Swift's Subversive Satire: Unveiling Society's Foibles in Gulliver's Travels

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a specific intervention on a particular outcome. Its primary objective is to examine a given intervention's impacts on a well-defined group. The analysis explores the employment of Satire by Jonathan Swift in his renowned literary masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels. Satire is an academic technique, authors employ to expose and criticize the illogical and immoral aspects of an individual or a society, employing comic elements, irony, exaggeration, or scorn. Gulliver's Travels effectively utilizes a range of literary tropes, such as Satire, skillfully conveyed through narration, setting, character development, and plot advancement. Jonathan Swift used many academic strategies in his satirical novel to create a backdrop combining utopia and dystopia elements. Additionally, he exploits certain character archetypes, such as a miser and tyrant figure, a moral touchstone, and a repulsive character, to effectively portray the desired character as typical. The deliberate employment of a first-person narrator is evident in Jonathan Swift's novel Gulliver's Travels. Gulliver's Travels is a notable piece of literature wherein Jonathan Swift skillfully uses the method of Satire to aptly criticize the prevailing concerns of corruption, vices, and societal follies. However, Swift's scholarly endeavors encompass analyzing diverse aspects of society to employ Satire to critique the political system and sociological framework. The author's work aims to clarify the adverse outcomes that arise from uncontrolled greed and despair, ultimately leading to the deterioration and demise of society.