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A comment on the Antithetical Structure in Gulliver's Travels.

In a letter to Samuel Richardson, Edward Young writes how he and others along with Jonathan Swift were taking an evening walk, about a mile from Dublin, when suddenly Swift stopped short, as the rest passed on; but perceiving Swift did not follow them, Young went back only to find the misanthrope fixed as a statue, and earnestly gazing upward at a noble elm, which in its uppermost branches was much withered and decayed. Pointing at it, Swift said, "I shall be like that tree, and shall die at the top." In fact, Swift made a smart guess. The only thing he didn't foretell was the grounds on which he will be 'at the top.'

Before Swift became insane in his last three years, he had occupied the misanthropic throne in the literary circle of England and Ireland. Deprived of family life and proper education at a very early age, he accused his uncle of having given him the "education of a dog." This surely reflects the budding misanthropic notions in young Swift, who, much later in the early 1720s, began writing Gulliver's Travels, a resounding success, 'read from the cabinet council to the nursery.' Swift devised the plot in such a manner that the characters appearing in the first voyage, never reappear in the final voyage. Apart from entertaining his readers, Swift had written it 'to vex the world rather than divert it.' In order to bring out his hatred for humans of different nature, Swift wrote Gulliver's Travels with an antithetical effect.

First, we must be aware of the fact that Swift is not Gulliver, and that Swift makes Gulliver a medium through which, he satirizes some people sometimes, and the whole of humanity in the end.

Gulliver, as the name suggests, is someone who is ‘gullible’. This gullible traveler has written a travelogue, which consists of four different voyages: Each voyage appears to be entirely different from the other three voyages. This is one of the reasons why Swift has divided the voyages into four parts.

In the first voyage of Lilliput, he comes across tiny human beings, who are six inches high yet, so threatening and deceptive that Gulliver contemplates over their evil nature. The word 'Lilliput', when etymologically studied gives us the combined meaning of ‘little rustic’ or ‘little rascals’. Although big and mighty, Gulliver does services to the ungrateful king, much to the discomfort of Filmnap, the treasurer of the island. With his physical strength, Gulliver has the ability to crush and subdue the whole kingdom but he somehow controls his physical self since he suffers from mental torment for he is not able to understand the mentality of the Lilliputians, who, besides being manipulative and malignant in nature, condemn him even after he has been main instrument behind their victory in the battle against Blefescu, a neighboring island. Hence in the first part, Gulliver suffers from mental torment though he is physically powerful.

However, in the second voyage, that is, the voyage to Brobdingnag, Gulliver finds that he himself is a Lilliputian in the land of the giants. Here, he encounters all kinds of physical torment: A pumpkin, which is the size of a rock, is thrown at him; people use him as a toy. Finally, he finds himself at the king's court where, he innocently narrates the pathetic conditions of his country (political, religious, and social conditions of England.) On hearing this, the king scorns the socio-political proceedings in England.

We must make a note that the word ‘Brobdingnag’ is a big word and so it signifies something large¾implicating the generosity and the magnanimity of the Brobdingnagians. Gulliver himself is a Lilliputian since the king is cynical about his views on Gulliver’s hometown, just like the way Gulliver felt for the Lilliputians. Therefore, Brobdingnag becomes a land of physical torment for Gulliver. Mental torment, however, takes the back seat as Gulliver fails to get the insulting message from the king who has a scornful attitude towards Gulliver's homeland. At this point, it is better to make a note of the contrasts in the first two voyages.

In the third voyage, Gulliver comes across Laputa, the floating island, which is ruled by intellectuals such as scientists, mathematicians, political advisors and musicians¾all geniuses who lack the sense of spirituality and morality. Idealistic in nature, the people of Laputa refuse to be practical for we find scientists trying to recycle human excretion back into food, politicians trying to solve problems by improbable ways. The most singular experience is the encounter with the immortals who lose physical strength as age progresses (death itself is much better, Gulliver feels.)

The inhabitants of Laputa, who live in a world of illusion, indulge in the futility of speculation and of books. What really turns out to be their moment of glory¾as they spend most of their time beating their brains about the improbable inventions¾turns out to be their folly as they ignore the fact that their spouses are having an extra-marital affair. Therefore, they are indifferent to normal human relationships, and turn their heads towards science and politics. The Gulliver, who we see here, is just a silent spectator of the unusual happenings in Laputa. What Swift is trying to convey here is that ‘intellectuality’ is an obstacle to morality.

In the fourth voyage, we see a reversal of fortune, as the horses rule the land of Houyhnhnms, not the Yahoos¾bestial creatures resembling man. Gulliver is surprised, and so are the horses when they come to know that they hail from contrasting backgrounds. The horses are so naïve that they ask him what is the meaning for ‘falsehood’. The horses lead a life of innocence, and they are synonymous with morality: Adultery, murder, and falsehood fail to exist in the land of the horses. Strongly moved by the good life of the Houyhnhnms, Gulliver scorns humanity and finally becomes an admiring friend of the horses. Even after having reluctantly returned to his hometown, in the end of the story, he buys two horses and is seen interacting with the horses, totally disregarding his family, social status and the society around him.

From the above study, we can get the following primary contrasting structure of Gulliver's Travels.

From the above clarification, we find that the first two voyages are in severe contrast, and this is the same with the last two voyages. Swift has deliberately divided it into four parts so that the reader could discern for himself what Swift was trying to convey though the book, as a whole seems open-ended.

-Dilip Samuel Jayachandran

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