The Assessment of Society in Jonathan Swifts Gullivers Travels :: Gullivers Travels Essays

In its most serious function, satire is a mediator between cardinal perceptions-the unillusioned perception of man as he actually is, and the ideal perception, or vision, of man as he ought ot be, (Bullitt, 3). Likewise, misanthropy pot be understood as being the product of one of two world views 1) The Pure Cynic or Misanthropist has no assent in human nature and has given up on each notion of ideals. This type lies and manipulates as a matter of course and these be the types that tend to run the world. 2) The Burned or Disillusioned Idealists misanthropy arises out of letdown in humankind. In both(prenominal)(prenominal) ways, the second type exhibits more resentment as he is constantly frustrated by what men do as opposed to what they ought to do. Jonathon quick is the second type of misanthropist and Gullivers Travels is arguably his greatest satiric attempt to shame men out of their vices (Ibid., 14) by constantly distinguishing between how man behaves and how he thin ks about or justifies his behavior in a variety of situations. Pride, in particular, is what enables man to deceive himself into the tone that he is rational and virtuous when, in reality, he has not develop his reason, and his virtue is merely appearance, (Ibid., 66). This satire take a craps on so many levels that a paper such as this allows me to deal with only terzetto elements, and in a necessarily superficial way the ways in which the structure and choice of metaphor serve Swifts purpose, a discussion of some of his most salient attacks on politics, religion, and other elements of society, and his critique on the nerve center and flaws of human nature. Swifts purpose was to stir his readers to view themselves as he viewed humankind, as creatures who were not fulfilling their potential to be truly great but were hardly flaunting the trappings of greatness. Gullivers Travels succeeds in this goal brilliantly. The form and structure of the whole work enhanced Swifts purpo se, as did the specific metaphors in each of the four voyages. Firstly, Swift went to great pains to present Gullivers Travels in the genuine, standard form of the fashionable travelogues of the time. Gulliver, the reader is told, was a seaman, first in the capacity of a ships surgeon, thence as the captain of several ships. Swift creates a realistic model by incorporating nautical jargon, descriptive detail that is related in a factual, ships-log style, and repeated claims by Gulliver, in his narrative, to relate plain matter(s) of fact in the simplest manner and style.