Brief introduction to novels
1726 was first published in Britain, which was very popular among readers and sold out within a week. Ten thousand copies were sold in three weeks. Since its publication more than two centuries ago, it has been translated into dozens of languages and widely spread all over the world. The author reflected the social contradictions in Britain in the first half of the18th century, exposed the corruption and evil of the ruling group at that time, and attacked the dangers of the war of aggression and colonialism. Although it satirizes the court and politicians, this work transcends the limitations of its time and place, especially the first two parts, and is considered as "one of the great treasures of literature".
Creation background
Jonathan Swift, the author, worked as a public relations officer of the Conservative Party with robert harley and Henry St. John during the period from 17 14 to1714. Later, political parties changed, Whigs came to power, and Tory party member was liquidated. So the author alluded to the politics at that time through the first adventure of Lilliput. Secondly, the author later came to teach in Ireland, which was ruled by Britain at that time, so the author reflected the decline of Irish agriculture through Three Travels of Island Countries. This book was completed on 1726. Gulliver's Travels originated from a gathering with friends. When Swift talked about all kinds of greedy and shameless behaviors in political circles at that time, he laughed with excitement and cursed, and began to write the first volume. After numerous additions, deletions and revisions, it was finally published anonymously in 1726, and immediately caused great controversy in British society. For more than 200 years, it has been translated into dozens of languages and spread widely all over the world.
Brief introduction of the author
Nathan Swift (English: Jonathan Swift,1667165438+1October 30th-1745 65438+ 10/9), British satire. He is a priest, a political writer and a gifted scholar. He was born in a poor family in Berlin, Ireland and raised by his uncle. He went to school at the age of six and studied in kilkenny school for eight years. 1682 entered the famous Trinity College in Dublin, and he was not interested in anything except history and poetry. Or is the school "particularly accommodating" to get a degree? After that, he continued to study for a master's degree at Trinity College until 1686. 1688, Ireland faced British invasion, and he went to Britain to find a way out. The next decade will be a crucial period that will have a great impact on Swift's life. He works as a private secretary at Moore Manor through relatives. Temple, the owner of Moore Manor, is an experienced politician and a philosopher. He has excellent cultivation, which undoubtedly played a positive and even mentor role for Swift. From a political or other practical point of view, this may disappoint Swift, but as far as a satirist is concerned, he has been fully studied in the past decade. His two early satirical masterpieces The Story of the Bucket and divine retribution were written here. 1723, the British government appointed the political hooligan Wood to cast copper coins for Ireland, and the people were miserable. Swift has published several open letters in succession, encouraging the Irish people to rise up against the coin-making conspiracy. He became the leader of the Irish national independence and freedom movement. After winning the struggle, he went to London to fight for the interests of the Irish people. When he returned to Ireland, countless farmers spontaneously greeted him by land and water. After leaving Moore Manor, Swift returned to Ireland to continue to be his pastor. He devoted himself to political activities for the sake of the church. He wrote many political pamphlets in his later years and gained considerable reputation. Although he became famous for a while, he was lonely at heart. He even walked to the brink of despair step by step. He experienced everything and saw through everything, so he wrote Gulliver's Travels. 1745 10 June 19, Swift died in darkness and loneliness at the age of 78. Gulliver's Travels is a wonderful book. It is not a simple children's book, but a literary masterpiece full of satire and criticism. George Orwell, a famous British writer, has read it no less than six times in his life. He said, "If I were to open a bibliography and list six books that I would keep even if other books were destroyed, I would definitely include Gulliver's Travels." In this book, Swift's narrative skills and satirical talent are fully reflected. The hero of the work, Riemel Gulliver, is an English surgeon and later promoted to captain; He is well educated, proud of his motherland, and seems to be knowledgeable professionally and politically. But he is a mediocre man in essence, and Swift makes full use of this limitation of the hero to achieve