Name: Baraiya Saryu D.

Subject: The Neo-Classical Age (Paper-2)

Topic: Gulliver’s Four Odd Voyages and Significance

Roll no: 30

Study: MA

Year: Semester – I

Guided By: Heenamadam

Submitted To: Department of English

University: MKBU

Author: Jonathan Swift

Gulliver’s Four Odd Voyages and its Significance

Introduction:

        Gulliver’s character is from a novel ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ written by Jonathan Swift. Writer shows voyages of Gulliver in this novel. Gulliver travels a lot in this whole novel. And every voyage has its own significance. Here I will describe Gulliver’s four ode voyages and what is the hidden meaning writer wants to convey from all that voyages. In this novel Swift Shows four voyages of Gulliver. Gulliver’s four voyages are:

          I: - A Voyage to Lilliput

          II: - A Voyage to Brobdingnang

          III: - A Voyage to Laputa

          IV: - A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

        These four voyages are conceder as Gulliver’s four odd voyages. But now we have a question that why odd voyages?? We conceder it as odd voyages but why that is the question. Voyages are very natural and common for as then Gulliver’s voyagers are why odd? Odd means something very strange or out of the ordinary. So now we have the question that what is very strange or odd or out of the ordinary in Gulliver’s all voyages. So let’s have seen it in detail.

Book I:  A Voyage to Lilliput  

          In this novel, its four parts are known as books. Book I is about voyage to Lilliput Island. This novel is a fiction and this island named Lilliput is creation of Swift. But it’s one of the best creations of Swift. Because of some circumstances Gulliver reaches at the island. But when he tries to get up he feels tidy and then he realizes that he is tied with ropes and so many small and very tiny people walking on him and they tied him with very thin ropes in comparison of him. So he breaks all the bands and then that all people shoots him with arrows. People of Lilliput Island is only six inch high people and our narrator, Gulliver is six feet high. So Gulliver is giant for them. Gulliver is GOD like figure for them. But then even they said him to obey all the rules of Lilliput. And Gulliver agrees with all conditions. He is giant and like a God and he can destroy whole Country of Lilliput with his hands only and then even he obey all the rules and regulations of Lilliput, like he laughs on them. It is the satire by Swift in this novel. This whole novel is a satire on society by Swift. This novel has many symbols about that time of society. This novel shows that contemporary time’s situation of political and social aspects.

“When bending my eyes downwards as much as I could, I perceived it to be a human CREATURE not six inches high, with bow and arrow in his hands, and a Quiver at his back. In the mean time I felt at least forty more of the same kind following first. I was in the utmost astonishment and I RORED so loud, that they all run back in a Fright;”

          This novel is narrated by protagonist Gulliver himself and this quote is taken from novel’s Book I.  In this quote I highlighted two words ‘CREATURE’ and ‘I RORED’. People of Lilliput are tiny and that’s why Gulliver calls them creature. Here he represents England. England is the most dominating country in Neo Classical Era of literature and Swift belongs to that Era. So in this Book I Gulliver is represents England and England feels that all other Countries are just creature in front of them. So here Gulliver does the same and because of his power and strength he feels that he is the super power among that people. So he calls them creature. That is the insult of all that people but Gulliver does not care about it and that people also. This is significance in this novel that England is the most powerful and dominating country and England rules over the world at that time and Swift satires on it in this part of novel. Swift makes Gulliver huge like England and Gulliver is a mouth piece of himself and so he spoke such things for England and other countries by the name of character Gulliver in this novel. Gulliver himself thinks that he is the superior power among them because of his size and strength. So he himself calls that ‘I roar’. Roar itself very significant word because that word is connects with the lion. Lion use to roar in forest and we conceder it as a king of forest. So we can say that here using this word for himself, Gulliver tries to compare himself with The King of Forest Lion. The lion roars in forest and he roars in Lilliput Island. He compares himself with lion and it can happen that he feels that he is King of Lilliput because of his strength and power.

“The Country round appeared like a continued Garden; and the enclosed Fields, which were generally Forty Feet square, resembled so many Beds of Flowers.”

          Rods and whole Country which is built by people with very hard work seems Garden and just a flower beds for Gulliver. Some one’s hardship and hard work is just simple matter for him. It symbolizes mentality of upper class people. How they operate and treat with lower class people very harshly and rudely. Lower class people are just like creature or insects for them. This is the main significance of Book: I.

