In an elaborate blend of political allegory, social anatomy, moral fable and mock utopia: Gulliver's Travels is written in the voice of Captain Lemuel Gulliver , an educated seafarer traveling to remote countries with the aim of contributing to human knowledge. The four books written by Jonathan Swift could be considered masterpieces, as he uses a clever parody of pseudo-scientific exploration journals and travel fiction to launch a veritable smorgasbord of satirical social and political attacks. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay In the first book, Gulliver is shipwrecked on an unknown island called Lilliput, where he encounters a race of people "less than six inches tall." Curiously, the customs and history of this people seem, at times, remarkably similar to the English ones. Although Gulliver always tells the story in his own voice, his experiences with the people of Lilliput bear a remarkable resemblance to the actual events that occurred between the Earl of Oxford and Viscount Bolingbroke. Captain Gulliver's opening letter to his cousin Sympson is an admirable introduction to Swift's penchant for irony; even Gulliver's most innocent disclaimers often turn out to be satirical attacks on politics, hypocrisy, and even humanity in general. On the first page he declares that he does not know the meaning of the word "insinuation", directly mentioning the names of Queen Anne and her ministers, Godolphin and Oxford. This is, in fact, a contradiction in itself, like much of what Gulliver writes, as we will discover later. The allusion is used countless times in the books; it is a valuable tool for the satirist because it allows him or her to engage a target through seemingly unrelated attacks. Gulliver links the "people in power" to the "Yahoos", despicable human-like creatures who appear in the fourth book. His list of expected "reforms" that should result from reading his diaries is actually a summary of the criticisms he addresses to society during his travels. In the first chapter, "A Journey to Lilliput," Swift's irony is evident even in the face of eventful narrative; when Gulliver wakes to find himself stranded, he readily accepts his helpless position. In the hands of the Lilliputian state, he refers to his captors using the most polite of titles, as nobility is normally addressed. Gulliver's joy is evident in chapter two, but already the descriptions contain a considerable amount of irony, exemplified when Gulliver refers to the Emperor's "majestic" behavior. With his "Austrian lip", the emperor is a satirical portrait of the Hanoverian king George I, who can be described neither "graceful" nor "well-proportioned". The corruption of the secretaries of state and the inventory made of Gulliver's possessions after a security check suggest real events of the time, the latter alluding to the equally detailed investigation that took place in 1715 involving the Whigs and fallen Tory leaders of Oxford and Bolingbroke. Swift saw Oxford as a giant among the pygmies. A court satire characterizes chapter three; the activities that take place are clearly intended to characterize the court of George I, or indeed any government institution. The style of speech and banal requirements used to select candidates for high office are ironic, as is Swift's reference to the "prudent and exact economy of so great a prince", especially now that he is in "full liberty". The next chapter includes an interview with Reldresal, the Principal Secretary of Private Affairs (itself a titlesatirical), addressing the political concerns of the Empire. There are two factions, the "High Heels" and the "Low Heels": both are in favor of the king, but the latter is currently in power. This corresponds to the High and Low ecclesial parties in Swift's world: the Whigs, favored by George I, and the Tories, a powerful group because the prince allied himself with both parties. Swift's use of "heel" may allude to the real-life situation; the prince "limped" with one heel higher than the other. More detailed historical allusions are represented in this chapter, with the "Bloody War" symbolizing the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13) and "His Majesty's Grandfather" – a vague reference to Henry VIII and the English Reformation. The execution of Charles I and the deposition of James II are shown in the sentence: "One emperor lost his life, and another his crown." Filmnap's white staff in chapter six reflected the white staff, which was the symbol of the office of the English Lord Treasurer. . Gulliver's initial shock at the seemingly absurd customs of the Lilliputian people is an aggressive metaphor that alludes to Swift's attitude towards the occupation of atheists and the education of working-class children. Swift satirizes the flimsy charges leveled against his friends in chapter seven, when Gulliver learns of a plot to accuse him of treason. It's quite funny when Gulliver's informant tells him how the court plans to take his life: first by blinding him and then by starving him to death, assuming he will lie down for the operation. In this classic parody of politicians' arguments, we can see the irony in the fact that the tiny Lilliputians are completely unaware of Gulliver's size, perhaps fueled by their illusions of power and their exaggerated sense of self-worth. Their blindness is underlined by the phrase: "It would be enough for you to see with the eyes of ministers, since the greatest princes do nothing else." In the second book, the situation is reversed and Gulliver is accidentally abandoned in an unmapped location. region of North America where the inhabitants are twelve times larger than him. Unlike Lilliput, Brobdingnag bears little resemblance to England, but the political satire continues when Gulliver is presented as an 18th-century English delegate appointed to justify the human race. When Gulliver dines with the queen, he talks to the king about European culture, but writhes in embarrassment when the king refers to his people as "tiny insects" who can only imitate human greatness. Here, Swift puts words into the king's mouth that reflect his vision of human society. The sharpest satire that Swift includes in the second voyage is found in chapter six, when Gulliver attempts to impress the king by talking about his "dear native country". Although eloquent, Gulliver's speech is itself ironic and highlights a number of human follies. A gentle cross-examination takes place when the King, after careful consideration, offers Gulliver his final and devastating judgment: "I cannot but conclude that the majority of your natives are the most pernicious race of hateful little vermin that nature has Never allowed to crawl on them." the surface of the earth." This is an example of exaggeration, a common technique in satire; using an extreme case is one of the best ways to help the audience recognize the presence of a flaw, and, like all satire, recognition must precede correction. The ironic and rhetorical disposition of the entire chapter is a product of Swift's pure wit, always an essential part of satire. The satirical satire of human folly is sustained in chapter seven, through a variety of means, such as the offering of gunpowder to the Kings, which was received with horror. The king says to.