Gulliver in Brobdingnag Essay

The setting of the passage to be give noticevas here is that of Gullivers excursion to a land of giants. The speakers context here is the underlying laughable devices of reversal and exaggeration. When the dimensions of things are reversed there is a comic effect. When clowns at the circus ride around in a circumstantial car the effect is hilarious. In a famous Gary Larsen cartoon a gigantic monster is unwrapn peering into a mans car done the wing mirror which reads Things reflected in this mirror may appear to be larger than they are. The comic context employed by the speaker in the following passage, then, is that of a man suddenly turned niggling by circumstances beyond his control. in that location are, of course, classical antecedents for this sheath of size reversal. Odysseus in the cave of Cyclops would provide the best example. There are, no doubt, many another(prenominal) a nonher(prenominal) who would argue that this incident in the Odyssey is not meant as cli mate. May we not at least wonder, however, if some of Homers audiences didnt chortle when they heard ab come forward how the subtle Odysseus outwitted the giant?It will be argued in the following that Swifts 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 easy exaggeration introduces the passage The Kings palace is near cardinal miles round suggesting the colossal size of the castle, the rooms within are dickens hundred and forty Foot high. Gulliver who is, as we have learned earlier, a proud and dignified man is reduced by his comparatively tiny dimensions to the role of a doll.All of his proud bearing and gentlemanly haughtiness disappears in a puff of smoke when his Mistress Glumdalclitch holds Gulliver up in her hand to give him a better linear perspective of the surroundings. Swifts choice of words at the beginning of this passage besides provides an ironical effect. Gulliver who is, in fact, a freak in this society reports that when Glumdalclitch is taken out to see the town, I was always of the companionship, carried in my Box To be of the typey suggests social (and physical) equality, but when Swift follows this dignified phrase with the description 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 manage a doll. Swifts imagery in this passage allow ined allows the reader to see other human-like creature 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 defys presses up against the carriage to view the strange little creature that is our speaker, Gulliver is able to observes the cancer on the meet of a beggar fair sex full of holes, in two or three of which I could h ave easily crept and body lice and their snouts with which they rooted like Swine. There is a misogynist quality to this joke. The breast of a woman is presented as disgusting rather than as an inspiration to art and poetry.The report of crawling into a cancerous lesion on a womans breast is an ugly parody of what men uncouthly 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 pantywaist of England school term on a chamber 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 portentous and disgusting images is another liars trick based on the category of emphasis. This is offered in Gullivers careful description of his Box. Before analyzin g this part of the passage in detail a general comment on Swifts project in Gullivers Travels is required. The speaker mentions many times throughout the tale the phenomenon of travelers tails or books of voyages. These were supposedly actual 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. ane well known liars trick is to emphasize the expand of some fictional object. This is what Gulliver does with the description of his Box. Its origin is carefully described the Queen ordered a smaller one to be made for me Its digit and dimensions are carefully recorded This traveling Closet was an exact substantive with a Window in the Middle of three of the Squares , etc.The most-valuable detail of the boxs construction which will eventually allow for Gullivers salvation by sailors is also carefully noted On the fourth side, which had no windows, two strong 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 days in which exact descriptions of fantastic creatures were prone 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 have 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 utile device in satirizing human folly. The absurdity in the relationship among these two elements is essentially targeted at England (Gulliver), the Wigs, specifically, whereby Swift is attacking his opposition. In the quality of Swifts famous word play about his cheeseparing Master Bates, we can rename his fable Gullibles Travels.