          In this book we find that Lilliput people fight with the people of       . These people fight with each other and rezone for fight is from which side an egg can break! Can we imagine such silly rezone fight! This point shows mind and mentality of people of that time in which Swift wrote this satiric novel very beautifully. This point shows that that people can fight on any rezone. People of Lilliput take Gulliver’s help for war against                     . Gulliver destroys most of the ships of enemies without any problem and even without any loose of Lilliput. Lilliputians are won that war because of him and they feel proud for him. And after that war people of Lilliput and others become friends because Gulliver tells them about it.

          This first part is quite interesting and funny. At first reading we think that it is written for children that a person reaches in a country in which people are only six inches high and then he helps that people but this is not only for children. Swift’s this novel can gives pleasure to any person from any group age. Any person can get something useful for him/her from this novel. This is like fairy tale for children but an educated person can understand the real motive of author. Author wants to show dominating countries’ position, pain, sorrow, slavery in this part of novel. And this is the best satire for ever for society. Every incident of this part has its own significance.

II:  A Voyage to Brobdingnang

          Gulliver tries to escape from Lilliput but because of storm he reaches at a place. It is another island named Brobdingnang. But on this island everything is in reveres position.

"I reflected what a mortification it must prove to me to appear as inconsiderable in this nation as one single Lilliputian would be among us."

 Here people of Brobdingnang are sixty feet high and Gulliver is just like a very small toy or like an ant for them. How funny but more than funny it is cruel for Gulliver that before he reaches Brobdingnang people are creature for him and now he is creature for people of Brobdingnang. Gulliver turns into creature in a single voyage. From God like figure to just a creature or an insect, how painful it is for a person. This is the main part of this Book II.

          First of all language is the hurdle for Gulliver. The people of Brobdingnang cannot understand language of Gulliver and as the same Gulliver cannot understand language of people of Brobdingnang. So language creates first hurdle for Gulliver. And even that thing symbolizes that they all and Gulliver are very different and diverse with each other and Gulliver is marginalized in land of Brobdingnang.

          So we can say that Gulliver is symbol of marginalized people of our society and upper class people suppress them for their own work and profit. Upper class people never care for lower class people and our society is full of conflict between upper class people and lower class people and Gulliver’s Travels’ Book: II shows that conflict.

          At very fist moment when Queen of Brobdingnang knew about Gulliver she sends three people as examiners of Gulliver and they three examine Gulliver and at the end they examine Gulliver’s teeth even and they give result that he could not be produced as nature of law and he was a carnivorous animal. Even one of them said that he might be an Embryo or abortive Birth. And after that Gulliver was taken to Queen of Brobdingnang and she surprise to see him and all courtiers also were excited to see Gulliver. They tried to talk with him and after court they all try to play with Gulliver.

 "There was a woman with a cancer in her breast, swelled to a monstrous size, full of holes, in two or three of which I could have easily crept, and covered my whole body. There was a fellow with a wen in his neck, larger than five woolpacks, and another with a couple of wooden legs, each about twenty foot high. But, the most hateful sight of all was the lice crawling on their clothes. I could see distinctly the limbs of these vermin with my naked eyes, much better than those of an European louse through a microscope, and their snouts with which they rooted like swine."

Gulliver also tries to please all that courtiers ladies and that Queen because if they are not happy with Gulliver then anything can be happen with him. So if he wants to save his life then he must obey to all of them and specially Queen of Brobdingnang. They all try to play with Gulliver and they all forced him to walk on their bodies. Gulliver walk but he does not like it and then he realizes that how hideous they are.

"This made me reflect upon the fair skins of our English ladies, who appear so beautiful to us, only because they are of our own size, and their defects not to be seen through a magnifying glass, where we find by experiment that the smoothest and whitest skins look rough and course, and ill colored."

They all have so many holes on their skin and that is the reality of a human being. A human can have so many holes in his or her self and that is the reality of human. Upper class people are always enjoying humiliation of any lower class people and Lower class people cannot do anything with it and they have to entertain Upper class people at any cost for their own personal purpose. That is the most important symbolization of Gulliver’s Travels’ Book: II

III:  A Voyage to Laputa

          After running from Brobdingnang Gulliver saw a floating island and he wants to go there.

