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A Modest Proposal
In Swift’s arsenal, satire,
which under the cloth of elegance, is the fiercest. A Modest Proposal（1729）is
one of best examples. The whole propose is a sharp satire, however, under
the elegant diction, the sharp satire becomes sharper. The suggestion he
provides in the Proposal illustrates this point well:
“I have been assured by a
very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy
child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing, and
wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled; and I make no
doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee or a ragout.
…………
I grant this food will be somewhat dear, and therefore very
proper for landlords, who, as they have already devoured most of the
parents, seem to have the best title to the children.
…………
But as to myself, having been wearied out for many years with
offering vain, idle, visionary thoughts, and at length utterly despairing of
success, I fortunately fell upon this proposal; which, as it is wholly new,
so it hath something solid and real, of no expense and little trouble, full
in our own power, and whereby we can incur no danger in disobliging England.
For this kind of commodity will not bear exportation, the flesh being of too
tender a consistence to admit a long continuance in salt, although perhaps I
could name a country which would be glad to eat up our whole nation without
it.”
Under the civilized dress, it is such a cruelty! Swift here
employed a shocking way in order to disproof that the Irish landlords and
their English owners are the real beasts who “have already devoured most of
the parents, seem to have the best title to the children.” Such kind of
shocking satire is a most powerful blow at the English government’s policy
of exploitation and oppression in Ireland.
Swift not only wrote articles for criticizing, but also works
about his thought, such as A Meditation upon a Broomstick, Polite
Conversation, Thoughts on Various Subjects.
The Gulliver’s Travels
The Gulliver’s Travels, published in 1736, shows his characteristics in
essays in all extents. It, similar to Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe, is a
story of journey abroad. Although it is vivid in description, the story is
in fact a making up by Swift. But in his making up, the story also mixed the
English social reality as well.
The narrator is a doctor who served in ship, called Gulliver. He
has four experiences at sea. Every time, he arrives at a different and
strange place. Therefore, this book is also considered as the adventures of
a doctor.
The first place Gulliver arrived is Liliput. Here, all persons are
small, even the tallest one is only six inches high. However, although their
bodies are small, their heart is huge: they considered that they are the
cleverest and strongest. They are a group of greedy and cruel people. Within
the country, the two dominative parties try to do each other down; outside,
they are warlike. It is just the illustration of English society.
In his second voyage to Brobdingnag, Gulliver found himself a
dwarf now. He became the small toy of the ladies. However, while after the
listening to Gulliver’s report about English society—the two party system,
its politics, social customs, the King said that: “I cannot but conclude the
bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin
that Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the earth.” This
country is Swift’s illustration of his ideal country.
The third story happened in Flying Island. In this part,
Swift used his pen weapon sharply satired the philosophers and projectors
who were given to dwelling in the air. In the satire of science, Swift’s
conservative attitude towards science reveals.
The last part is the bitterest in satire. Gulliver was now in a country
where horses were the ruler, while Yahoos though in the shape of men were
cruel beast, whose only willing work was to do bad deeds. Because of his
harsh attack, Yahoos which symbol as human beings, Swift was even called the
misanthropist, however, it is not true—Swift hated the individuals but not
the whole human beings.
This book moves and attracts various readers by its content,
thought and style. Children enjoy the excited tales; historians seek the
English politics of the time; thinkers probe Swift’s attitudes toward
civilization and science, etc.
It is a book of travels, tales, a blueprint of ideal country;
it is also an experiment in novel. Its structure is dynamic and in great
contrast; the point of view is transitional; the application of imagination
reached an utmost height compared to his ancestors and contemporaries; the
mood of writing deepened as the writing goes on.
This book also witnesses that his essays are a unique
combination, which attracted and influenced the posterity greatly. On one
hand, his essays are more elegant than any one. On the other hand, his
overflow of moral indignation transcends all the other writers. Elegance is
the common goal of almost all writers of that time, but the overflow of
emotion and imagination is Swift’s uniqueness which contains the feature of
Romanticism.
In conclusion, Swift is one of the greatest masters of
English prose. His language is elegant but without ornaments. It is simple,
clear and vigorous. He puts the principle, “ Proper words in proper places,
makes the true definition of a style” from beginning to the end. Swift is
also a master of satire; in fact, he was considered as the best satirist of
the age. However, his satire is masked by an outward grace, his tone seems
calm and reason, which conceals a bitter irony.
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