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Bryan Luu
Dr. Willenbring
18th Century Literature
3/7/16

In Gullivers Travels, Lemuel Gulliver travels to several strange nations Lilliput,

Brobdingnag, Laputa, and The country of the Houyhnhnms whose inhabitants each reflect or
magnify a separate flaw in human society. Swift uses Gulliver to guide the reader through the
cultures and ways of life of each of these nations. As Gulliver learns more about each peoples,
he, in turn, shares to them how the English people operate as a society, a government, and as
academics. However, the focus is less on operations than it is on the character and morality of
the human condition. Each category of life that Gulliver describes is intended as a different lens
for which to view human nature. The readers find the some of the people groups are strangely
similar to humans in terms of folly, while others are far more virtuous. Through his use of satire,
Swift exposes the vice of man to show that the British society is selfish, greedy, destructive and
immoral.
Gulliver first travels to Lilliput, where the inhabitants are exaggeratedly small, and
Gulliver is seen as a giant. Yet, the Lilliputians promptly behave as if they are in the position of
advantage. They do so first by treating him as a prisoner and having him chained. Gulliver goes
on to write, After they were read [Conditions of Gullivers liberty], I was demanded to swear to
the performance of them (44). Gulliver is demanded to perform favors for the country in the
terms of his release. Later on, the Lilliputians threaten him with a plot to die in the utmost
torture (80). Here, Swift uses the irony in size and power to illustrate how the Lilliputians are
egotistical as a reflection of human nature in the people of his era. The Lilliputians respond
pompously when Gulliver does not comply to their plans; they threaten him, ignoring the reality
that Gulliver can crush the Lilliputians with a few steps. Likewise, the people of Swifts day
often pursue their own agendas without the cognizance of possible consequences.

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During the latter part of his stay, Gulliver is introduced to an ongoing conflict between
Lilliput and another kingdom, Blefuscu. The cause of conflict, which raised six rebellions, was
over which side is the correct side of an egg to crack. By giving the reader such a ridiculous
cause of war, Swift parodies the various European conflicts that have occurred during his life
time. For example: the division between the Whigs and the Tories, the War of the Spanish
Succession, or the War of the Austrian Succession. He means to say that these conflicts were
sustained by the wrong motives. Accordingly, the War of the Spanish Succession and the War of
the Austrian Succession were driven by the jealousy for the throne and greed for land,
respectively (University of Nevada, Las Vegas). In light of the British society, the Lilliputian
conflict embodies its self-entitlement and greed. Echoing these vices again, the Lilliputians
refuse to settle the war after Gulliver saves them from the Blefuscu invasion. Wanting more, the
emperor demands Gulliver help to dominate Blefuscu and turn its people into slaves, which he
rejects.
Gullivers second voyage takes him to the land of Brobdingnag, where the roles reverse
both in size and in morality. Where in his previous voyage the Lilliputians represented the flaws
of humanity, now in Brobdingnag, Gulliver represents them. As Gulliver recounts the
happenings in the state of England to the King of Brobdingnag, the reader begins to see the
immorality of man from the giants perspective. Swift writes this scene as if Gulliver were in
court as a witness telling the story of England. In context, the king is like the judge or
prosecutor; he asks Gulliver numerous questions and proceeds to make a judgement of his
people. Swift uses these questions in a form a rhetorical criticism. For example, when the king
inquires, What arts were practiced in electing those whom I[Gulliver] called commoners:
whether a stranger, with a strong purse, might not influence the vulgar voters to choose him
before their own landlord (160). For Swift, this is not a question, but a current happening in

