Friday, November 18, 2011
Gulliver the Traveler
Before you start to read Part IV of Gulliver's Travels, I would like you to think about Gulliver. How would you describe him--what are his character traits? How similar to or different from Hytholoday is he? Do you think there is something about his personality that makes him susceptible to the influences of the people he meets, or would anyone (say, you or I) respond just as Gulliver does?
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Above all else, I think Gulliver is curious. He has a sense for adventure and travel and discovery, so he readily accepts the travel opportunities that present themselves to him despite having a wife and kids who stay at home. On the other hand, I think Gulliver’s lack of interest in spending time with his family illustrates a great deal of selfishness on his part. I was shocked to find out how many years at a time he spends traveling, discovering, and exploring without regards to his family's well-being. He never discusses his family unless he is at home in between his travel breaks. He is anything but a good father or husband, from the information we, as the audience, are presented with.
I think his character shares the same curiosity as Hytholoday, because they both have a desire to learn about the new lands they visit, including the descriptions, laws, and customs.
I think he is susceptible to the influences of the people he meets, because his is so curious and has no other regard for anything or anyone but himself. He is so self-absorbed in his travels that he can take in all of their influences without concern it will affect anyone other than himself.
Gulliver has a very adventurous personality, and it’s obvious he loves the thrill of new surroundings and people. He is intrigued by his curiosity and sets out to explore no matter where he is. He seems to be very intelligent because he easily masters each new language he encounters. However, he comes off as extremely selfish since he does not seem to mind leaving his wife and children for extended lengths of time.
In regards to Hytholoday, they both share the same thrill of new found things and keen interest in how society functions in different areas.
Gulliver travels alone, so he really only has himself to rely on. Therefore he becomes more susceptible to take on the influences of the newfound people he comes across.
Lisa,
You gave a very clear description of Gulliver’s character traits, and I agree. I mentioned the fact that he really shows no concern for his family, but you really brought out the fact that he is alone in his travels because he chooses to be. I like that you mentioned the only times he discusses his family is between travel breaks and his very short trips home. You stated in depth his curiosity and ability to be susceptible to the people he meets due to his self-absorbed personality traits.
Gulliver is a well-traveled, intelligent man with a love for linguistics and learning other cultures. He is also selfish and arrogant. His love for travel is understandable, but his selfishness is shown through his telling of the four tales when he remains at each place for years at a time. His accounts depict his curiosity of the culture of each land, but what about his wife, children, and professional responsibilities. If he is so in love with England, why doesn’t he spend more time there in between each excursion?
Gulliver is similar to Hythloday because both are interested in other cultures and learning about the conventions we learned about in class, such as the inner-workings of society and government of the people of these countries.
The main difference in Gulliver and Hythloday is Gulliver’s developed hatred for mankind after his final return from his travels. Hythloday, although he disagrees with the government of England, does not hate all men. He is even willing to sit down and talk with a stranger, More, in order to recount his tale of Utopia. Gulliver tells others about his travels as well, but he admits that he does so with such disdain for the “Yahoos” with whom he is speaking.
I think that Gulliver is susceptible to the influences of the people of each country he meets because of his thirst for intelligence. He is obviously a very intellectual, curious traveler who wants very much to learn about the people who are keeping him captive, and that yearning for knowledge not only makes him attractive to each country’s natives, but also attracts him to the natives and cultures of each country as well.
Most people would be more skeptical of the natives of an unfamiliar location and would not be as accepting of strangers as Gulliver. However, it is Gulliver’s lack of skepticism that allows him to be open-minded as he learns the language and culture of each country he visits.
Mariah,
I completely agree with you that Gulliver is intelligent but selfish!
As a wife and mother myself, it really irked me to read about how he just went about sailing around the world without a thought about his wife or children. The most shocking to me was reading, in the beginning of Part 4, when Gulliver admits he left his wife while she was pregnant: "I left my poor wife big with child" (Swift 2418). I think today's modern woman would really have objected to this. I know I would have.
Jill,
I think you brought up a ton of really great and interesting points about Gulliver's character. The one I like best is the idea of Gulliver and Hythloday's difference in their viewpoints of mankind. You are correct in the assertion of Gulliver hating mankind whereas Hythloday didn't hate them in the same way. Although they both thought of the current societies less than perfect, Hythloday didn't view or abhor them as Gulliver did when he returned home from his last journey.
Gilliver shows a desire for adventure and trying to find new things, as he travels on many adventures different and distant voyages, all while leaving his wife and kids at home. He also seems to be quite gullible/susceptible to other voyagers as well as to those he encounters on the different islands and is abused and taken advantage of through out his travels.
Other than the basic desire for exploration and discovering and studying new cultures I don't recognize many similarities in the personalities of Hytholoday and Gulliver.
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