Sociological Analysis of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travel

I.1 Introduction
Basically, there are three things that we have to be concern in literary works. It refers to
author, literary works, and reader. Those three parts cannot be separated. Literary is actually
represents the real life of society. To make it life like, its the power of good literary works.
However imagination of author about something which is really fiction (doesnt happen in real
life) sometimes represent. If it exists, the author must use a symbol to criticize or describe his
feeling or his society.
The novel Gullivers Travel written by Jonathan Swift is full of imagination. For some
children it might be interesting. Talking about the voyage, drift ashore in Lilliput (the land of
tiny people), going to Brobdingnag (the land of Giant), voyage to Laputa, and meet with
Houyhnhnm. Those things give some interest to the children. So, how about an adult? Do they
understand what the author is going to show?. In my opinion, from some adult who didnt know
how to value literary work, they will think that its just children story which never happen. But in
a deep side the imaginary of the author plays an important role.
In this novel, Swift exploits his imagination to satire his social. As you can see in the
biography of Swift, he was born in Dublin, England. He also the Dean of church in England.
He became the product of Irish culture and learning. In this novel, he describes his disappointing
toward England government. In it, Swift explores gender differences, politics, class, money,
race, science, education, exploration, love, physical strength, physical beauty, and more, and
forces stringent satirical commentary on each. Sociological approach is my interest to analyze
this novel, because the content of this novel is talking about society. Moreover satire is used.

a. Authors biography
Jonathan Swift was born on November 30, 1667 in Dublin, Ireland, the son of Protestant
Anglo-Irish parents: his ancestors had been Royalists, and all his life he would be a High-
Churchman. His father, also Jonathan, died a few months before he was born, upon which his
mother, Abigail, returned to England, leaving her son behind, in the care of relatives. In 1673, at
the age of six, Swift began his education at Kilkenny Grammar School, which was, at the time,
the best in Ireland. Between 1682 and 1686 he attended, and graduated from, Trinity College in
Dublin, though he was not, apparently, an exemplary student.
In 1688 William of Orange invaded England, initiating the Glorious Revolution: with
Dublin in political turmoil, Trinity College was closed, and an ambitious Swift took the
opportunity to go to England, where he hoped to gain preferment in the Anglican Church. In
England, in 1689, he became secretary to Sir William Temple, a diplomat and man of letters, at
Moor Park in Surrey. There Swift read extensively in his patron's library, and met Esther
Johnson, who would become his "Stella," and it was there, too, that he began to suffer from
Meniere's Disease, a disturbance of the inner ear which produces nausea and vertigo, and which
was little understood in Swift's day. In 1690, at the advice of his doctors, Swift returned to
Ireland, but the following year he was back with Temple in England. He visited Oxford in 1691:
in 1692, with Temple's assistance, he received an M. A. degree from that University, and
published his first poem: on reading it, John Dryden, a distant relation, is said to have remarked
"Cousin Swift, you will never be a poet."
Between 1696 and 1699 Swift composed most of his first great work, A Tale of a Tub, a
prose satire on the religious extremes represented by Roman Catholicism and Calvinism, and in
1697 he wrote The Battle of the Books, a satire defending Temple's conservative but beseiged
position in the contemporary literary controversy as to whether the works of the "Ancients"
the great authors of classical antiquity were to be preferred to those of the "Moderns." In 1699
Temple died, and Swift traveled to Ireland as chaplain and secretary to the Earl of Berkeley.
The noise of the Drapier Letters had hardly died away when Swift acquired a more
durable glory by the publication of Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the World, in four
parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, first a surgeon and then a captain of several ships (Benjamin Motto,
October 1726). The first hint came to him at the meetings of the Scriblerus Club in 1714, and the
work was well advanced, it would seem, by 1720. Allusions show that it was circulated privately
for a considerable period before its actual (anonymous) publication, on the 28th of October 1726.
Pope arranged that Erasmus Lewis should act as literary agent in negotiating the manuscript.
Swift was afraid of the reception the book would meet with, especially in political circles. The
keenness of the satire on courts, parties and statesmen certainly suggests that it was planned
while Swift's disappointments as a public man were still rankling and recent. It is Swift's peculiar
good fortune that his book can dispense with the interpretation of which it is nevertheless
susceptible, and may be equally enjoyed whether its inner meaning is apprehended or not. It is so
true, so entirely based upon the facts of human nature that the question what particular class of
persons supplied the author with his examples of folly or misdoing, however interesting to the
commentator, may be neglected by the reader. It is also fortunate for him that in three parts out
of the four he should have entirely missed "the chief end I propose to myself, to vex the world
rather than divert it."

