Gulliver in Brobdingnag Essay

The saddle horse of the conversion to be analyzed here is that of Gullivers voyage to a land of giants. The speakers context here is the basic odd devices of reversal and exaggeration. When the dimensions of things are reversed there is a ridiculous effect. When clowns at the circus ride around in a tiny machine the effect is hilarious. In a famous Gary Larsen cartoon a gigantic monster is seen peering into a mans car through the wing mirror which reads Things reflected in this mirror may appear to be larger than they are. The rummy context employed by the speaker in the following passage, then, is that of a man suddenly morose tiny by circumstances beyond his control. There are, of course, classical antecedents for this type of size reversal. Odysseus in the core out of Cyclops would provide the best example. There are, no doubt, many who would argue that this incident in the Odyssey is non meant as wag. May we not at least wonder, however, if some of Homers audiences didn t chortle when they heard about how the subtle Odysseus outwitted the giant?It will be argued in the following that fasts intention throughout Part II as a whole is comic irony, and that the passage to be analyzed typifies the situation in which Gulliver finds himself when surrounded by giants. Starting off, a simple exaggeration introduces the passage The Kings palace is about seven miles round suggesting the colossal size of the castle, the rooms deep down are dickens hundred and forty Foot high. Gulliver who is, as we have learned earlier, a idealistic and dignified man is reduced by his comparatively tiny dimensions to the role of a doll.All of his grand bearing and gentlemanly dignity disappears in a puff of smoke when his Mistress Glumdalclitch holds Gulliver up in her hand to give him a better view of the surroundings. agiles choice of legers at the beginning of this passage also provides an ironic effect. Gulliver who is, in fact, a testis in this society reports t hat when Glumdalclitch is taken out to see the town, I was always of the party, carried in my Box To be of the party suggests social (and physical) equality, however when Swift follows this dignified phrase with the definition in my box the effect is humorous, since Gulliver is revealed as the curiosity and freak that he is by the fact that he travels in a box like a doll. Swifts imagery in this passage allowed allows the reader to see other human-like dick from the perspective of a very tiny person. It also demonstrates to the reader once again that Swift loves to engage in the humor of the disgusting and the impolite.When a group of Brobdingnagian beggars presses up against the carriage to view the strange little creature that is our speaker, Gulliver is able to observes the cancer on the boob of a beggar woman full of holes, in two or threesome of which I could have easily crept and body lice and their snouts with which they rooted like Swine. There is a misogynist q uality to this joke. The chest of drawers of a woman is presented as disgusting rather than as an extravagance to art and poetry.The idea of crawling into a cancerous lesion on a womans breast is an ugly parody of what men unwashedly think about when they see the naked female breast which is to adore, kiss, or suck it. This type of humor is based on a simple reversal of the usual emotions inspired by an image. The equivalent would be, for example, to provide an image of the Queen of England sitting on a put up pot rather than her throne. The imagery in the rest of this passage is also unforgettable, especially the wooden legs of a beggar which were each about twenty Foot high. Immediately following these alarming and disgusting images is another(prenominal) prevaricators trick based on the category of emphasis. This is offered in Gullivers careful description of his Box. Before analyzing this part of the passage in detail a general comment on Swifts project in Gullivers Trave ls is required. The speaker mentions many times throughout the tale the phenomenon of travelers tails or books of voyages. These were supposedly factual accounts of what travelers from Europe had seen on the other side of the world.They were, of course, full of lies and Swifts project throughout much of the book is to satirize the lying authors of these books. One well known liars trick is to emphasize the details of some fictional object. This is what Gulliver does with the description of his Box. Its origin is carefully draw the Queen ordered a smaller one to be made for me Its design and dimensions are carefully recorded This traveling Closet was an exact Square with a Window in the Middle of three of the Squares , etc.The important detail of the boxs construction which will ultimately allow for Gullivers salvation by sailors is also carefully noted On the fourth side, which had no windows, two reinforced staples were fixed , and so on. There is a dual purpose to what we might call the liars emphasis lavished on this passage. The first is to satirize the books of travelers tales so popular in Swifts years in which exact descriptions of fantastic creatures were given to fool the credulous. The second is to prepare the reader for Gullivers eventual escape.This happens in his traveling box which is then conveniently destroyed by the sailors who rescue him so that no substantial evidence of his adventure remains, and the gullible can easily believe the whole story of Gulliver among the Brobdingnags. The comic irony is an effective device in satirizing human folly. The absurdity in the relationship between these two elements is essentially targeted at England (Gulliver), the Wigs, specifically, whereby Swift is attacking his opposition. In the spirit of Swifts famous word play about his good Master Bates, we can rename his fable Gullibles Travels.