Best Satire in Gulliver's Travels
Complexity and satire are found at every level in Gulliver's Travels. From the simple lessons found in Liliput to the layered and complicated opinions expressed by the Houyhnhnms. I think the best of Swift's satire is somewhere in between these two mediums in Brobdingnag. When Gulliver is bought by the King and Queen of Brobdingnag, he tells them of his travels and discusses Europe. He expresses his pride in English values like religion, scientific advancement, and government. The King listens intently to what Gulliver has to say, and then replies that the Europeans are “odious vermin”. Gulliver finds this response striking and thinks that the King simply can’t understand the complexity of English culture. He observes that the kingdom of Brobdingnag doesn’t have many books and their laws cannot exceed more words than there are letters in their alphabet. However, the King can see what Gulliver can’t, which is that European culture is full of greed and pride. The English...