the most full irony effect. The book consists of four volumes, each of which Gulliver has to face special circumstances unimaginable to ordinary people. Jonathan swift (1667— 1745) was the founder of radical democrats in the British Enlightenment, and18th century was the most outstanding political critic and satirical novelist. His father was an Englishman who settled in Ireland and died seven months before he was born. Swift was raised by his uncle and studied at Trinity College in Dublin (named after Trinity College of Catholicism). At that time, being a priest in the church was the safest way out for poor children; But Swift hates theology and complicated philosophy courses, and his interests lie in history and literature. Holding a "chartered diploma" shows that he can't pursue further studies (in fact, he later obtained a master's degree and a doctor's degree), so he has to work as a private secretary in the home of Sir Temple, a distant relative of his mother. The situation is tantamount to a "literate slave". Soon, he showed his talent with insightful and satirical articles. One of his political articles exposing government corruption directly contributed to the armistice between Britain and France, and some even called it a "quick peace treaty". Although he later became the confidant of the Prime Minister and the drafter of the Queen's speech and became the object of flattery, he was still proud of poverty. Swift doesn't have a formal title, and he doesn't get paid for reviewing newspapers. Prime Minister Harry gave him a bonus for writing an article, but he got angry and withdrew, stating that he was not a hired scholar. Worried about his popularity and satirical articles, the Queen and her powerful people finally expelled him from London. After he arrived in Dublin, he actively participated in the Irish people's struggle for freedom and independence, and successively published highly combative literary theories, which forced the British colonial policy to be contained. Swift is deeply loved by Irish people. When he was arrested by the authorities for his anonymous works, people protected him. When he came back from his last visit to England, people rang the bell to make a fire and returned to his apartment surrounded by guards of honor. Swift's evening scene was bleak, his loved ones died, and he was dizzy and deaf. Whenever he was awake, he still wrote until he died at the age of 78. Among Swift's masterpieces, Gulliver's Travels (1726) is the most widely circulated and loved by readers all over the world. The book tells the strange experience of traveling around four countries through the mouth of Captain Riemel Gulliver. But a careful understanding reveals the dark reality of British society everywhere and embodies the author's ideal. He is the leader of the Irish national independence and freedom movement. After the victory, he went to London to fight for the interests of the Irish people. He was the best satirist and politician in England from 65438 to the beginning of the 8th century.
abstract
The novel is based on the four adventures of the surgeon Gulliver and consists of four parts. Volume One Gulliver, a surgeon in Lilliput, survived the voyage and drifted to Lilliput, where he was tied up by Lilliput people and presented to the king. Gulliver's docile performance gradually won the favor of the king and the people, and he gradually became familiar with the customs and habits of Lilliput. With Gulliver's help, Lilliput defeated the "Blefuscu" empire, which was also a Lilliput country, but Gulliver did not want to destroy the Blefuscu empire, which made the emperor very unhappy. At this time, the queen's bedroom caught fire. Gulliver was anxious and put out the fire with a bubble of urine, but it made the queen very angry. So lilliputian monarchs and ministers plotted to get rid of Gulliver. Gulliver got wind of it, fled from Lilliput, then went to Blefuscu Empire, and finally returned to England safely. Volume II: Brobdingnag (Brobdingnag in the author's manuscript) Travels Gulliver is a monster in Liput's eyes, but when it comes to Brobdingnag, he is as small as a weasel in the field. Gulliver was caught in a storm when he went out to sea again and was blown to a foreign land. The residents there are as tall as the iron tower, and he was brought back as a plaything by a farmer in Great Britain. In order to make money, the farmer put Gulliver in a suitcase as a gadget and took it to various towns for performances and exhibitions so that he could play tricks for people to see. Later, he was bought by the queen to help the king. The king summoned him, and he talked eloquently about the greatness of his motherland, the wisdom of politics and the justice of the law, but he was attacked and refuted by the king. Gulliver accompanied the king on the border patrol in his third year in this country. Because he was homesick, he pretended to be ill and came to the