Paper No.2 The Neo-Classical Literature.

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Name: - Jayti Rudresh-Kumar Thakar.

Stream: - M.A.

Main Subject: - English

Part: - 1. Sem: - 1.

Roll. No: - 38

Paper. No: - 2. The Neo-classical Literature.

Assignment Topic: - Discuss the Psychological Growth in Gulliver’s Travels.

Mentor: - Heena Ma’am Zala.

Department Of English

Batch= 2015 – 2017.

Introduction: -

Jonathan Swift(1667-1745), an Anglo-Irish writer, was to have been writing Gulliver’s Travels from 1720 but completed and published it only in 1726.

Although, it is a travel fiction, very popular in those days, Swift uses it to laugh at the stupid ways of people in politics at that time.

It is at once a delightful, fantastic story of adventure for children, a political allegory, and a serious controversies and on the morals of the age. The book is written in the form of a travelogue.

Hence, Gulliver’s Travels is considered to be the most famous example of Jonathan Swift’s satirical works. 

The hero and narrator of the story is Lemuel Gulliver, an English Physician who opts to travel as a ship’s surgeon.

Introduction of Novel: -

žThe book is made up of four parts, each dealing with Gulliver’s experience in a different fantasy land. Those are as below.

            1. Lilliput.

            2. Brobdingnag.

            3. Laputa.

            4. Houyhnhnm.

       Gulliver the Man: -

As one might expect, Lemuel Gulliver is the star and central character of Gulliver's Travels. In fact, he narrates the novel himself, and he is the only genuinely developed character in the whole book. Other figures in Gulliver's Travels absolutely fade into the background.

He is the Master surgeon in Ship. He belongs to a middle class family. Once he was traveled by  ship as he is a ship surgeon. A terrible storm arose and for many days the ship was driven through seas which were unknown to them all. At last he was the only one who left behind alive. He only was able to swim to a Land. It was a strange and lonely place in which he found himself. From here his journey begins and he traveled various voyages.  

 Overview of voyages: -

1. Lilliput.

žA voyage to Lilliput, deals with Gulliver’s experience in the land of the little people, who are no more than six inches tall.

žIt is on one level an absorbing tale of the adventures of the giant Gulliver among the Lilliputians and on another level rich in allegorical references to the politics in England.

žIt is above all a scathing satire on the moral pettiness of humans as seen in the behavior of the Lilliputians.

žHuman beings are filled with the sense of their own grandeur and importance, and cannot view themselves with objectivity.

žTheir pride and boastfulness are revealed as ridiculous when perceived from Gulliver’s Travels.

2. Brobdingnag.

žThe situation is reversed in second voyage.

žGulliver is now marooned and dwarfed in the land of giants who are over forty feet tall.

žHere, Swift satirizes the physical grossness of the human and the ugliness of the human body.

žThe malignancy of human as a political animal portrayed in the person of Gulliver.

žHe is little more than an insect in Brobdingnag and at his best, an amusing toy.

žGulliver ends up in a miniature box which is picked up by a giant eagle and dropped into the ocean. This signals his departure from Brobdingnag and the beginning of his voyage to Laputa.

3. Laputa.

žThis voyage floating in air.

žBalnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib and Japan are other four voyages nearer to Laputa.

žLaputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib (island of magicians) and Japan, is a satire on the scientist and philosopher of the age.

žHere, we find hierarchy structure in Laputa, because the floating island represents the distance between the government and the people.

žThe king‘s concern for people at below shown but he never tries to go there to meet them.

žHere, Gulliver neglected by king often when he suggests him to stay in contacts with his people.

žThrough the people of Laputa, Swift ridicules the experiment of the Royal Society and allied institutions of the time.

žAfter a brief journey to Japan, Gulliver returns to England before setting out on his final voyage to the land of the Houyhnhnms.

4. Houyhnhnms.

žNarrates the experience of Gulliver in the land of the Houyhnhnms or horses, and the Yahoos.

žThese horses are creature governed solely by reason, free from any emotion or passion, while the Yahoos who physically resemble human beings are ruled by ‘animal’ instincts.(humans governed by horses)

žThe human is placed between the two extremes of rationality and animality.

žGulliver is repulsed at being identified with the Yahoos in the land of Houyhnhnms.

žIn his conversation with the master-horse (whose language Gulliver has learnt) he explains the customs practiced in England, including the wearing of clothes by Humans (who resemble as Yahoos), the government of the people, the legal system, and the uses of money as instruments of purchase.

žThe Master-horse doesn’t believe when Gulliver says him that in England horses are trained by a man to ride over it.

žMany of the concepts cannot be translated into the Houyhnhnm’s Language as their vocabulary and range of experience were limited.

žThe horses with their total lack of feeling and emotion are seen as being far from ideal.

žAt some extent Gulliver whimsies to be a one of the Houyhnhnms and he grows content living with his Houyhnhnm-master and  hopes to be as like them as possible, but he has to leave the island after all he is a Yahoo to the Houyhnhnms.

