When How is Just as Important as Why From the dawn of time, people have traveled, from the earliest nomads to our current astronauts. In most cases, the "why" of their travel is of more interest than the "how." Nomads searched for food, while astronauts seek to increase understanding about space. However, in Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift places emphasis on how, rather than why, Gulliver arrives to the lands of his adventures. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the authors' political and personal views are incorporated into Gulliver's initial isolation. The actions behind Gulliver's arrivals directly mirror the author's opinions in a satirical way.After growing weary of sea ...view middle of the document...
Gulliver's next adventure begins when his ship, seeking fresh water, lands on a foreign coast. Gulliver decides to go exploring, and walks "alone about a mile." (pg 97) While returning to the rowboat, he "[sees] the] men already got into the boat, and [row] for life to the ship." (pg 97) Gulliver plans to protest, but stops, after he realizes they are rowing away from "a huge creature walking after them in the sea, as fast as he could." (pg 97) Gulliver is abandoned, and finds himself alone in Brobdingnag, where the inhabitants are "as tall as an ordinary spire-steeple," (pg 97) close to sixty feet tall. Gulliver is adopted by a farm family, to be "[shown] as a sight upon market day" (pg 109) and eventually comes to belong to the royal family, much as a pet or play thing. Gulliver's role is directly reversed from his first adventure in Lilliput. Gulliver's adventure begins when his crew leaves him behind in their escape. Swift was also abounded by his political party, the Tories. The Tories never rewarded him for his support, and after their party fell, he became victim to political attacks from the empowered party, the Whigs. Just as Gulliver was abandoned to the mercies of people bigger and more powerful than he, so was Swift.Gulliver's third adventure begins in a more complicated manner than his first two. After being "boarded"¦by both the pirates"¦they pinioned [the crew] with strong ropes and [set] a guard upon," (pg. 170) Gulliver and his crew. Gulliver "[observes} among them a Dutchman." (pg. 170) After begging for his crews' life, the Japanese pirate "said [they] should not die," (pg. 170) while the Dutchman is in favor of killing the Protestant crew. Upon the mercy of the Japanese captain, Gulliver replies to the Dutchman, "[he] was sorry to fine more mercy in a heathen, than in a brother Christian." (pg. 170) This comment enrages the Dutchman, who then convinces the pirates to "set [Gulliver] adrift, in a small canoe, with paddles and a sail, and four days ration." (pg 171) It is in this canoe that Gulliver eventually encounters the land of Laputa. The occurrence of a merciless Dutchman is a direct insult to the Dutch. Swift compares the greedy and...