Blog 1

 Gulliver spent five years on the island with the Houyhnhnms and after just three months he already adapted to the language very well. At this point Gulliver began to realize all of the flaws in England and grew more frustrated the more he thought about it. When explaining laws, war, occupations and more, then hearing his Masters response put into perspective how corrupt his home country really was. Although when telling the stories Gulliver was clearly exaggerating, especially when saying that the way people became governors in England is by knowing someone of high power. Of course this was not the traditional way to come into office, it most certainly was the most common and unspoken way people earned power. When Swift posed as Gulliver, it was his way of saying how much he hated England and wanted to escape. Toward the end of the story his master was forced to banish him. Gulliver was absolutely heartbroken at the thought of returning to his old country, and was so happy in a pl...

When in the country of Glubbdubdrib, the governor was able to summon spirits. Gulliver's realized the power he held in getting information that the whole world has been dying the know. After meeting with people like Alexander the Great and Aristotle, he learned a lot about people and past occurrences. When he spoke with Aristotle about the modern worlds government, he learned how openminded and intelligent he was. This did nothing but frustrate Gulliver in the sense that the modern world had a chance in being the way Aristotle saw it. Instead he felt it was destroyed by exploitation and prostitute writers. This could be a way of Swift expressing how he actually feels about the world. That authors and other influential people forced their dark opinions on people who had not yet been corrupted. Swift telling a story of him meeting Aristotle is actually Swifts fantasy of meeting the philosopher himself, to see where the world went wrong. 

    The second part of "Gulliver's Travels" was  essentially the opposite of the first part. From being the largest, most respected man of Lilliput to the smallest of Brobdingnag, Gulliver was quickly humbled. I feel that was the objective of this section; you may be strong and powerful where you come from, but else where you can be the weakest link. Gulliver was nothing but a form of entertainment to the people of Brobdingnag. This could be a form of karma, for he abandoned his wife and children again, for his selfish obsession with traveling. The section ended with Gulliver saying "But my wife protested I should never go to sea again; although my evil destiny ordered, that she had not Power to hinder me. . ." (137). Despite being stranded in two very dangerous countries and abandoning his family for years, he still had not learned that his destiny was to stay home. This could possibly be a representation of the human race in the sense that we, as well as our r...

 Part one of Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels" consisted of the narrator, Gulliver, telling in detail his very odd experience. After a ship wreck, he swam to shore and passed out from exhaustion, waking up tied down to the ground. He then felt something tickling his leg and looked down to see a bunch of miniature people, approximately six inches tall who immediately attacked him. When the people of Lilliput finally calmed down, they decided to untie him a little and feed him some of their animals, amazed at his large appetite. This is the part of the story I became very confused. Not only were the people on the island very small, but the animals were as well? I found it very strange that there were completely identical species but just to another scale in another country. I am extremely aware that the story is fiction, but I found it so strange that Swift had created this miniature world in his head. Swift is often known as a satirical author, so I began to wonder...

The poem "A Description of a City Shower" by Johnathan Swift was a bit misleading at first. Though the first read through I was a bit confused, then remembered that I was reading a Swift poem, so it was most definitely on the satire side of writing. Swift begins his poem by up-playing the approach of a storm, saying people as well as animals have been acting differently because of it. The poet thens goes on about all the terrible things flooding through the town such as waste and blood, which was actually just mud. Finally, Swift threw in a remark about the Whigs and the Tories seeking shelter, mocking them in a way. This seemed to be the whole basis around the poem, for he does not greatly publicize his political opinions, but manages just sneak them in in a satirical manner. Some readings who are not entirely familiar with Swifts work could be greatly mislead by some of his pieces, especially "A Modest Proposal." 

    I found "A Modest Proposal" by Johnathan Swift to be a very entertaining read. Despite reading this before, I am equally as entertained the second time. As a quick summary, Ireland in the 18th century was experiencing a high amount of poverty and was looking for a simple solution. Swift, sarcastically, provided a response he was certain no one could say no to. His very intelligent idea was to simply eat a percentage of the children in Ireland. The ones that are dragging their parents down in life as they beg them for food in order to survive, as they are such freeloaders to society. Swift did not just throw this idea out there as a suggestion, he planned nearly the entire process out. After doing the math, Switch discovered that Ireland should preserve 20,000 children and sell the rest for meat. He did not fail to mention the fact that plump, 12-14 year olds would be the most delicious, especia...

     "A Journal of the Plague" by Daniel Defoe was in a way very unsettling to read during this time in the world. The more I read about the plague the more I learned how similar this illness is to COVID-19. Although this virus is not nearly as deadly as the plague, it seems to spread almost as quickly and viscously. Initially I thought the plague was extremely easy to spot, such as the excessive sweating, sores all over the body, and a disturbing scent. That sometimes may be the case, but other people displayed essentially no symptoms and just dropped dead in the middle of town. A vast majority of people with COVID-19 are asymptomatic and venturing around town as though nothing is wrong, much like people with the plague. Similar to what the United States has been attempting to do for the past few months, mayors of towns greatly infected with the plague locked up houses of contaminated people, as an effort to slow the spread of the illness. Something that greatly stood ou...

      Oroonoko, by Aphra Behn, was an extremely educating as well as entertaining story. Oroonoko was a well respected African Prince that was tricked into slavery. Despite being fooled, Oroonoko was not someone that allowed others to push him around. Therefore, he began his rebellion by starving himself on the boat and eventually made a compromise with the Captain, then as time went on, Oroonoko, who at the time his slave name was Caesar, led the slaves to a rebellion. Prior to this rebellion, Oroonoko was given far more privileges over the other slaves, such as venturing beyond the plantation with his unknown spy, Aphra Behn. Towards the end of the novel, Oroonoko had gotten Imoinda, his long lost love, pregnant. Oroonoko and his mistress decided they were not comfortable birthing a child into slavery, so they planned a rebellion. Oroonoko courageously faced the men in power on his own, as m...