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society by which the elected are voted in based on wealth rather than qualification. However, he
puts it in form of a question to invoke the reader to think whether or not such an idea is virtuous
or not. He answers this in the kings final judgement of the Englishmen, you have clearly
proved, that ignorance, idleness, and vice, are the proper ingredients for qualifying a legislator
I cannot but conclude the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious
vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth. (p.164). In doing so,
Swift directly criticizes the corruption of society through the king of Brobdingnag.
In Gullivers third voyage is left stranded by pirates when he is finally picked up by the
Laputans, the inhabitants of a floating island. While its royal court is on the floating island, the
full kingdom of Laputa includes towns that are on the Earth down below. Strangely enough,
neither the king, nor either of his two eldest sons, are permitted to leave the island; nor the
queen, till she is past child-bearing (215). The only communication the king has with the
citizens down below is via a packthread that is sent down by which citizens can send up
petitions; Swift does not make clear whether all the petitions are read or not. There is a certain
detachment between authority and citizen in the Laputan society. This idea is further fortified by
the forgetful behavior in which they are easily distracted, even when talking to one another. This
illustrates how uninvolved, not only the government is with its people, but also each individual
Laputan to another. The Laputan government symbolizes the British government during Swifts
life. Clearly, Swift is saying that Parliament is not concerned with the people. Instead they put
aside the desires of the people and muffle its voice. However, Swift also criticizes as a whole,
those in positions of power, who as a group of few often ignore the needs of the many.
Gullivers final journey to the country of Houyhnhnm gives the reader his final thoughts
on humanity most clearly and directly. In Brobdingnag, Swift criticizes humanity through
questions the giant king asks. However, when Gulliver is explaining the state of England to his

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Master in Houyhnhnm, Swift does so by describing the nature of specific jobs in the England
where excellence is based on being the opposite of what one would expect. Gulliver describes
being a lawyer, first, my lawyer, being practised almost from his cradle in defending falsehood,
is quite out of his element when he would be an advocate for justice (316). Swift paints
British lawyers as a travesty; one would expect lawyers to fight for justice, but they do quite the
opposite according to Gulliver. Swift employs the same satire when Gulliver explains to his
Master the character of Chief Minister of State. He states that Minister is a creature filled with
a violent desire of wealth, power, and titles that he never tells a truth but with an intent that
you should take it for a lie; nor a lie, but with a design that you should take it for a truth (324).
Yet, he closes his conversation by saying this makes up the nobility of his land. Swift
scrutinizes the British authorities and practitioners of law portraying their greed, selfishness and
dishonesty as valued qualities, which they are not.
The novel as whole, Gullivers Travel, can be seen as a satire on the British society, with
emphasis on its leading figures. Each journey that Gulliver embarks upon leads to an exposure
of the moral indecency of the British society during Swifts life. In Lilliput, the Lilliputians
characterize the British society. The irony of such a small people making demands of Gulliver, a
giant in comparison, represents how society is blinded by its self-interests from realizing the
possible consequences of its actions. In the case of the Lilliputians, Gulliver can squash them at
any moment if he desired. In addition, the absurdity of cause of the Lilliput-Blefuscu conflict
ridicules the several European conflicts that occurred during the 18th century. Swift implies that
many these were started by pride and greed. In Brobdingnag, Swift puts society on trial by the
king of Brobdingnag who questions the virtue of English legislators. The king finally concludes
that Gullivers, and therefore Swifts, society is corrupt and immoral. Following Brobdingnag,

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Swift attacks the British government in Gullivers voyage to Laputa. The distance between the
royal floating island of Laputa and its subjects down below signify the gap between government
and citizen in 18th century England. During Gullivers stay in Houyhnhnm country, Swift
illustrates for the reader a sense of false nobility in the English society through Gullivers
comical articulation of the English government. He leads the reader to believe dishonesty and
greed are desirable, and in this way highlights those qualities as flaws of the English people.
Once more, Swifts masterful use of satirical devices emphasizes vice in British society, drawing
it to be selfishly prideful, greedy, and immoral.

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Works Cited
"Principles of the State System." University of Nevada, Las Vegas. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2016.
<https://faculty.unlv.edu/gbrown/westernciv/wc201/wciv2c10/wciv2c10lsec2.html>.
Swift, Jonathon. Gulliver's Travels. N.p., 1726. PDF file.