Swift's gulliver's travels

I. Literature connection The most accurate literary device plot that was used on Swift’s Gulliver’s Travel is satire. The satire in Gulliver’s Travel was used as a socio-political commentary of Jonathan Swift’s time in an indicting manner where he derided government, political parties, religion, science and mankind in general. Satire was present in many aspects of the novel.
Mankind in general received the harshest satirical description of Swift whereby Gulliver in his conversation with the king of Brobdingnagian who remarked that man is ” the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth” (Swift, 1726). Political factionalism such as what is happening now as the election nears, was also present in Swift’s Gulliver Travels. He made a condescending commentary about the existing political party in Lilliput between the high (Tramecksan ) and low heels (Slamecksan) who only distinguishes themselves by the petty differences of the height of their heels of their shoes.
He also jabbed pot shots at religion which can be likened to the conflict between Catholics, Muslims and Protestants today where differences in theology and claims of having the true god leads to conflict and violence. This was evident with the Liliputians and Blefuscians who cannot agree on how to cut their hard boiled eggs whether to cut it at the little end or the small end. This trifling differences was already enough to cause war between them.
II. Modern connection
It would be safe to conclude that Jonatha Swift’s Gullivers Tale is timeless. It is timeless because the social and political commentaries he made through the form of literary device satire is still relevant today. We can pick the most relevant issue today which is governance since the election is coming on how it is figuratively similar to Swift’s desciption of conflict of political parties. The Republicans and Democrats are basically talking the same thing to revive United State by addressing its ailing economy, enhance its security, create jobs, better social services etch yet they cannot agree on how to do it. In the process, they are mud slinging each other which is also done through a medium of satire just like how Swift described how with the Liliputians and Blefuscians who cannot agree on how to cut their hard boiled eggs whether to cut it at the little end or the small end.
Also, the description that man is ” the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth” to some extent is relevant. Despite of our effort to do good, we are still a pernicious race by the conflict that surrounds us.
III. Personal connection
The closest resemblance that I can think of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver Travel’s is the Lord of the Rings. Although Lord of the Rings did not use satire and did not comment about its socio-political milieu, they are similar in many ways.
First is the travel of Gulliver to Yahoos where he was first disgusted seeing them only to realize that what he sees is the bad side of human nature which he later abhorred. This can be likened to Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings where Aragon and Frodo has to travel from the Shire to Isengard and Mordor to look for the ring that would unite them all and then destroy it so that it will not be used for evil (Jackson, 2001-03).
References
Swift, Jonathan (1726). Gulliver’s Travel. Retrieved from http://www. literaturepage. com/read/gulliverstravels. html
Peter Jackson (2001-2003). Lord of the Rings. New Line Cinema