Psychological Growth in this Novel: -

When we come to this point, in novel Gulliver visits four different islands and its different people and atmosphere. In movie we finds that Gulliver returns to home after nine years; he could even not recognize his wife and son. His mentally condition seems ill. Even he sent to mental asylum for psychological treatment. First his wife could not trust his behavior. Because, past nine years Gulliver spent at four different fantasy lands. He still could not accept his arrival to England. And still in illusion to that voyages. He behaved weird.

But, in novel we find that Gulliver return to home (England) after each voyage for two months and spend time with his family. In novel we don’t find Psychological illness which represented in Movie version.

Ø In first voyage (Lilliput) we find that Swift satires on people and politics or politicians that how human beings live? , what point of view they carry to move? Here, Gulliver is a giant and Lilliputians are like toy size – 6 inches only.

1.     Moral Pettiness: -

People do always wrong on name of Religion, Ideals and Morals or Morality. They mere hurt each other, do nothing else.

2.     Grandeur and Self –Importance: -

‘Man’ always stays busy to highlight himself to others instead of doing worth full deed. He always concentrates on his own reputation, importance, appearance, status etc.

Basically, he being self – centered.

3.     Pride, Vanity and Boastfulness: -

Human beings usually found with these three qualities: Pride, Vanity & Boastfulness. They boast for their life – style, status; generally these happen in royal class people. But they forgot that ‘No one is higher authority than the Nature’. They always seem with fake pride and vanity. These base nothing.

Ø In Second voyage (Brobdingnag) Swift satires on physical grossness and ugliness of Human Kind. Here, Gulliver is an amusing toy in Giants’ World.  Swift also satires on malignancy as political animal. It develops the sense which represents the ‘mud of politics’ and ‘worse power of chair’; which leads to disaster.

Ø If we compare these first two voyages we will find ‘rule of reverse situation’. It means in Lilliput Gulliver is giant and in power position whereas in second voyage- Brobdingnag we find him among giants and he treated as toy for amusement by farmer, his wife, queen etc. Here, he felt bad upon himself. He realizes the place of Lilliputians. It suggest that,

“One always stays below to another,

And he could ever find the higher authority to him; basically there is no

Highest authority.”

Ø Move to the third voyage (Laputa) Move to the third voyage (Laputa – Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib and Japan (other four nearer voyages to Laputa)). With these voyages Swift satires on Magicians, Scientists and on social hierarchy (into a political context). He also satires on the Philosophers of the age.

žHere, Gulliver finds social structural hierarchy in Laputa; when he was on the floating island (Laputa) with King, he finds that king is concerned with his people who live below but he never tries to go there and meet them personally to know their problems.

žIt suggests the best thought for anarch. While a King on his “Chair” he must concentrates to his people and their need. There is always gape remain between a King and his people, but to remove that gape always in king’s hand. Basically Swift tries to convey that,

“Authority always stands for bellow’s   wellbeing.”

Ø But, instead to think over it authority    always misused by “Authority”.

Ø Now let’s come to the final voyage (Houyhnhnms). Here, Swift satires on human nature and their fake whishes for money and all. Moreover we find here that the authority is horses (Houyhnhnms) not Yahoos (resemble as Mankind, but wild like animal).

žConversation between Gulliver and Houyhnhnm-Master, we find that they do not have knowledge of custom practices, legal system, social hierarchy, wearing cloths and all, money as the instrument of purchase, etc. Seemingly they are far from ideals and morals (seems practical). They have lack of emotions and feelings. They two have good conversation upon matrimonial matters. In Houyhnhnms there is no casticism and classicism which being an error to coupling. It is just a shake of creating new generation. Generally we do not find this sense in Human Kind. Even they are also greedy as human kind (but in other manners).

žAt one point (in movie version) Gulliver throw the precious stone which was with him. Because, he thought he would never return to his home-land. And in this world of Houyhnhnms it has no values at all.

Ø When, Gulliver returns to his Home-Land, he tries to put his experience front of all other. Very firstly he was rejected and mocked by those people as he was in illusion or not in his sane. Later, his tells was acceptable by all.

We find that Gulliver’s returning to home also brought the Knowledge for well human being. His Psychology developed, because he could find the problems in his people, government and as a human in his own.

That’s true that if one wants to capture whole picture; one need to get rid out the picture first and then only he can see that whole picture clearly.

When Gulliver spends his most time out of his world; he was able to find other different worlds. So, that he could find what should be reformed and what should be changed? This helped him to find himself somewhere better place. It proved betterment to him.

Conclusion: -

žSwift seems to indicate to us that the nature of human is complex and defies definition unlike that of the Yahoos and the Houyhnhnms.

žThe book for all its harsh satire and anger, instructs humans to see themselves with humility and honesty.

žThe imagery of size is used in Gulliver’s Travels to draw attention to misplaced human pride and the fact that power and self-importance depend entirely on circumstances and are not inherent in human nature.

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