It is difficult to narrow down the scope of this satire to just one idea, but, broadly speaking, we could say that the major theme of Gulliver's Travels is that human beings are inherently flawed. Though we are capable of some good, often our xenophobia, pride, and lack of humanity in many situations leads us to behave selfishly and without compassion for others. The purpose of satire, however, is not simply to point out someone's flaws; it is to point out someone's flaws in such a way that it will open their eyes to their mistakes and prompt them to change their behavior. Therefore, Swift doesn't simply want to point out our stupidity or our ignorance, he wants to compel us to reevaluate the way we think about many things: religion, war, logic and emotion, immortality, and the list goes on and on.
No comments:
Post a Comment