b. Summary
This novel is written by Jonathan swift. He is a dean of church in England. This novel is
published in London 1726. This book represents the social life at that time which full of satire.
Swifts imaginary hero is a traveler and narrator named Lamuel Gulliver. Incidentally, he is a
well educated, ship surgeon, who sails off to tell us about four fascinating voyages. He travels to
four different places, they are Voyage to Lilliput, Voyage to Brobdingnag, Voyage to Laputa,
Bilnibarbi, Luggnagg Glubbdubdrib, and Jappan. The last is Voyage to the Country of the
Houyhnhnms. From those voyages, he got many experiences. He learns about new world and
new cultures. Those four voyages can be described as follows:

Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput
The book begins with a short preamble in which Gulliver, in the style of books of the
time, gives a brief outline of his life and history prior to his voyages. He enjoys travelling,
although it is that love of travel that is his downfall.
On his first voyage, Gulliver experience on shipwreck which drift ashore into the strange
land. When he awakes, he has found himself a prisoner of a race of people 6 inches size of
normal human beings who are inhabitants of the neighboring and rival countries of Lilliput and
Blefuscu. After giving assurances of his good behavior, he is given a residence in Lilliput and
becomes a favorite of the court. From there, the book follows Gulliver's observations on the
Court of Lilliput, which is intended to satirize the court of George I (King of England at the time
of the writing of the Travels). Gulliver assists the Lilliputians to conquer their neighbors the
Blefuscudians (by stealing their fleet). However, he refuses to reduce the country to a province
of Lilliput, displeasing the King and the court. Gulliver is charged with treason and sentenced to
be blinded. With the assistance of a kind friend, Gulliver escapes to Blefuscu, where he spots and
get backs an abandoned boat and sails out to be rescued by a passing ship which takes him back
home.
Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag
After trying to escape from Lilliputians, he efforts to sail with his boat. He has been
sailing for seven days and finally he found land where the giants live there. Gulliver is
abandoned by his companions and found by a farmer who is 72 feet (22 m) tall. He brings
Gulliver home and his extremely smart and strong daughter cares for Gulliver. The farmer treats
him as a curiosity and exhibits him for money. The word gets out and the Queen of Brobdingnag
wants to see the show. She loves Gulliver and he is then bought by her and kept as a favorite at
court.
Because Gulliver is too small to use their huge chairs, beds, knives and forks, the queen
built small house for Gulliver so that he can be carried around in it. This box is referred to as his
travelling box. In between small adventures such as fighting giant wasps and being carried to the
roof by a monkey, he discusses the state of Europe with the King, who is not impressed. On a
trip to the seaside, his "travelling box" is seized by a giant eagle which drops Gulliver and his
box right into the sea where he is picked up by some sailors, who return him to England. The
story doesnt end. Then he voyage to Laputa, Bilnibarbi, Luggnagg Glubbdubdrib, and Japan.
Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Bilnibarbi, Luggnagg Glubbdubdrib, and Japan.
Gulliver's ship is attacked by pirates, the malice of Dutchman, he arrived at the island
called Laputa. A kingdom dedicated to the arts of music and mathematics but completely unable
to use these for practical ends. The device described simply as the Engine is possibly the first
literary description in history of something resembling a computer. Laputa's method of throwing
rocks at disobedient surface cities also seems the first time that aerial bombardment was
imagined as a method of war. While there, he tours the country as the guest of a low-ranking
courtier and sees the ruin brought about by blind pursuit of science without practical results in a
satire on the Royal Society and its experiments. He travels to a magician's dwelling and
discusses history with the ghosts of historical figures, the most obvious restatement of the
"ancients versus moderns" theme in the book. He also encounters the struldbrugs, unfortunates
who are immortal and very, very old. Gulliver is then taken to Balnibarbi to await a Dutch trader
who can take him on to Japan. The trip is otherwise reasonably free of incident and Gulliver
returns home, determined to stay there for the rest of his days.
Part IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms
In this voyage, Gulliver returns to sea as a captain. On this voyage he is forced to find
new additions to his crew who believes to have turned the rest of the crew against him. His crew
then rebell and after keeping him contained for some time decide to leave him on the first piece
of land they come across and continue on as pirates. He is abandoned in a landing boat and
comes first upon a race of (apparently) dreadful deformed creatures to which he regards a violent
antipathy. Shortly thereafter he meets two horses. The horse in this novel described as peculiar
horse, this horse can speak (in their language Houyhnhnm or "the perfection of nature") are the
rulers and the deformed creatures ("Yahoos") are human beings in their base form. Gulliver
becomes a member of the horse's household, and comes to both admire and imitate the
Houyhnhnms and their lifestyle, rejecting humans as merely Yahoos endowed with some
equality of reason which they only use to worsen and add to the vices Nature gave them.
However, an Assembly of the Houyhnhnms rules that Gulliver, a Yahoo with some equality of
reason, is danger to their civilization and he is expelled. He is then rescued, against his will, by a
Portuguese ship, and is surprised to see that the captain, a Yahoo, is a wise, well-mannered and
generous person. He returns to his home in England. However, he is unable to reconcile himself
to living among Yahoos; he becomes a remaining in his house, largely avoiding his family and
his wife, and spending several hours a day speaking with the horses in his stables.