"They made signs for me to come down from the rock, and go towards the shore, which I accordingly did; and the flying island being raised to a convenient height, the verge directly over me, a chain was let down from the lowest gallery, with a seat fastened to the bottom, to which I fixed myself, and was drawn up by pulleys."

so he tries to catch eye of people of that floating island and so they bring him up on that island and after that Gulliver came to know about that island that that is the floating island names Laputa and people of Laputa use to stay on that floating island only and they all are King’s courtiers and favorites personas only. They all use to drinking, dancing and enjoying music all the time. They have no other work for doing and they use to live their life in that way only. They and even King of Laputa can see some people on the Earth but they have voice proof shield around that island Laputa so they cannot hear that people’s voice so they use to think that all people on that the Earth are cannot speak and listen and as the same people on the Earth use to think that people on Laputa Island cannot listen and speak. As usual Gulliver faces problem of language. And that is not so that King has no sympathy for people on the Earth but he never comes on the Earth for people. Then how can he understand and realize situation of that people! If you want to help them first you have to understand their problems. But if you can never understand their problem then how can you help them? 

          England war the ruler at that time in the world and He always use to work as He wants. Politicians of England were Monarch at that time and they never use to hear a single person’s voice. They use to do only that, which they think appropriate and all people should blindly follow and obey the rules so, here in this Book Swift use to satire on political system of country and Monarchy. Politicians become earless after getting place and position and they never use to give the chance to any another person and they all use to think about their self only and after it relatives and friends. No one has time for common people that the main significance of this Book and Swift wants to satire on Political situation and political society by this Book: III and Floating Island represents the distance between Government and the people.            

   “That the system of living contrived by me was unreasonable and unjust, because it supposed a perpetuity of youth, health, and vigour, which no man could be so foolish to hope, however extravagant he might be in his wishes. That the question therefore was not whether a man would choose to be always in the primes of youth, attended with prosperity and health, but how he would pass a perpetual life under all the usual disadvantages which old age brings along with it.”

IV:  A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

          In last voyage Gulliver reaches at land of the Houyhnhnms. At first moment he tries to climb on horse but horse dropped him down and speaks in language of man and it gives surprise to Gulliver that a horse can talk human’s language. Then he come to know about that that horse is Houyhnhnm and that Island is full of Houyhnhnms. They all are cultured horses and they have their cultured society of Houyhnhnms on that island.

          An unbelievable thing for any person and same as for Gulliver. He cannot even believe on his own eyes but after some time he believes on it and he liked it even then he got another shock in form of Yahoos. Yahoos are humans and they live their life as animals. They have no sense of clothes, food or any other thing. They are just like animals and slave of the Houyhnhnms. When they meet Gulliver they even cannot believe on it and when Gulliver said to them that there is an another world where Yahoos are known as people and Horses are treated as horses and horses are just slave of humans and human use to take work from them. They send Gulliver to live with the Yahoos but he can’t adjust there and came bake to the Houyhnhnms. They keep him with them but they use to call him Trained Yahoo. Gulliver does not like it and after some time he like land of Houyhnhnms and after that he started to learn language of Houyhnhnms. He personally believes that land of the Houyhnhnms is more cultured, sophisticated and human kind of society with humanness.

          Can we even imagine this! Never. Here by this Book: IV Swift wants to symbolize human and culture of society. Swift wants to say that if even horses tried they can build more cultured and sophisticated society. They can arrange butter than humans. Only humans are gifted by brains from the almighty God but we never use to think in proper and positive way. We cannot able to take care of our society.

"But the Houyhnhnms, who live under the government of Reason, are no more proud of the good qualities they posses, than I should be for not wanting a leg or an arm, which no man in this wits would boast of, although he must be miserable without them. I dwell the longer upon this subject from the desire I have to make the society of an English Yahoo by any means not insupportable, and therefore I here entreat those who have any tincture of this absurd vice, that they will not presume to appear in my sight."  

Conclusion:

          We just can say that we are very thankful to Jonathan Swift for gifting us such a beautiful and realistic novel. This novel can give enjoyment to any age group of people. It can fulfill fantasy of child and give moral to the society, too. It is satire on politics, society, and upper class people and even on the humans of the society. Swift uses many symbols in this novel like, in

o   Book: I Gulliver is stand for England. He ruled over the Lilliput as England ruled over the Earth in that time. It dominates most of the countries at that time.

o   In Book: II Gulliver stands for lower class people. Gulliver is treated very badly by the Queen of Brobdingnang and her other courtiers. He has to suffer a lot and he becomes creature among them. He himself fallen down in his self-respect. As like as lower class people have to suffer because of upper class people and they are just treated as slave. They have no respect or value among the upper class people. Gulliver knows about the real beauty of human that every single human id ugly, bad, dreadful and full of loop holes in his or her self.

o   In Book: III with the help of Laputa: The Floating Island Swift tries to show the differences between common people and the Government. The Government ever tries even to listen problem of public and this is the significance and symbolization of this part of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’.

o   In Book: IV with the help of Houyhnhnms and Yahoos, Swift tires to symbolizes real picture of our society.

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