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1、Gulliver'sTravelsGulliver'sTravelsisamisanthropicanatomyofhumannature;asardoniclooking-glass.Itasksitsreaderstorefuteit,todenythatithasnotadequatelycharacterizedhumannatureandsociety.Eachofthefourbookshasadifferenttheme,butallareattemptstodeflatehumanpride.BookI,writtenbetween1721and1725,
2、mayreflecttheconcernsofSwift'sownday,andofhisownlife--itmaybeapolitico-sociologicaltreatiseintheformofasatire;aprotestagainstImperialismandColonialism;anattackonthecorruptWhigoligarchywhichhaddisplacedtheSwift'sToriesinLondon--adefenceofTorypolicies,anattackonthePrimeMinister,RobertWalpol
3、e,andontheexpensiveandbloodytradewarswhichhadaccompaniedthetwelveyearsofWhiggovernment--butitisalso,onadeeperlevel,asatireontheuniversalhumantendencytoabusepoliticalpowerandauthority,tomanipulateothersanddeceiveourselves.Itisatonceafolk-myth,achildren'sstory,andamisanthrope'sgifttomankind
4、:inLilliput,whichis,quiteliterally,amicrocosm,thevicesandfolliesnotmerelyofEnglandbutofallmankindareepitomized.Swiftpointsoutthatwhenmenaresixinchestall,theirsquabblesseempetty,andtheirpompandceremonyridiculous:heleavesittoustotakehispoint.ThesatireinBookIVisdarkerandmoresavage:asanevalua
5、tionofthehumancondition,itfrightenedthewitsoutofmostofthemosteminentVictorians,andremainsprofoundlydisturbingtoday.Itsuggeststhattheaspectsofourlivesofwhichwearemostproudaremerelyslightlymorecomplexversionsoftheactivitieswhich,whentheyareengagedinbyYahoos,werecognizeasbeingfoul,brutal,and
6、disgusting.IncontrastingtheHouhbynhynmswiththeYahoos,Swiftconcernshimself,too,withthedichotomy,inherentinallhumanbeings,betweenreasonandunreason;betweensanityandmadness.HeimpliesthatthoughManisneitherarationalintellectnor,wholly,apassionatebeast,neitheraHouhynhynmnoraYahoo,heinclinestothe
7、bestial.InthisfinalbookSwiftseemstodespair:forGulliver,overwhelmed,asperhapsSwifthimselfwas,byablack,misanthropic,despairingvisionofreality,theonlymiddlegroundleftbetweenthedreamyutopia,theironically"ideal"societyoftheHouhynhynms,andtheabyssofYahooismseemstobeastabl