I.2 Analysis
Sociological analysis
Sociological approach is branch of social research as the reflection. It is the reflection of
society where the literary written. The basic assumption of sociological literary works is birth of
literary work is not representing inanition of society. In fact, social life will be the main part of
the literary works appearance. The successful of sociological literary works is the appearance of
word view reflection.
It has been phenomena that most of the sociological researcher tends to built up the
connection between author and his social life. The content of literary works will be formed by
the representative of world view. Thats why the social life of author can be an important part in
the research. In literary works, the point of imagination cannot be deleted and the social
description can too. It is because the authors imagination usually reflects to the world view of
his life.
The concept of mirror will be the important part. Literary works consider as mimesis (the
imitation of social). It is not only represent the copy of fact but also represent the fact that has
been paraphrased. It reflects to Halls statement (11979:32) the concept of literature a social
referent is, however, perfectly viable since it takes into account the writers active concern to
understand hid society
Basically, there are three perspectives concern with sociological literature. First research
that paraphrase literary works as the social document which reflect to situation where the literary
works created. Second research that express literary works as the mirror of authors social life.
Third research which reveals literary works as the manifestation of history and the condition of
culture and social.
Based on Albert Memmi (Segers, 2002: 70), there are three approaches of sociological
analysis. They deal with the author, literary texts, and readers. The author approach emphasize
on economic status and authors professional, social class, and authors generation. Literary texts
emphasize on sociological genre, form, theme, character, and style. While readers refers to
readers opinion whether the literary works are received or not by common readers.
In analyzing novel Gullivers travel, I used sociological approach because most of the
voyage done by the narrator reflects the social condition of England where the story takes place.
I didnt analyze for all four voyages, but I only analyze two of four voyages that are VOYAGE
TO LILIPUT (Part I) and VOYAGE TO BROBDINGNAG (Part II). In my opinion, those two
voyages is the most interesting thing to be analyzed; the content of it is close to the real life.
I would like to use the combination between those two thoughts. What I want to analyze
is the literary texts whose functioned as the social document which reflect to situation where the
literary works created.
Sociological genre
Gullivers Travel perhaps the most interesting and the most famous novel of Jonathan
Swift. It represents the satire or parody of English government in 1726 era. The four travels
describe by the narrator and the narrators meeting with unusual people and place, talked about
that. Actually, the imagination which is reveal in this novel is full of symbol. Gullivers Travels
is a parody of the genre of travel narrative. It realizes as the representation of society,
government system in that era. Im sure the social genre of this novel is parody.
Form and structure
The novel is written in the form of a travel book. Swift chose this device because travel
tends to change our perspective on the world around us. As Gullivers voyage and we voyage
with him. What he wants to shows to reader is how reader can open their mind about something
and how readers can change it. Swift also satirizes travel books in Gulliver's Travels.
The characters
The characters shown in the novel sometimes represents the character of author. In the
novel Gullivers travel we can see some of the narrators character which is the same with
Swifts character. His characters are allegorical; that is, they represent something- an idea, an
attitude, - or someone else. It's never simple with Swift. Gulliver, for instance, represents
different things at different points in the novel. In Part I Gulliver decent, and responsible. At
times in Lilliput he represents other people. In Part II Gulliver represents a man who becomes as
cruel and trivial as the Lilliputians. Swift's allegories are not "black and white". Even the
Lilliputians have their good points- they are very clever. Keep in our mind that in Gulliver's
Travels there's no character we can follow as we can a traditional omniscient (all-knowing)
narrator. Swift's satire is designed to keep us as independent reader; the characters are meant to
stimulate us, not to lead us. Here are some characters in Gullivers travel.
LEMUEL GULLIVER is the most important character in this novel. He's the "author" of the
Travels, he's your tour guide but also a complex, changing character.
THE LILLIPUTIAN EMPEROR the Lilliputians emperor represents George I of England.
The tiny emperor represents tyranny, cruelty, desire for power, and corruption. He is a timeless
symbol of bad government.
THE LILLIPUTIANS IN GENERAL The Lilliputians are tiny creatures, clever and cunning.
They have a love of ceremony, and bureaucracy. They are very refined in their manners, but this
doesn't prevent them from being small-minded, mean, and revengeful.
THE BROBDINGNAGIAN FARMER He is a poor man who catches on Gulliver as a way to
earn money. He asks Gulliver to make show, and brings him to all people to get money.
THE BROBDINGNAGIAN KING This man represents Swift's idea of a just, wise, and strong
ruler. For him, force is a measure of absolute last resort, and the idea of gunpowder (of which
he'd never heard until Gulliver described it to him) horrifies him. The king has other admirable
characteristics- he's curious, eager to learn, not afraid of the unknown. He spends long hours
with Gulliver asking him questions about English and European domestic and public ways,
politics, religion, and history.
GLUMDALCLITCH she is daughter of the brobdingnagian farmer. She is Gullivers
nursemaid who desperately loves him and cares for him as her sweetheart doll.
THE BROBDINGNAGIANS IN GENERAL The Brobdingnagians in general are as ugly to
Gulliver as the Lilliputians were physically attractive. However the Brobdingnagian character is
better compared to the Lilliputian.

