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Composition and historyIt is uncertain exactly when Swift started writing Gulliver's Travels, but some sources suggest as early as 1713 when Swift, Gay, Pope, Arbuthnot and others formed the Scriblerus Club, with the aim of satirising popular literary genres. Swift, runs the theory, was charged with writing the memoirs of the club's imaginary author, Martinus Scriblerus. It is known from Swift's correspondence that the composition proper began in 1720 with the mirror-themed parts I and II written first, Part IV next in 1723 and Part III written in 1724; but amendments were made even while Swift was writing Drapier's Letters. By August 1725 the book was complete; and as Gulliver's Travels was a transparently anti-Whig satire, it is likely that Swift had the manuscript copied so that his handwriting could not be used as evidence if a prosecution should arise (as had happened in the case of some of his Irish pamphlets). In March 1726 Swift travelled to London to have his work published; the manuscript was secretly delivered to the publisher Benjamin Motte, who used five printing houses to speed production and avoid piracy.[2] Motte, recognising a best-seller but fearing prosecution, cut or altered the worst offending passages (such as the descriptions of the court contests in Lilliput and the rebellion of Lindalino), added some material in defence of Queen Anne to book II, and published it. The first edition was released in two volumes on 26 October 1726, priced at 8s. 6d. The book was an instant sensation and sold out its first run in less than a week. Motte published Gulliver's Travels anonymously, and as was often the way with fashionable works, several follow-ups (Memoirs of the Court of Lilliput), parodies (Two Lilliputian Odes, The first on the Famous Engine With Which Captain Gulliver extinguish'd the Palace Fire...) and "keys" (Gulliver Decipher'd and Lemuel Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Regions of the World Compendiously Methodiz'd, the second by Edmund Curll who had similarly written a "key" to Swift's Tale of a Tub in 1705) were swiftly produced. These were mostly printed anonymously (or occasionally pseudonymously) and were quickly forgotten. Swift had nothing to do with them and disavowed them in Faulkner's edition of 1735. Swift's friend Alexander Pope wrote a set of five Verses on Gulliver's Travels, which Swift liked so much that he added them to the second edition of the book, though they are rarely included. A possible reason for the book's classic status is that it can be seen as many things to many different people. Broadly, the book has three themes: · A satirical view of the state of European government, and of petty differences between religions · An inquiry into whether men are inherently corrupt or whether they become corrupted · A restatement of the older "ancients versus moderns" controversy previously addressed by Swift in The Battle of the Books In terms of storytelling and construction the parts follow a pattern: · The causes of Gulliver's misadventures become more malignant as time goes on—he is first shipwrecked, then abandoned, then attacked by strangers, then attacked by his own crew. · Gulliver's attitude hardens as the book progresses—he is genuinely surprised by the viciousness and politicking of the Lilliputians but finds the behaviour of the Yahoos in the fourth part reflective of the behaviour of people. · Each part is the reverse of the preceding part—Gulliver is big/small/wise/ignorant, the countries are complex/simple/scientific/natural, and the forms of government are worse/better/worse/better than England's. · Gulliver's viewpoint between parts is mirrored by that of his antagonists in the contrasting part—Gulliver sees the tiny Lilliputians as being vicious and unscrupulous, and then the king of Brobdingnag sees Europe in exactly the same light; Gulliver sees the Laputians as unreasonable, and his Houyhnhnm master sees humanity as equally so. · No form of government is ideal—the simplistic Brobdingnagians enjoy public executions and have streets infested with beggars, the honest and upright Houyhnhnms who have no word for lying are happy to suppress the true nature of Gulliver as a Yahoo and are equally unconcerned about his reaction to being expelled. · Specific individuals may be good even where the race is bad—Gulliver finds a friend in each of his travels and, despite Gulliver's rejection and horror toward all Yahoos, is treated very well by the Portuguese captain, Dom Pedro, who returns him to England at the novel's end. That conclusion can be supported by a variety of instances found in the text. For instance, in Gulliver’s first encounter with the Yahoo’s who are for all intents and purposes human, he describes them as “an ugly monster” and “very singular and deformed”. As Gulliver continues to live among the Houyhnhnms, he seems to become clearly hateful of Yahoos. On one occasion, he catches a Yahoo child and described it as an “odious vermin”. Gulliver shows his slight value for human life by using Yahoo skins as clothing, and when a discussion was made among the Houyhnhnm General Assembly about exterminating the Yahoo race, he makes no defense for humankind. The theme of Guillver’s hatred for humans is climaxed when he is told he must leave the Houyhnhnm land that he has grown to love so much. He exclaims: “that the certain prospect of an unnatural death was the least of my evils, for supposing I should escape with life by some strange adventure, how could I think with temper of passing my days among Yahoos”. Thus, Gulliver would rather die than live among his own people in civilization again, for to him, they were debased Yahoos too. Nonetheless, he must leave. But, he plans not to go home, but to find some small-uninhabited island so that he can, in solitude, “ reflect with delight on the virtues of those imitable Houyhnhnms, without any opportunity of degenerating into the vices and corruption of my own species.” So, despite years away from his home and family, his hatred for mankind has forced him into seclusion. Yet, fate would not allow it. He is discovered by Portuguese seaman and is forcibly rescued and given passage to Lisbon. Gulliver describes the Captain of the vessel as “courteous and generous”, but not even he could change Gullivers view sof fellow Yahoos. He is determined to “suffer the greatest hardships rather than return to live among Yahoos.” Another example of his hatred for humans is found in his dealings with his family when he returns home again. He would neither eat with them, nor talk with them. The very smell of them made him ill. Instead, he would spend time conversing with his two new horses of “at least four hours a day”.
Clearly, Gulliver developed a great contempt fir man while in the presence of the supremely rational Houyhnhnms. Yet, one must wonder how much of it was the character of Gulliver or the beliefs of Swift. He is once quoted as saying to Alexander Pope, “I have ever hated all nations, professions, and communities.” Certainly, Swift could not have given Gulliver such strong opinions without being able to empathize with those views at some level. Although he claims to love individuals, both Swift and Gulliver “principally hate that animal called man” which is a key indicator of misanthropy. Date: 2015-12-11; view: 914
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