Gulliver’s Travels

Novel | Jonathan Swift

Do you think Jonathan Swift is a misanthropist?

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Do you think Jonathan Swift is a misanthropist Justify your answers Or Swift was a great humanist in spite of his being a misanthropist Substantiate Or Consider Swift as a great humanist Jonathan Swift - was a famous satirist He wrote Gulliver s Travels to show the bad sides of people Many think he hated people This is called misanthropy But some say he wanted people to change They call him a humanist In this book Swift laughs at people s pride lies and silly fights He shows how bad society can be But deep inside he hoped for better So Swift was a critic not a hater of mankind Hate of Yahoos Swift shows strong hate for the Yahoos They look like humans but act like beasts They are dirty greedy and wild Gulliver feels disgusted when he sees them He says Upon the whole I never beheld in

all my Travels so disagreeable an Animal nor one against which I naturally conceived so strong an Antipathy Swift shows how people act with no reason or truth The Yahoos love money and fight often This makes many people think Swift hates all humans But he may just show how low people can fall if they forget good values Love for the Houyhnhnms The Houyhnhnms are clean wise and kind They never lie or fight They live by reason Gulliver loves them more than humans He wants to live with them forever He even avoids humans when he returns home This part shows Swift's dream He wants people to be like the Houyhnhnms It is not hate but hope He shows a better way of life So Swift does not hate people He wants them to improve Satire with a Purpose Swift laughs at kings courts and war In Lilliput people fight over how to break an egg Thousands die in this silly fight Six wars at different times occurred as the issue violated their religious doctrine which states That all true Believers shall break their eggs at the convenient end He also shows stupid rules and games in politics He makes fun of proud kings and corrupt ministers These are not jokes for fun He wants people to think His goal is to help society get better Change and Loneliness Gulliver changes a lot after living with the Houyhnhnms He starts to believe that humans are bad dirty and full of evil thoughts He compares people with the Yahoos and feels ashamed to be one of them When he comes back to England he cannot live normally He does not like to see other people Gulliver even starts to hate himself He feels shocked and sad to know he is also a human He says When I happened to behold the reflection of my own form in a lake or fountain I turned away my face in horror and detestation of myself Now he wants to live with horses He thinks horses are wise and kind So he spends most of his time with them In conclusion Jonathan Swift looked like a misanthropist but he was not He only hated the wrong ways of men He showed how bad things were But he also showed a better life He used satire to correct not to destroy His love for truth made him write such strong words In fact he was a true humanist His dream was a wise and fair world So Swift was not a hater of man but a lover of good mankind

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