Satire on a Nation Jonathan Swift’s, Gulliver’s Travels satirically relates
bodily functions and physical attributes to social issues during England’s
powerful rule of Europe. Through out the story we find many relations between
bodily features and British and European society. Swift uses this tone of
mockery to explain to his reader the importance of many different topics during
this time of European rule. Swift feels that the body and their functions relate
to political as well as the ration of a society. Swift’s fascination with the
body comes from its unproblematic undertone which gives his audience
recognizable parallelism to many issues such as political change and scientific
innovation. Gulliver’s first adventure takes place in Lilliput. Gulliver swims
to a foreign shore after his boat and rowboat capsize due to a fierce storm.
Washed upon the shore, Gulliver finds himself tied to the grass surrounded by
little bodied people called the Lilliputians. The Lilliputians stood no more
than six inches high. During this time Swift recognized that England was also a
kind of six inch being that had great influence in Europe. Swift wrote
Gulliver’s Travel’s during a time when Europe was the worlds most dominant
and influential force. England, despite its small size, had the potential to
defeat any nation that might try to conquer them. Swift relates this phenomenon
to the small stature of the Lilliputians. They stood a mere six inches high but
had the power to siege the mammoth Gulliver. The capability of a nation
consisting of miniature people, who are able to capture someone ten-times their
size can be seen as reinforcing the capability of a small nation, such as
England, becoming and remaining a great power. Even though this is true, Swift
entices a condescending tone to Gulliver’s portrayal of the small
Lilliputians, who easily fit into the hands of Gulliver, yet still manage to
threaten his life. Even though the Lilliputians are piteously small in
Gulliver’s eyes, they do not see themselves the same way. To themselves, the
Lilliputians feel they are normal and Gulliver remains the outlandish giant. The
unexpected infringement of giant Gulliver into the Lilliputians well-developed
society reminds the European society, that size and strength are always
relative, and there is no way for Europe to be certain that a Gulliver-like
giant, might not arrive and conquer them at any moment. This encounter, between
Gulliver and the Lilliputians would put Europe’s confidence in its power in
jeopardy. Swift made sure that this message got across to humble the society of
England. In chapter three we see the advance of Gulliver in the Lilliputians
society. During the process of integrating Gulliver finds that their culture is
based around trivial issues. These trivial issues can be looked at as subsequent
to their small stature. Gulliver finds that their government officials are
chosen by rope dancing. To Gulliver and the reader these practices are
ridiculous and arbitrary, but to the Lilliputians who do not need extravagant
things because of their size, see these practices as normal. Swift uses this
scene to satire the British government at this time. The British government also
elected their ministers in a trivial manner. In order to receive freedom from
the Lilliputians, Gulliver must help them in battle. Gulliver 's agreement to
the terms provided in his contract to stay on the island for his freedom came
not from exceeding force from the Lilliputians, for Gulliver could crush their
entire city with his colossus body size and weight compared to the Lilliputians.
The Lilliputians were so secure in their laws and rules, where they felt their
laws could even rule this great bodily giant with them. Noticeably the audience
sees that Gulliver can easily crush the tiny Lilliputians, but he decides out of
the kindness of his heart not to forcefully become free. Once this great body
inquires his freedom, there will be no way for these small humans to thrust
their laws upon him. Trying to control outside forces were also flaws that
Europe processed at this time. We again see how Gulliver feels that land is
control by people and not land controlling itself. When the audience sees that
Europe remains controlled by human bodily egos, this makes his satire even more
convincing and critical. In the next chapters, the Lilliputians let Gulliver
receive his freedom, at the same time they realize what kind of political power
they can gain from the body size of Gulliver. Gulliver goes into battle with the
Lilliputians and destroys most of the Blefescan naval fleets, but not all of
them. Gulliver is greeted as a hero, because of his great demonstration of
strength. The Lilliputians ask him to recover the rest of the ships but Gulliver
refuses to use his bodily strengths to promote slavery or injustice. Clearly,
Swift implies that Europe should also not use its great strength to enslave or
bring injustice to other nations. Relating bodily images in Swift's satire makes
the reader relate to the piece as an individual. When the reader sees that every
person plays a part in the European government the satire has more effectiveness
to changing the individuals of a nation rather then placing sole blame on the
hierarchy of this time. Even though the Lilliputians have seen Gulliver's
tremendous force over their enemy, they remain confident in their egos to still
treat Gulliver as a common subject. Easily, Gulliver could crush the entire
Lilliputian army with his great strength but they are over-confident with their
forces, just as Europe. The Lilliputians have been warring with the Blefescan
City for many years. They have been fighting over which side to break an egg. To
any rational human these arguments would be trivial. Swift reports these
arguments with great seriousness, because even though the arguments are trivial,
they are also relative to the size of the Lilliputian. Swift wants to get the
point across that conflict of any sort becomes a threat to the standings of the
government. Just as the Lilliputians have trivial arguments, Swift relates these
problems with Europe's government. Swift makes reference to outside forces
looking into the story such as the reader, to conclude these arguments are
ridiculous. On the other hand outsiders view Europe's conflicts just as
ridiculous but very much serious inside the nation. A bodily function that has
deep implications concerning Swift's personal life surfaced when Gulliver must
urinate on the Emperor's wife's room when it catches fire. Gulliver's urination
on the palace is not merely an offense to the Lilliputians' sense of decency; it
suggests that they are insignificant, and therefore they respond with due
indigence. Even though Gulliver's urination intends to prevent a disaster, its
also an assertion of his ability to control the Lilliputians in any way he
likes, even by the simplest and most profane actions. Swift uses this sequence
of problems to show a personal issue in his life. Swift was a man known for his
uncleanness. By pointing this out in his story, mocks his critics. Swift’s
urination scene ridicules this view, giving a satire within a satire. In chapter
eight we see the Lilliputians turn on Gulliver for deceiving them in battle, and
the utmost crime of urinating in public. The Lilliputians want to take
Gulliver’s eyesight, leaving him blind. Swift uses this portrayal of sight to
acknowledge, without eyesight; the strongest of countries can be overturned. If
Europe were to loose its eyesight on other countries in the world, they would be
vulnerable to be overthrown. Even though the Lilliputians wanted to execute
Gulliver it remains easy for him to talk his way out of the situation. This is
true for the fact that Gulliver is a threat to their whole society, which they
know. They let him escape because they would like to return to their normal
society in which they built, and with Gulliver gone their bodily smallness is no
longer a falsity in their society. Swift realizes that any country being
threatened by a potentially dominating country will react in a way that that
country no longer remains a threat to their society. The Lilliputians are
content with their smallness, when Gulliver is not around because everything is
relative when he is gone. Obviously we see that Swift has a fascination for
bodily functions by his use of relating these bodily functions to social issues.
Swift uses height, weight, length of hair, and eyesight to relate to the Europe
audience, his social interest. Swift fascinates with these bodily functions for
the simple fact that he directly tries to satire the European Government, which
is, ran by people operated by bodily functions. Just as the Lilliputians
responded to Gulliver in issues, reminds Europe they respond the same way. Using
these bodily functions helps the audience to better understand his satire, and
relate these issues to each of their lives. Swift reminds Europe that they have
limitations just as every bodily function lives and dies.