Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's travels has a very pessimistic view of human kind.

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Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s travels has a very pessimistic view of human kind. The genre of the book is satirical therefore you can expect the tiny yet very pretentious Lilliputians to be a symbol. In my opinion, they represent misplaced human pride.

Lilliputians seem to represent the main flaws of humans. For example excessive pride, selfishness and hypocrisy. Swift chose the smallest race in size from his travels to be the most vain, overblown and superficial which is obviously, very ironic. It portrays well  the fact that we consider ourselves to be the most important beings in this universe when we have been around for such a ridiculously small portion of the history of the earth. In the same way, Lilliputians see themselves and show themselves as extremely important and superior which is absurd and not very realistic given their size. They represent other flaws like selfishness and hipocrisy when they are so generous and hospitable toward Gulliver only to use him later on. Of all the places where Gulliver goes, the place with the most conspiracy and backstabbing is Lilliput.

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A very good example of a Lilliputian is obviously the Emperor. Even though he is just as tiny as the rest of them, he is frightening because of his tendency to execute his subjects for practically no reason at all. The Emperor’s belief that he can control Gulliver seems quite silly but he manages to impress him quite deeply nevertheless. He comes across as amusing but sinister to the readers. He is an absolute king and as a role model shows pride and cruelty. He also uses Gulliver to gain more power. In my opinion, he is not only ...

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