Name : Vishva Gajjar
Roll No. : 45
Stream : M.A.
Main Subject : English
Semester : 1
Paper no. 2 – The Neo-Classical
Literature
Assignment
topic : Discuss the Psychological
growth in Gulliver’s Travels.
Mentor : Medam Heenaba Zala
Department of English
Bhavnagar University
Batch : 2018-2020
Introduction:
Jonathan
Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist,
political pamphleteer (first
for the Whigs, then
for the Tories),
poet and cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.
Swift
is remembered for works such as A
Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against
Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels(1726),
and A
Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by
the Encyclopaedia Britannica as
the foremost prose satirist in the English language, and is less well
known for his poetry.
Although,
it is a travel fiction, very popular in those day. Swift uses it to laugh at
the stupid ways of people in politics at that time. It is at once a delightful,
fantastic story of adventure for children, a political allegory and serious
controversies and on the morals of the age. The book is written in the form of
a travelogue.
Hence,
Gulliver’s Travels is considered to be the most famous example of Jonathan
Swift’s satirical works. The hero and narrator of the story is Lemuel Gulliver,
an English Physician who opts to travel as a ship’s surgeon.
Introduction of Novel:
The
book is mainly divided into four parts, each dealing with Gulliver’s experience
in a different fantasy land. They are as below:
1.
Lilliput
2.
Brobdingnag
3.
Laputa
4.
Houyhnhnms
♦
Overview of Voyages:
1.
Lilliput:
A
voyage to Lilliput, deals with Gulliver’s experience on the land of dwarfs, who
were no more than six inches tall. It is on one level an absorbing tale of the
adventures of the giant Gulliver among the Lilliputians and on another level
rich in allegorical references to the politics on land of England. It’s all
about a scathing satire on the moral pettiness of humans as seen in the
behaviour of the Lilliputians. On this land people are filled with the sense of
their own importance and cannot view themselves with objectivity. Their pride
and boastfulness are revealed as ridiculous when perceived from Gulliver’s
Travels.
2.
Brobdingnag:
On
this voyage the situation of Gulliver is totally opposite then the first one.
Here Gulliver is now marooned and dwarfed in the land of giants who are over
forty feet tall. Here, Swift satirizes the physical grossness of the human and
the ugliness of the human body. The malignancy of humans as a political animal
portrayed in the person of Gulliver. On this land he is little more than an
insect and at his best, an amusing toy. Gulliver ends up in a miniature box
which is picked up by a giant eagle and dropped into the ocean. This signals
his departure from Brobdingnag and the beginning of his third voyage to Laputa.
3.
Laputa:
During
this voyage he is floating on air. At this voyage he also travelled to other
four islands which are Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib and Japan. The
representation of these four islands is a satire on the scientist and
philosopher of the age. Here, we find hierarchy structure in Laputa, because
the floating island represents the distance between the government and the
people. The is concerned for the people, but he never tries to go at their
place and meet them. Here, Gulliver is neglected by king often when he suggests
him to stay in contact with his people. Through the people of Laputa, Swift
ridicules the experiment of the royal society and allied institutions of the
time. After a long journey to Japan, Gulliver returns to England before setting
out on his final voyage to the land of the Houyhnhnms.
4.
Houyhnhnms:
This
experience of Gulliver narrates that the this was the land of the Houyhnhnms or
horses and the Yahoos. These horses are creature governed solely by reason,
free from any emotion or passion. While the Yahoos who physically resemble
human beings are ruled by ‘animals’ instincts. The human is placed between the
two extremes of rationality and animality. Gulliver is repulsed at being
identified with the Yahoos on the land of Houyhnhnms. In conversation with the
master horse (whose language Gulliver has learnt) he explains the customs
practiced in England, including the wearing of clothes by Humans (who are resemble
as Yahoos), the government of the people, the legal system, and the uses of
money as instruments of purchase. The master horse doesn’t believe when
Gulliver says him that in England horses are trained by a man to ride over it.
Many of the concepts cannot be translated into the Houyhnhnm’s language as
their vocabulary and range of experience were limited. At some extent Gulliver
whimsies to be a one of the Houyhnhnms and he grows content living with his
Houyhnhnm master and hopes to be as like them as possible, but he has to leave
the island after all he is a Yahoo to the Houyhnhnms.
♦
Psychological Growth of Gulliver in the Novel:
When we come to this point, in novel
Gulliver visits four different islands and meets different people and also has
different atmosphere. In movie we find that Gulliver returns to home after nine
years; he could not even recognize his wife and son. His mental condition seems
to be ill. He is even sent to the mental asylum for psychological treatment. Gulliver
himself could not accept his arrival to England because for the past nine years
he spent his life on four different fantasy lands. He is still in the illusion
of that voyages and behaves weirdly.