Theme
The major theme is this novel can be covered in three terms:
A satirical view of the state of English, European government, and trivial differences
between them.
An examination into whether governments are inherently corrupt or whether they become
corrupted.
Good governance. Here describes that good government must be contrast to Lilliput and
Brobdingnag.
This book basically talked about those three major. Lilliput in this novel described as the
place of tiny people with only 6 inches. It eventually represent microcosmic of British politics
when the Whigs and Tories were fighting bitterly for control of the country. In my opinion, British
government in that era just like a play, who always concern on money, glory and victory. It can
also be described that they never give a chance to middle, low class to have their right. The big
people (described as Gulliver, also described as high class) as the superior while Lilliputians
(described as the tiny people) is inferior.
Gullivers second voyage is Brobdingnag. Brobdingnag is the place of Giant. It is
contrast to Liliput where Gulliver becomes a giant there, but in Brobdingnag he becomes tiny as
tiny as Lilliputians. This second part also represents British politics. In this part, he talks much
about the politics of his country which is very deferent from Brobdingnag. Brobdingnag political
system is based on the principal of fair where the king and queen collect the harvest then divided
fairly to Brobdingnag citizen. This shows us that author compares the English government with
European government. That the way they draw the political party, law, military affairs, and
parties in the state are different.
Style
Swift's style is composed chiefly of satire, allegory, and irony. Satire consists of a
mocking attack against vices, stupidities, and follies, with an aim to educate, edify, improve.
Allegory is a device in which characters, situations, and places have a significance that goes
beyond simply what they are in themselves.

I.3 Conclusion
The novel Gullivers Travel written by Jonathan swift is amazing novel. His imagination
described in this novel is the great thing. He can explore the amazing idea that satire the
government in different ways. Even the imagination emerged in this novel seem not real in real
life but its actually have deep meaning that describes the social condition in that era. From one
voyage to another voyage, author describes in brief those satires, such as voyage to Lilliput
(place for tiny people) and voyage to Brobdingnag. Those two voyages clearly represent the
England government that is cruel, conservative, and bring the power of class. He also criticized
England government that they are superpower and mistreat their people.