seaside to breathe fresh air. The eagle in the sky mistakenly picked up the box where he lived as a turtle. Several eagles fought in the air and the box fell into the sea. It was found by a passing ship. Gulliver returned to England by boat after being rescued. Volume III: Leipita (Flying Island), Balny Babi, Lager nagel, Greta Cone and Japanese Travel Notes. After staying at home for a while, Gulliver went to sea with the Cape of Good Hope. This time, Gulliver's boat was hijacked by a thief boat. Gulliver narrowly escaped and was saved by a flying island called Lepita. These people have unusual appearances and strange clothes, and they meditate all day. Kings and nobles live on a flying island, while civilians live on three islands, including Bobby and Balny. After Gulliver left the island, he visited Babi, Balny, and visited the "Lagardo College" on the island. As a result, the whole country was desolate, houses collapsed, and people had no clothes and no food. Then Gulliver came to Witch Island. The governor of the island is proficient in magic and can summon any ghost at will. Gulliver met many ancient celebrities and found that many records in history books were not in line with historical facts or even upside down. Then Gulliver went to the kingdom of Ragnagg and met a fairy "Stru brug". Gulliver met many ancient celebrities after going abroad. Volume IV: Travels of Hui Zhiguo Gulliver was exiled to Hui Zhiguo. Here, the horse is the rational resident and ruler of the country. And "(,,wild fox, wild goose and other names are translation problems) is the beast that horses raise and work for." Gulliver's behavior and remarks are regarded as rational "Le Hu" by the horses in the "country of returning to China". Influenced by all the virtues of China, Gulliver wanted to stay in China. However, the "State of Hui Gui" decided to destroy Le Hu there, so Gulliver's wish could not be realized. In desperation, Gulliver had to leave the country by boat and go home. Gulliver cherished the yearning for "the country of wisdom" and made friends with horses all his life. He also refused to be worldly and was determined not to go with the flow. Comparing Ma Hui with Hu Lie highlights the value of rationality, kindness and friendship in human nature and the ugliness of greed, distrust and jealousy.
theme
The lilliputian scene depicted in the first volume of the novel is the epitome of the British Empire. The perennial struggle and foreign war between the Tories and Whigs in Britain are essentially just the internal struggles of politicians on some details that have nothing to do with the national economy and people's livelihood. The second volume of the novel sharply criticizes Gulliver's proud British electoral system, parliamentary system and various political and religious measures, and expresses doubts and negation on various British systems and political and religious measures. In the third volume of the novel, the author points the irony at British philosophers, scientists who are divorced from reality and addicted to fantasy, absurd inventors, critics and historians who turn black and white upside down. In the fourth volume of the novel, the author uses Gulliver to answer a series of questions, and exposes the nature of war, the hypocrisy of law and the shameful behavior of obtaining the status of duke by any means. Looking at the overall plot of the novel, Gulliver's Travels has obvious political tendency. His critical edge focused on attacking parliamentary politics and reactionary religious forces in Britain at that time. Through Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Flying Island and Hui Hui, the novel reflects some contradictions in British society in the first half of the18th century, and exposes and criticizes the corruption and evil of the British ruling class and the crazy plunder and cruel exploitation of British capitalism during the primitive accumulation period of capitalism. The artistic features of Gulliver's Travels are mainly reflected in the use of satire, and sharp and profound satire is the soul of this work. Britain at that time was the object of attack and satire by the author. Gulliver's first adventure was in Lilliput. In this tiny country, partisan struggles are tense, and neighbors not only want to defeat but also enslave each other. The king of Lilliput used rope competitions to select officials. In order to get a few colored silk threads from the king, the officials did not hesitate to perform a clown-like absurd performance. This small court was the epitome of Britain at that time, and even the political habits and laws of Lilliputian were exactly the same as the British political situation at that time. In the second volume, the author even criticized Britain by name. Gulliver gave a detailed introduction to the history, system and present situation of Britain, as well as various matters of national self-defense to the King of Great