In novel we find that Gulliver returns
home (England) after each voyage for two months and spends time with his
family. In novel we don’t find psychological illness which is represented in
the movie version.
In his first voyage (Lilliput) we find
that Swift satires on people and politics or politicians that how human beings
live? What point of view they carry to move? Here, Gulliver is a giant and
Lilliputians are like toy size.
1.
Moral
Pettiness:
People
mostly do wrong things on the name of religion, ideals and morals or morality.
They merely hurt each other, doing nothing else.
2.
Grandeur
and Self-Importance:
‘Humans’
always stays busy in highlighting themselves to others instead of doing worth
full deeds. He/she always concentrates on his own reputation, importance,
appearance, status etc. Basically, they become self-centred.
3.
Pride,
Vanity and Boastfulness:
Human
beings are usually found with these three qualities: Pride, Vanity and
Boastfulness. They boast for their life-style, status etc. This thing is
generally happening in upper class people, but they forgot that no one has
higher authority than the Nature. They are always seen with fake pride and
vanity.
In his second voyage (Brobdingnag)
Swift satires on physical grossness and ugliness of human kind. Here, Gulliver
is an amusing toy in Giant’s world. Swift also satires on malignancy as
political animal. It develops the sense which represents the ‘mud of politics’
and ‘wore power of chair’; which leads to disaster.
If we compare the first two voyages,
we will find ‘rule of reverse situation’. It means on Lilliput, Gulliver is
giant and in power position whereas in second voyage- Brobdingnag we find him
among giants and he is treated as toy for amusement by farmer, his wife, queen,
dwarf etc. Here, he felt bad upon himself. He realizes the place he had in
Lilliputians. It suggest that:
“ One
always stays below to another,
And he
could ever find the higher
Authority
to him; basically there is no
Highest
authority.”
Moving on to the third voyage (Laputa-
Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrid and Japan). With these voyages’ Swift
satires on magicians, scientists and on social hierarchy (into a political
context). He also satires on the philosophers of the age.
Here, Gulliver finds social structural
hierarchy in Laputa, when he was on the floating island (Laputa) with King, he
finds that king is concerned for his people who live below him, but he never
tries to go there and meet them personally to know their problems.
It suggests the best thought for
anarch. While a King on his “Chair” he must concentrates to his people and
their need. There is always gape remain between a King and his people, but to
remove that gape always in king’s hand. Basically Swift tries to convey that,
“Authority always
stands for bellow’s wellbeing.”
But, instead to think over it
authority always misused by “Authority”.
Now let’s come to the final voyage
(Houyhnhnms). Here, Swift satires on human nature and their fake wishes for
money and all. Moreover we find here that the authority is horses (Houyhnhnms)
not Yahoos (resemble as Mankind, but wild like animal).
Conversation between Gulliver and
Houyhnhnm-Master, we find that they do not have knowledge of custom practices,
legal system, social hierarchy, wearing cloths and all, money as the instruments
of purchase, etc. Seemingly they are far from ideals and morals (seems
practical). They have lack of emotions and feelings. They two have good
conversation upon matrimonial matters. In Houyhnhnms there is no casticism and
classicism which being an error to coupling. It is just a shake of creating new
generation. Generally, we do not find this sense in Human Kind. Even they are
also greedy as human kind (but in other manners)
At one point (in movie version)
Gulliver throw the precious stone which was with him. Because, he thought he
would never return to his home-land and in this world of Houyhnhnms it has no
values at all.
When, Gulliver returns to his
Home-Land, he tries to put his experience front of all other. Very firstly he
was rejected and mocked by those people as he was in illusion or not in his
sane. Later, his tells was acceptable by all.
We find that Gulliver’s returning to
home also brought the knowledge for well human being. His Psychology developed,
because he could find the problems in his people, government and as a human in
his own.
That’s true that if one wants to
capture whole picture; one need to get rid out the picture first and then only
he can see that whole picture clearly.
When Gulliver spends his most time out
of his world; he was able to find other different worlds. So that he could find
what should be reformed and what should be changed? This helped him to find
himself somewhere better place. It proved betterment to him.
Conclusion :-
Swift seems to indicate to us that the
nature of human is complex and defies definition unlike that of the Yahoos and
the Houyhnhnms.
The book for all its harsh satire and
anger, instructs humans to see themselves with humility and honesty.
The imagery of size is used in
Gulliver’s Travels to draw attention to misplaced human pride and the fact that
power and self-importance depend entirely on circumstances and are not inherent
in human nature.
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