrupted" of everyone he meets on his journeys. He has to, as he does in Lilliput, see past their size. This is not to say that Brobdingnagians are a moral and virtuous people, far from it, but there several individuals that Gulliver meets who are good to him and see Europe with a critical eye that Gulliver, at this point in the story, does not. Kathleen Williams writes of them:
Gulliver's nurse is gracious and kind and the King is a good ruler with high moral standards. Williams goes on to say that the Brobdingnag society is the most like our own. Again, as in the first section, Gulliver lets us know when he must heed the "Necessities of Nature." Also, again, just as in Part I he justifies giving us this information. Here's what he says:
Swift, fairly blatantly, is telling us why he wrote Gulliver's Travels. And he also attacks those who think this useless information. What he is saying is that if you don't "get this," that is understand why and what he is doing, you have a vulgar mind, that is, you are just one of the masses of people and you don't understand because you are part of the problem. The incident with the farmer is an attack on the practices of employers during Swift's day. Many authors who lived in England were appalled at the conditions of the workers that often included children. Charles Dickens, Karl Marx (see my interview with Marx about this very topic here) and Oscar Wilde all wrote about these conditions. Workers had few rights during the 18th and 19th centuries (As a small aside here, when people refer to the 19th century they mean the 1800's, the 18th century means the 1900's, hence, we live in the 21st century). The Farmer is willing to literally work Gulliver to death. Gulliver says he was worked "till I was half dead with Weariness and Vexation" and "That the Life I had since led, was laborious enough to kill an Animal of ten times my strength." (pp. 93 & 96) It is only through the intervention of the King and Queen (the government) that Gulliver is saved. Many laws have been enacted over the last 150 years to protect workers from employers who have little regard for them. One of the more famous passages in the novel comes in this section. The King wants to know all about the country where Gulliver has come from. He tells him about the government, the judicial system, war and the diversions of his countrymen. The King expresses many doubts about the information that Gulliver presented by questioning him extensively about all of it. Toward the end of this Gulliver remarks:
It is interesting to note that Gulliver thinks everything he has been telling the King will impress him. Gulliver even tells us, after hearing the King's final conclusion, that he "artfully eluded many of his questions, and gave to every point a more favourable turn, by many degrees, than the strictness of truth would allow." (p. 124) The King, after the above goes on with a scathing critique of Gulliver's country which he concludes with the following words:
Gulliver doesn't think this is an accurate description and apologizes to his readers for the necessity, because of his "extreme love of Truth," of presenting the King's remarks. He also wants his readers to give the King "Allowances" because he "lives wholly secluded from the rest of the World, and must therefore be altogether unacquainted with the Manners and Customs that most prevail in other Nations . . . " (p. 124) We get some idea of just how little Gulliver understands when he offers to give the King gunpowder. This incident comes after the remarks made by the King quoted above, but Gulliver presents the information about gunpowder and modern military weapons as if the King would be happy and grateful to receive this excellent knowledge. Gulliver is offering the King something that would make him the most powerful ruler in his land, the "absolute Master of the Lives, the Liberties, and the Fortunes of his People." The King,
Gulliver can't believe this. He had just offered to the King something he considered to be a great gift, something that any rational ruler would accept heartily and he refuses. Here, again, as in other authors presented on this site, is the theme of knowledge and what do with it. This is one "Secret" that the King does not want to want know, one bit of scientific progress that needs to be handled carefully. Gulliver calls this a "narrow" principle and "short" view. The King is a practical ruler. What interests him is what is good for his people: that they have enough food to eat, that their laws are fair and few and that common sense and reason prevail. After Gulliver leaves Brobdingnag the captain of the ship on which he is rescued suggests he publish his story. Gulliver's reply relates not only to the travel books of his day, books and novels in general, but also to much, if not most, that is found on television. Swift writes,
At end of Part II there is clue that indicates, however small it may be, that Gulliver is beginning to change, that the conversation of the King, that his reflections about Lilliput are affecting him. The men who rescue him he calls, "little contemptible Creatures" and, he confesses, that while in Brobdingnag he "could never endure" looking at himself in a mirror because he looked "despicable" in comparison to his hosts. Part III (pp. 143-201)Of the four parts of Gulliver's Travels Part III is the most controversial with critics. Most of them think it is the weakest of the four parts. Swift had completed Parts I, II and IV before he wrote Part III. Parts I and II have always been the most popular and are the parts abridged for children in books that often leave out Parts III and IV. To some critics Part III was just thrown in as an afterthought. Some say that Swift was trying to get everything in to Part III that he couldn't get into the other Parts. My own thinking is that if this is the worst of the four parts it is by far better than the best I could have written and I suspect that same could be said for most if not all of the critics. What is Part III about? There is a clue at the beginning. When Gulliver first sees the floating island, Laputa, and realizes it may be the thing that can save him he says,
