Discuss the ways in which Jonathon Swift and George Orwell create a sense of disgust in the reader in 'Gulliver's Travels', 'A Modest Proposal' and 'How The Poor Die'. Whose approach do you find more effective and why.

Aimeé Allam 11B.2 English Coursework page

Discuss the ways in which Jonathon Swift and George Orwell create a sense of disgust in the reader in ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, ‘A Modest Proposal’ and ‘How The Poor Die’. Whose approach do you find more effective and why.

Firstly, when looking at these three pieces, the authors’ reasons and objectives for disgusting the reader should be explored. Both Orwell and Swift were seeking social reform, but Swift chose a more extreme method of persuasion. In 'Gulliver's Travels' Swift uses the disgusting to make the reader look at how the supposedly civilised Gulliver is behaving, and question their own actions and society. In ‘A Modest Proposal’, Swift is writing in order to persuade the reader to consider a proper answer to the Irish question, disgusting the reader so they realise just how dire the situation actually is. However, in 'How The Poor Die', Orwell is writing initially to inform the reader of the situation in the Paris hospital, though indirectly influencing their thoughts. Orwell and Swift disgust the reader in different ways: Swift uses the scatological to repulse the reader whereas, Orwell uses less physical, more emotional ways to disgust his audience. Orwell tugs at the emotions of his readers by discussing how people were ‘dying among strangers’. Statements like that horrify the reader, but in a different manner to Swift's more basic descriptions of bodily functions, as can be seen when Gulliver visits Lilliput. Swift disgusts the reader causing them to be outraged and recoil in horror. Orwell however, uses more subtlety and the effect is that the reader feels pity and empathises with the poor patients in this hospital.

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In ‘A Modest Proposal’, Swift gains his readers’ trust and interest by beginning with the ironic title then shocking them with his vile idea. In the space of one sentence, he juxtaposes the nice idea of ‘a healthy child’ with the grotesque concept of it being ‘a most delicious…food, …whether stewed, roasted, baked or boiled’. It is at this point that the reader is no longer reading out of genuine interest but out of fascinated horror. What shocks the reader in Orwell’s piece is the unemotional, seemingly disinterested way in which he writes. The blunt, unfeeling use of the word ‘corpse’, although accurate, is unpleasant to the reader. In this instance the word ‘body’ or ‘gentleman’ would be more agreeable. In 'Gulliver's Travels' Swift deceives the reader by giving the impression that it is a travel book, but as soon in as the start of chapter 2, he is already talking in great detail of how he ‘discharged’ himself in Lilliput.

The device that is evident in all three pieces is the comparison with animals. Human beings have always considered themselves far superior to animals and are disgusted to be compared to them. In 'How The Poor Die', Orwell comments on how people ‘were just dying like animals’. The way in which Swift talks of ‘one male [being] sufficient to serve four females’ would have appalled the seventeenth century reader as it implies an unchristian act. The thought of breeding humans as if they were farm animals is as disgusting now as it was in Swift's time. He even compares a pregnant woman to a pregnant sow. He describes the Yahoos in 'Gulliver's Travels’ in a way that implies that they are beasts; although it is obvious to the reader they are human. He even talks of their ‘claws’ and ‘fore-feet’.

'How The Poor Die' and ‘A Modest Proposal’ both deal with socially taboo or unpleasant subjects that would repulse readers. In ‘A Modest Proposal’, Swift discusses everything from sex to domestic violence, abortion to miscarriages, none of which people were open about at his time of writing. He says that men wouldn’t ‘offer to beat or kick [their wives] during their time of pregnancy for fear of a miscarriage’. Orwell’s writing is about death, a topic that would not usually have been discussed in the conversational manner he uses.

The use of hyperbole in Swift's writing adds to the sense of repulsion felt by the reader. In ‘A Modest Proposal’, he doesn’t simply state that we should eat babies, but goes on and on with more gruesome ideas. He suggests recipes and even recommends ‘flaying the carcass’ to make ‘admirable gloves… and summer boots’, all of which is simply revolting to the reader. In 'Gulliver's Travels' he goes into explicit detail about the most disgusting of bodily functions as in Lilliput where he cannot resist putting in that his faeces was ‘carried off in wheelbarrows’. Orwell doesn’t exaggerate in 'How The Poor Die' but simply emphasises and reiterates his point on the disgraceful lack of respect shown for the lives of the poor.

There are several sentences and phrases that Swift uses in a casual, flippant way that provoke repulsion the reader. For example he speaks of the ‘twenty thousand carcasses’ as if they were cattle and he talks of ‘infant-flesh’ in the same way that someone might talk of lamb. The idea that babies should be eaten at ‘merry-meetings, particularly weddings and christenings’ is especially horrifying. In 'Gulliver's Travels' the language is never coarse and the subject matter isn’t as far-fetched as in ‘A Modest Proposal’, yet it is still revolting to the reader. For example, to read of how the Yahoos would outcast their leader’s favourite and then ‘discharge their excrements upon him from head to foot’. Orwell is far more subtle than Swift, choosing to stay away from the scatological and simply state what he sees. He describes a box into which ‘scraps of food and dirty dressings from the ward were flung’. This naturally repels the reader, especially as it is in a hospital. He also chooses to concentrate on the upsetting the readers’ feelings rather than their stomach. The horrible idea of a ‘death not even noticed till the morning’ disturbs me in a different way to Swift's writing.

Both Swift and Orwell disgust the reader by making them confront some of people’s worst fears. Swift deals with the gruesome concept of cannibalism, and Orwell discusses two very common fears: poverty and undignified death. One of the worst, in my opinion is the violation and lack of respect for the dead.

The detail with which Swift describes his idea is chilling, the accurate calculation of figures is also disturbing. As he justifies it, it seems the idea could almost be reasonable, after all, he has taken something that is completely acceptable for us to do to animals, and replaced it with babies. If it weren’t for the bitter, cynical tone of his writing and the sardonic humour that comes through, the reader could believe that he actually wanted to eat children.

Near the end of 'How The Poor Die', Orwell refers to the poor having ‘their teeth extracted with no anaesthetic’. This would strike a chord with many readers as a huge number of people will have had a tooth extracted at some point in their lives and would be able to sympathise directly with the victims.

In 'Gulliver's Travels' the revolting sections seem more light-hearted in a way, than the other two pieces. I find Gulliver earnestly describing unpleasant processes a little sickening, slightly funny, but not very disturbing. I think that the disgusting sections in 'Gulliver's Travels' are less important than those in ‘A Modest Proposal’ and 'How The Poor Die'.

I find it difficult to choose whose approach is more effective as the two writers are quite different. They both had social consciences: Swift was a dean and Orwell an early socialist, however I get the impression that Swift is angrier about poverty and it shows in the unbelievable nature of his writing. Orwell doesn’t seem as passionate as Swift, as he doesn’t use such emotive language and writes in a blunt, flat way.

In conclusion, I find Swift more effective. This is probably due to the outrageous, offensive nature of what he has written in ‘A Modest Proposal’. I think that by writing in this entertaining way and amusing the reader he is more effective than Orwell.

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