Britain. But from the perspective of Great Britain, British history is full of "greed, competition, cruelty, hypocrisy, lust, sinister and ambition". In The King's Word, the author said that "such a humble and incompetent bug" was "the most harmful little poisonous bug crawling on the ground in nature", which satirized all aspects of British society. The third volume satirizes the pseudo-science in Britain at that time through the boring and absurd scientific research conducted by the people of the Lagardo Academy of Sciences. The description of the island of Lepita criticizes the British exploitation and oppression of Ireland. The novel not only attacked the social status quo, but also directly satirized human nature itself at a deeper level. The fourth volume, the discussion about "money" is like this. Gulliver came to the country where there was no money, no army and no police, and explained to his horse owner, "The wild sheep there believe that the more money, the better. No matter whether it is used or saved, there is not enough time. Because of their nature, they are either extravagant or insatiable. The rich enjoy the fruits of the poor's labor, and the ratio of the poor to the rich is one thousand. Therefore, most of us are forced to live a miserable life ... ". The author is concerned about the pure money relationship between people in capitalist society. Thus questioning human nature. When the author satirized and attacked the parliamentary politics and reactionary religious forces in Britain at that time mercilessly and bitterly, some of them bluntly ridiculed each other, some used foreigners' lips, some used metaphors to satirize people, and some used animals to satirize people. All this is interesting. The organic combination of the fantasy of the plot and the authenticity of reality also adds unique artistic charm to the novel. Although the author shows a fictional fairy-tale magical world, it is based on the reality of British social life at that time. Because the author's description is accurate, delicate and appropriate, people don't think it is a fictional illusion, as if everything is true. For example, when describing the proportional relationship between villains and adults, people and things, they are all reduced or enlarged at a ratio of one to twelve. The villain in Lilliput is twelve times smaller than Gulliver; Adults in big countries are twelve times bigger than Gulliver. Gulliver's handkerchief can be used as a carpet for Lilliput Palace. A peasant woman's handkerchief in an adult country covered Gulliver and turned into a sheet. When describing the operation of the flying island, the architecture of the palace and the structure of the town, the author also deliberately used the knowledge and data of mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy and medicine. In this way, the authenticity, harmony and symmetry of the local details of the characters are transformed into the authenticity, harmony and unity of the whole picture and scene, which greatly enhances the realism and appeal of the works. The author's writing is concise and clear. For example, it is written that Gulliver copied an official proclamation in Lilliput, praising the king as "king of kings", "standing in the center of the earth, with the sun overhead" and so on. Gulliver also quietly explained in brackets: "the circumference is about twelve miles." With this explanation, the boundless territory of "reaching the four poles of the earth" suddenly shrank into a tiny place of about ten miles. This contrast is hilarious. The words in brackets show the author's simple and realistic narrative style. It seems that he has no intention to comment, but he is objectively and faithfully explaining the scale of lilliput for us. He once declared: "I would rather tell ordinary facts in the simplest and simplest style, because I wrote this book mainly for you, not for entertainment." Although the scenes of Lilliputian, Adult and Wisdom are different and the protagonist's situation is different, the layout and style of the whole novel are the same. The causes and effects of Gulliver's every sea trip are explained in detail, and the complicated plots are described in order of time and spatial order. The text is concise and vivid, and the story is strong. So Gulliver's Travels has been appreciated in European countries for hundreds of years. Gulliver's Travels expresses the author's thoughts in a perfect artistic form. The author deeply analyzed the social reality of Britain at that time with rich satirical techniques and bizarre plots of fictional fantasies. The works are the fusion of reality and fantasy, and they are compared, and the artistic effect of satire is perfected in the comparison between reality and reality, which has strong appeal. The author can be translated into jonathan swift, jonathan swift and jonathan swift, and The Travels of the New Gulliver has been published.