In life, we have to pass through challenges and obstacles that lead us to our destiny. Appearance is not based on reality all the time, what we see on the outside does not necessarily have to portray what is inside of someone. Also, sometimes illusions and acting in an unconscious way can make us not reach our destiny or may delay it. In the case of Gulliver, he tries to chase his destiny when he quits his job, and sets a journey to the sea. He comes with many experiences that change his life and also, in the end he realizes that he was married to Yahoo. He later tries to fix his life back as a normal human. In this novel, Gulliver uses the three devices and others explaining his life, and at the same time, his life experience in his six years of travelling on the sea (Swift, 7). He is described as a surgeon who later moves to the sea when his work started to fall. Jonathan Swift develops metaphor, irony, and realism to outline the Gulliver Traveler experiences in his life and journey.
Metaphor:
A metaphor is a way of expressing ideas or comparing ideas in a hidden manner. The author expresses the life of Gulliver in the form of metaphor. In this case, the author in the novel of Gulliver travels when Gulliver goes to the place; he gets the Lilliputians who are very tiny people. He gets himself tied by ropes by the small people. When he gets untied, he sees himself as a ‘giant’. It is a land that was full of small people. The metaphor helps to demonstrate the populace living on the island. It shows that there are different people with different characters in the world. The importance of this metaphor is to clearly make the reader understand the different devices used to describe the life of Gulliver in his travel (Marshall, 7). Gulliver gets tired, and that is why he gets himself tired of the tiny people. In this town of tiny people, they offer Gulliver with much food and something to drink; this poses a problem because the emperor would eventually say that he is eating extremely much, and hence, causes famine (Jan and Shabnam, 15). In the land of the tiny people, he faces the same challenges that demonstrate the theme of betrayal.”One can really live everyday of their lives”(Gulliver Travel) It is demonstrated whereby Gulliver is made the officer by the emperor to lead in fighting his enemies. There are two people who plan to impeach him so as to be chased away by the emperor. As Gulliver moves from his home to his wife and his five children, he starts a voyage and gets to land of giants this time he is not the giant rather the small tiny creature. Queen treats him as a pet in the land of the Brodingnag giants. In this land, a certain farmer sees him the farmer in the novel takes him and uses him as his amusement.”It does not mean that something is not true because it is a metaphor”(Reaper Man) The metaphor is important again since it is bringing the other part of life. In this case, Gulliver is not the giant now, but the tiny animal creature. When he is taken to the queen, the queen just sees him as a funny creature and decides to make him as his pet. In this metaphor, there is the theme of talent. Gulliver is a musician, he is talented and he uses his ability for the best.”As far as the world is concerned, it is usually a process in the making, one must start at the bottom”(Sachin Tendulkar). He pleases the queen by entertaining her. Talent is used in the novel by the author combined with the theme of talent and also, betrayal when Gulliver is in the land of the giants. He is taken to the place where there are naked ladies for his pleasure in courtesy of the queen. However, he is not pleased with the ladies and he feels bad of their pores on their skins (Feitiowitz, 54).
