Gullivers Travels By Jonathan Swift :: essays research papers

Many authors write books about events, their lives and their environment, and their corrupt government. One satirical author who wrote a novel about living in a corrupt society is Jonathan Swift who wrote Gulliver's Travels. The places the protagonist had visited reflected on the author's English government. The life of the author will be shown similar to this book because of the way he lived. Jonathan Swift was well educated and graduated from Trinity College in Dublin in English literature. He not only had a life in literature but also had a life in politics. This experience helped him write many satirical essays and novels against England and Ireland. His first political job was to work for the remarkable statesman, Sir William Temple from 1689 to 1699. During that time, he also became a minister for the church of England in 1694. After Sir William Temple died in 1669, Swift became a pastor of a small Protestant parish in Laracor, Ireland. He was ordained in 1694. His skill as a writer was greatly appreciated within the church and was well known in Dublin. If one were to divide Swift's career into "periods," the years 1710-14 would naturally fall into the "Middle Period."(Cook, V) In 1710, he became a powerful supporter of the Tory government in England. Through many of Swift's articles and pamphlets in defense, he became one of the most effective public relations men any English administration ever had. The Tories saw how good Swift's literature was and hired him as an editor for their journal, The Examiner. His political power ended when a new government came to power. This was the Whig party. The Tory government and the Whig party were against each other and shared different views like the republicans and democrats in the U.S. The last stage of Swift's life shows him transformed from an English into a Irish favorite, and this almost in spite of himself.(Swift, XIV) He was betrayed and exiled to Ireland by his friends. The unbearable lifestyle he endured while living in Ireland forced him to write his brilliant satirical essay, A Modest Proposal. This essay suggested that the people of Ireland should use their children for a cash crop. In the book Gulliver's Travels, the author reflects his life on the main character to Prove a point, mankind are savages. All that was necessary was that he take on a deliberate persona in the form some self-deceived