For this essay on Swift's Gulliver's Travels, please choose one of the following topics. When you write this essay, be sure that you make direct reference to some of the specific language from the text. When you make a reference, put the page number in a bracket.
Explore you ideas in detail. Use examples; examine the implications of what you say in terms of the theme of the text. Remember that this is narrative satire. Be sure to link your ideas to the purpose of satire and the way in which Swift executes that purpose.
- Gulliver is the narrator of his story. Explore how Gulliver changes throughout the telling of his tale. How does he change? What motivates those changes? What direction do those changes take?
- How does Gulliver define human nature? Does his presentation of human nature change throughout the story? Do the Lilliputians, the Brobdingnagians and the Houyhnhnms each represent some specific aspect of human nature? Explore this in detail.
- How does Gulliver or, our author, Swift, use details to create a sense of believability in this very fantastic stories. Use specific examples to support these ideas about how the writer uses details to create a realistic setting for a non-realistic story.
- Why does Gulliver only remain home with his family for a short period of time? Why does he constantly need to travel and experience the world around him even though it seems to depress him? Explain?
- How does Gulliver's attitude toward his family change after each voyage? What does this tell the reader about him, about his point of view, and about his view of human life in general?
- Explore Gulliver's attitude toward women.
- Explore Gulliver's attitude toward the human body.
Sample Solution