'Gulliver's Travels', written by Jonathan Swift - a satire on British society

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               It is a common belief that ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, written by Jonathan Swift in the 1720’s, is a satirical text written on the cultural practises of the British society of that time.  Gulliver’s Travels”, is a text that follows the travels of the main character Gulliver, through four different fantasylands.  In the first voyage, he is shipwrecked on Lilliput, a small land, whose inhabitants are on average less than six inches high.  Lilliput, in conjunction with the three other lands, all portray elements of the British society in the 1720’s.  In his text, Swift uses satire to criticise and ridicule certain elements of British society.  Satire, which is a use of mock or exaggerated humour to slyly ridicule faults etc, adds a general tone of sarcasm to the text.  In “A Voyage to Lilliput”, Swift uses satire to slyly and humorously criticise British society, the same society that he wrote the text for, so that it may see its own faults.  Three particularly notable social/cultural
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practises in this land were the trivialities of war, ingratitude of humanity, and the arbitrary ways of the government.         Gulliver’s Travels is said to be a satirical text focusing on the cultural practises of the British society of that time.  It firstly satirizes the trivialities of war.  Swift achieves this in the voyage to Lilliput, by showing that both the British and Lilliputian wars were fought for small and trivial reasons.  In Lilliput, Swift shows this element two weeks after Gulliver obtains his liberty.  Swift proceeds to explain the meeting of Reldresal and Gulliver.  Reldresal, the Principle Secretary of Private ...

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