Abstract
Gulliver’s Travels described the hero—Gulliver’s four voyages to the Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa and Houyhnhnms, and his experience staying with the kings, cabinets and citizens in those countries. Swift draw several colorful and vivid pictures of the countries by the description of different customs, ways of life and government systems. The stories are so exciting and interesting that many children find it hard to lay down. It seems that Gulliver’s Travels is a travel journal, which is just designed for recording Gulliver’s journeys. However, in fact, it is by talking about Gulliver’s experience that the author mirrors British society in the eighteenth century, and presents the theme of the novel and his viewpoints. Gulliver’s four voyages shape the realities of the eighteenth century in Britain. Jonathan Swift shows his talent in making satire.
Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels is praised as the model of world famous satirical literature due to its outstanding thought and artistic value. Gulliver’s Travels, as a model of world satirical literature, its distinguished feature is the application of satire. This paper attempts to analyze the main satirical devices employed in Gulliver’s Travels, including hyperbole, symbolism, irony and contrast. The emphasis will be put on how those satirical devices serve the vehicles for showing the power of satire.
Through the examination of those devices, the paper argues that the application of all kinds of satirical techniques in Gulliver’s Travels is intended to make a satire which is a most forceful exposure of the social evils at Swift’s time.
Key Words: social realities satire satirical techniques mirror
摘 要
《格列佛游记》这一作品依次记述了主人公格列佛游历小人国,巨人国 ,空中飞岛国和马国的所见所闻以及主人公和这些国家的元首,大臣,平明的交往过程。作品通过对不同国家风俗民情的描写,向读者展示出一幅幅多彩的人文地图景观,从而使得小说具有童话色彩,深为儿童所喜欢。表面上看,《格列佛游记》似乎是游记文学,记录格列佛的奇遇和所到国家的情况,但作者正是通过写这些经历来反映18世纪的英国社会现实,从而展现其主题。乔奈生·斯威夫特通过描述小说主人公格列佛的四次旅行,显示出杰出的讽刺才能,再现了当时英国社会的一些现象和社会现实。
斯威夫特的《格列佛游记》以其高超的思想艺术成就,被誉为世界讽刺文学的典范。《格列佛游记》作为讽刺文学的巨著,它的主要艺术特点就是自始自终都运用了讽刺手法。本文旨在从讽刺技巧,修辞手法,包括夸张,象征,反讽和对比等的运用上分析<<格列佛游记>>的讽刺艺术,重点分析这些手法如何体现讽刺。通过分析,得出小说夸张,象征,反讽和对比写作手法的运用都是为讽刺服务的,都是为了更好地讽刺当时的社会现实,最终使其讽刺内容即主题的表达更为完满。
关键词:社会现实 讽刺 讽刺技巧 反映
Contents
Acknowledgements……………………………………………………..…………….. i
Abstract (English)……………………………………………………………………………………………ii
Abstract (Chinese)……………………………………………………………………..iv
- Introduction…………………………………………………………………………1
1.1 The social background……………………….…………………………………1
1.2 A brief introduction to Gulliver’s Travels ………………………………………2
1.3 The thesis statement of the paper……………………………………………….3
- Satire………………………………………………………………………………. .4
2.1 The definition of satire …………………………………….………………..4
2.2 The classification of satire ……………………………………….……………..5
2.3 The function of satire……………………………………….………… ………..5
- An analysis of satirical techniques in Gulliver’s Travels….…………………………6
3.1 Hyperbole.…………..………………………….……………………………….7
3.2 Symbolism………………..……..……………………………………………….. ……10
3.3 Irony.……………………………………………………………………………14
3.4 Contrast.……………………………………………………………………….18
- Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………21
References…………………………………………………………………………………………………..22