Analizing Gullivers Point of View in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels

In Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Gulliver learns that experiencing different cultures and ways of life changes a person’s views when he experiences: outside opinions of his homeland, different everyday customs, and different societal priorities. These three things fundamentally change Gulliver as they change anyone with an open mind. From the king of Brobdingang’s harsh criticism of the British Empire to Lilliput’s seemingly bizarre way of life to the Houyhnhnms’ nearly flawless formula for successful society, Gulliver experiences things that change his outlook on life. In other words the outside opinions of England, different everyday customs, and different societal priorities of the lands Gulliver journeys to change the intelligent and curious Gulliver forever.

To begin, Gulliver’s views change when he hears outside opinions of his homeland. When Gulliver first sets sail he is a proud English explorer. After all, living in the British Empire, the world’s primary superpower during Gulliver’s time, was something many Englishmen took pride in. However, all of this changes on Gulliver’s second voyage when his curiosity takes him to Brobdingang, a land of giants. Gulliver is discussing his way of life and his native people with the king of Brobdingang. In response to Gulliver’s description of the English, the king says he “cannot conclude but that the bulk of your natives to be the most pernicious race of little odious vermin that nature ever suffered to crawl upon the surface of the Earth”. He points out the violent nature of the British Empire in a way that Gulliver had most likely never viewed his beloved homeland. This makes Gulliver wonder if his culture really is backward and barbaric. Another example of an outside...

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...r societal organization and qualities of the Houyhnhnms because it changes the way he assesses human society.

Gulliver learns that experiencing new cultures changes a person’s views when he is exposed to outside opinions of his homeland, experiences different everyday customs, and is introduced to different societal priorities. The perceptions the king of Brobdingang and the Houyhnhnms have on England change Gulliver’s own perception of his homeland. The bizarre customs in Lilliput make Gulliver question the absurdity of his own customs. Finally, the advanced societal organization of the Houyhnhnms fundamentally transforms Gulliver’s view of the human race altogether. Thus, in the grand scheme of it all, the author illustrates that any open-minded person who travels the world and observes life through the lens of a different society will never return home the same.