Irony:
Jonathan develops the device of irony in his work to portray the Gulliver’s travel experience and also, in his life at large. Jonathan uses irony as an element in his work. When Gulliver gets in the land of the tiny people, he is welcomed, but in a different way. While moving around the land, he suddenly gets a puppy who almost tampered him to death, which is very ironical.”a desperate heart usually deceives the heart”(The time keeper). In the Gulliver case, it is very contradictory on how he can get tempered by a puppy. With his huge body in the middle of the tiny people, it is ironic on how just a puppy can make him die.”everybody desires to live many years, but also, no one wishes to get old” It is difficult to believe when comparing his huge size and that of a puppy. The irony is important since it is showing how in life one can get destroyed by just a mere thing, despite their size, societal position or even despite so much power that they possess (Feitlowitz, 77). In this novel, the author portrays how Gulliver’s travel was on different occasions. Also, he in a way speaks to the reader in an indirect way of portraying life in different angles. Gulliver in the novel feels he can put five men in his one pocket. It is ironical on how a person can put five men just in one of his pockets. Gulliver thinks of that when he gets himself tied up and looks down on the tiny men. It is an important quote in the novel to the reader.”besides, Gulliver is tied in the law of hospitality by the tiny people he thought could not help him”(Gulliver Travels) The author is trying to project the readers’ mind in the life experiences by showing how sometimes we look down on some people due to their size, where they come from and other many attributes. Gulliver sees the small people as difficult to handle the way he wants, though it is hard to know the abilities in them. We can see the tiny people, despite having a famine threat, feeds Gulliver with substantial food and somewhere to sleep and stay. It is very ironic to Gulliver when he realizes he had been married to Yahoo. He could not expect facts like; ‘it is sometimes happier to stay without knowing each and everything’ (morality of beautiful people).
Realism:
Realism is the act of writing that completely conveys the life of people in the realistic settings with the everyday life. Jonathan brings up the issue of realism in the Gulliver story. When Gulliver goes to the land of the tiny people, the author wants to convey that even if the people are tiny and look like they are not normal people to Gulliver, they have all the society settings like that of normal people.’no one should be ashamed to face the reality that you have done wrong, it just means you are wiser today than yesterday”. (Gulliver travels). They have government, military, and enemies. They also have the family settings just like Gulliver’s origin. Also, the author is using a horse that is communicating to convey how different people with different personalities can come together and live in peace without conflict (Jan and Shabnam, 15). Additionally, Gulliver finds the giant who sees him as a toy that they use for their amusement, especially the queen. In this episode, the author through the travel of Gulliver, portrays how some people in the real life undermine others for their way of creation or just because they seem to be less important than them.”Realism can for sure break someones heart”(Shame).
Wen Gulliver gets himself in another island after the captain of the ship diverts the ship. He finds these beastly Yahoos, Houyhnhnms. Also, he gets the Yahoo human like animals that are very violent and disgusting. According to him, the author is trying to show the reader that some people in real life are just destined to tamper with other people’s lives, but somehow they never completely change their destiny. Gulliver says that the Houyhnhnms is very different from the normal human beings since they never get sick, fight or experience deception. It is also in life occurrences that some people do not pass through bad things in life or have many challenges in real life settings. When he is told to leave, he feels bad until he faints, but he had to leave (Swift, 67).’in every mystery there is always space for love”(The Garden)
Conclusion:
Life is full of challenges that are destined for people so as to achieve what we want. There are the main devices that the author expresses so as the reader can be able to analyze and comprehend the novel in a simpler way. The author shows the experience by Gulliver in his journey as the sea surgeon and also, when he had not left his job. According to the three devices, it is clear how they play a different role in explaining the occurrence and also, the hidden meanings. In the end, he is asked to leave the length of the horses; he goes back to his home. At this point, is where he realizes he had been married to Yahoo and had children. He could not tolerate the idea, and starts a war with the normal human life, though he still missed the life with the Houygnhnhnms.
References:
Flohr, Birgitt. Swift’s Attitude to Reason in Book IV of Gulliver’s Travels. Available at
<http://www.itp.uni-hannover.de/~flohr/papers/m-lit-18-century1.pdf
Feitlowitz, Marguerite. Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Woodbury, N.Y: Barron's, 1984.
Print.
Jan, K. M., and Shabnam Firdaus. Perspectives on Gulliver's Travels. New Delhi: Atlantic
Publishers and Distributors, 2004. Print.
Marshall, Lisa. Teacher’s Guide to The Core Classics Edition of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels. Available at <http://www.coreknowledge.org/mimik/mimik_uploads/documents/55/CCGT.pdf>
Swift, Jonathan. Gulliver's Travels. Fairford, Gloucestershire: Echo Library, 2011. Print.