In other words, Gulliver immediately considers the practical side of his predicament. True, one does not see floating islands everyday, however, with only one life to live it would be better to attempt to save it than to spend a few hours trying to figure out why this island floats, what kind of people must live on it and how its presence in the atmosphere affects the weather and in the process watch your only hope of survival drift away upon the wind. Gulliver's first meeting with the Laputians shows us what a person is like who is "always so wrapped up in Cogitation." (p. 148) The Laputians are attended by officers who carry Flappers. These flappers are used to let the Master know that he should speak or listen or look because their minds "are so taken up with intense Speculations . . ." (p. 148) These men are always in danger of hurting themselves because they are so wrapped up in their thoughts. Is Swift against thinking and philosophizing? One would have a very difficult time proving such a point in light of Gulliver's Travels. Clearly Swift was a man who thought deeply about things. The key to Swift's criticism of the Laputians is to look at the results, the practical results, of their society. When Gulliver is measured for clothes instead of simply using a measuring tape the Operator takes his "altitude" using a "Quadrant" and other instruments. What is the result? "Clothes very ill made, and quite out of shape." (p. 151) Throughout Part III notice the actual results of the Laputians' society, not their "intended results." For example, the houses do not have one right angle in them. Notice why this is. Gulliver says the "defect ariseth from the Contempt they bear to practical Geometry." For the Laputians, the practical is beneath them. They prefer to have their thoughts "in the clouds" even if the results are disastrous. In 1932 José Ortega Y. Gasset wrote,
He goes on to call this type of individual a "learned ignoramus."6 What he goes on to say is extremely important and may have been an aspect that Swift was attacking. Ortega Y. Gasset writes,
This is exactly the attitude of the Laputians. They feel very superior in everything even though they really only know two things well: mathematics and music. Though their knowledge is very narrow they still view Gulliver with contempt. Their only interests are mathematics and music and if an individual cannot enlarge their understanding in these areas they see them as inferior. Unfortunately, all this thinking has also filled the Laputians with dread, to the point that they are unable to enjoy their lives. In Laputa, the metropolis, Gulliver can see no good effects by all the busy people he saw around him. Swift is always looking for practical results. In the colleges, for example, Gulliver notes that the Projectors (professors) have contrived "new Rules and Methods" for just about everything. But the promises they make about the results are never realized, this, however, never slows them down or discourages them. There is an old joke about a college professor who is getting tired of chopping and splitting his wood. So he goes to the store and buys a chain saw. The clerk asks him if he has ever used one before. The professor says he has not, but he's sure he can figure it out. The clerk offers to demonstrate it, but the professor declines. Once the professor gets the saw home he has a terrible time with it. The first day he uses it he is not even able to cut as much wood as he was able to do by hand. For the next three days he continues his attempts, but on each day his results are worse. So, he takes the saw back to the clerk and tells him he wants another one because this one does not work. "Well, let's take a look here," the clerk says. After he starts the saw up the professor says, "What's that noise?" The point here and for Swift is not that college professors are ignorant, the point is that if your knowledge makes you impractical or unable to listen to others who have knowledge that very likely could be useful to you, you will be worse off. Your knowledge must be useful, not only theoretical. William James the American philosopher and writer thought that this even applied to your beliefs. In Pragmatism he wrote,
For James if your philosophy or religion or politics does not contribute to your life in some practical way, for example making you happier or solving some social problem, then it is not useful. That is the test of its truthfulness. Swift applies the same criteria. The houses in Laputa look terrible and the people are miserable. Something is definitely wrong. This is the main theme of Gulliver's descriptions of the experiments taking place in the Academy: there is no practical, good outcome. In the school of Politcal Projectors, Swift's tactic changes. These projectors present a moral utopia, that is, Swift presents his idea of what a perfect political system would look like: politicians should be chosen for their wisdom and virtue, decisions should be based upon what is good for the people, people should be hired who are qualified to do the job. Gulliver calls these ideas "wild impossible Chimeras [a wild or vain fancy]." In that assessment Swift assures us that mankind as a whole is incapable of those things. What does Gulliver discover when he meets historical figures? Essentially, that mankind has not changed. The moral failures of past generations are still the moral failures of present ones. Many critics see Part III as a treatise against the idea of human progress. That is, though civilization has progressed in some ways, mainly through our increased scientific knowledge, in other ways it has not, particularly in our moral behavior. I wonder what Swift would have said had he been able to see the World Wars of the 20th century. Would he have been surprised? Appalled, yes, but I don't think it would have surprised him. Gulliver, upon hearing about the Struldbruggs thinks that he too would like to have eternal life. When asked what he would do with immortality he gives a long discourse about everything that he could learn and the good he could do for his country. However, he finds that the Struldbruggs are not at all what he expected. They do not remain perpetually youthful, nor do they become more wise as they grow older. They get worse. William Freedman argues that this is Swift espousing the idea that mankind and civilization itself are in decline. Things are getting worse not better. He writes,
Is humanity getting progressively better? Are human beings more wise and more moral compared to what they were one or two or three or four or five or six or seven thousand years ago? Is human progress wishful thinking? Interesting questions to consider. Part IV (pp. 205-271)Now we come to Part IV, the last voyage of Gulliver. Paul Turner writes of the four voyages:
By the end of Part IV Gulliver is cramming stuff up his nose so he does not have to smell the Yahoos, his own countrymen and his own wife. What a change this is! Gulliver begins his journeys with a youthful faith in his country's customs, government, religions and in the inhabitants he has lived with for much of his adult life, but it does not end this way. Gulliver's first encounter with the Yahoos is one "Contempt and Aversion." (p. 207) However, at that point, he does not view them as human. It with "Horror and Astonishment" that he realizes that the "abominable Animal" is a "perfect human Figure." (p. 213) For him this is terrible because he does want the Houyhnhnms to view him as a Yahoo though that is their first assessment of him. It may be the same way we as readers might feel reading about the behavior of humans through the ages and not wanting admit or think that we fall into the same category with the same failings and shortcomings. Gulliver desperately wants the Houyhnhnms to view him like themselves. The Houyhnhnm who is Gulliver's master goes to great pains to try to understand the country from which Gulliver has come and because so much of what he hears is new to him it takes him longer to understand it. For example, Gulliver has a difficult time explaining what lying is to him. The Houyhnhnms do not even have a word for it and Gulliver's master does not understand, because of the ways of his country, why anyone would lie. He says to Gulliver,
Gulliver, however, still doesn't quite understand that in his descriptions of his own country that he is confirming more and more in the mind of the Houyhnhnm that his place of birth of full of not just Yahoos, but creatures worse than Yahoos. Gulliver gives his master a long description of the reasons for war and a description of what was at that time modern warfare. His master thinks he is lying when he tells him how many people have been killed in wars. Finally the Houyhnhnm has had enough and wants Gulliver to stop because he "thought his Ears being used to such abominable Words, might by Degrees admit them with less Detestation." (p. 228) The Houyhnhnm wants to limit its own knowledge for fear that it would eventually be corrupted by it. It is very similar to Odysseus in The Odyssey tying himself to the mast in order not be seduced by the songs of the Sirens. But the Houyhnhnm now delivers one of the most devastating criticisms of Gulliver's country. He says that,
Gulliver's kind are worse than Yahoos. He says it is clearly not reason that Gulliver's kind possesses because if they did they would not commit the atrocities that Gulliver has just described. Hence, they must possess only something that increases their tendency to commit evil. And still, Gulliver goes on, explaining the traits of lawyers, judges and politicians. Then something happens: Gulliver changes. At the beginning of Chapter Seven Gulliver says,
Wow! This is a revelation, this is catharsis, this is Gulliver seeing himself maybe for the first time. How has he learned this? From the example of his master. That seems key. He doesn't learn through his master's responses to his discourses or from arguments that his master makes—it is his worthy example. It reminds me of Sancho Panza's words to Don Quixote:
This seems to be a turning point in the satire. Gulliver views his life with the Houyhnhnms as a kind of paradise, but this all comes to end and Gulliver, as you know, is forced to return to his country where he must live with the Yahoos. At this point, Paul Turner argues, that Swift satirizes the misanthrope satirist—himself. Gulliver takes things too far. He cannot even stand to be around his wife, his children or his friends. He buys a couple of horses so he can hang out with them and stuffs his nose with whatever he can find in order not to smell the Yahoos that surround him. The pendulum has swung too far and though Gulliver certainly needed to have a more realistic view of humanity, to view it as utterly and completely evil and detestable is the same mistake. It is important to note that it is the Houyhnhnms that kick Gulliver out of their country and it is a Yahoo, Pedro de Mendez, who graciously receives him even though Gulliver at this stage would be difficult individual to tolerate. Will Gulliver's pendulum swing back toward the middle between the two extremes? Let's hope so.
End Notes1 Paul Turner, ed., Gulliver's Travels (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998) xxi, Questia, 19 Oct. 2005 <http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=58321277>. BibliographyCervantes, Miguel de. Don Quixote. Walter Starkie, translator. A Signet Classic, New American Library. New York. ©2005-2012 Glen Draeger (all rights reserved) |