The Use of Fantasy and Adventure to Criticize Society in Gulliver’s Travels

Introduction

Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726) uses the forms of fantasy and adventure not merely to entertain but to satirize and criticize 18th-century society. Through Lemuel Gulliver’s bizarre journeys to imaginary lands, Swift holds up a mirror to human nature, politics, science, and ethics. By cloaking harsh social critiques in the fantastical, Swift offers a biting yet engaging exploration of the flaws and absurdities of his world—many of which remain relevant today.

1. Fantasy as a Safe Vehicle for Social Critique

In Swift’s time, open criticism of the government or institutions could lead to censorship or persecution. Fantasy allowed Swift to:

  • Avoid direct confrontation with real political figures.

  • Use allegory and symbolism to expose corruption, irrationality, and hypocrisy.

  • Engage readers with imaginative settings while subtly delivering critiques of England, France, the Church, and the Enlightenment.

Fantasy makes the bitter pill of satire easier to swallow.

2. Lilliput: A Tiny World of Big Problems

In Lilliput, Gulliver encounters:

  • Petty political squabbles (e.g., High-Heels vs. Low-Heels).

  • A war over how to crack an egg (Big-Endians vs. Little-Endians).

  • Ridiculous bureaucracy and court intrigue.

Satirical Targets:

  • English politics and court factions.

  • Religious divisions (Catholics vs. Protestants).

  • The absurdity of treating minor differences as justification for violence.

Fantasy Element:
The size difference exaggerates the small-mindedness of political leaders, showing how trivial concerns are blown out of proportion in the real world.

3. Brobdingnag: Seeing Humanity from a Giant’s Perspective

In contrast, Gulliver is tiny among the giants of Brobdingnag:

  • His stories of European warfare and colonization horrify the king.

  • The king considers Gulliver’s people to be morally stunted despite their intelligence.

Satirical Targets:

  • Colonialism, military conquest, and national pride.

  • The gap between technological advancement and moral integrity.

Fantasy Element:
The reversal of scale allows Swift to diminish human self-importance, turning pride into absurdity when viewed from a distance.

4. Laputa and the Academy of Lagado: Absurd Science and Detached Intellectualism

Laputa is a floating island of absent-minded scientists and theorists:

  • They obsess over mathematics and music while ignoring real-world suffering.

  • At the Academy of Lagado, scholars try to extract sunbeams from cucumbers and build houses from the roof down.

Satirical Targets:

  • Blind devotion to theory over practicality.

  • The Royal Society and Enlightenment thinkers who lose sight of human needs.

Fantasy Element:
By creating a science fiction world before the term existed, Swift exaggerates the disconnect between knowledge and wisdom.

5. Houyhnhnms vs. Yahoos: The Final Moral Allegory

In the most philosophical and disturbing part of the novel:

  • Houyhnhnms represent reason, order, and peace.

  • Yahoos, who resemble humans, are violent, greedy, and depraved.

Satirical Targets:

  • The baseness of human nature.

  • The Enlightenment belief in human perfectibility.

  • The failure of reason when detached from empathy and humility.

Fantasy Element:
By imagining a race of rational horses superior to humans, Swift inverts the natural order, forcing readers to question the legitimacy of human superiority.

6. Adventure as a Tool for Perspective

Each of Gulliver’s voyages brings:

  • New challenges that reflect or exaggerate real-world problems.

  • Gradual disillusionment, as Gulliver goes from a curious explorer to a bitter misanthrope.

The episodic structure mimics classical adventure tales, but Swift subverts the genre:

  • Instead of heroic triumph, Gulliver returns home disillusioned and alienated.

  • The “adventure” becomes a psychological journey into the heart of societal dysfunction.

Conclusion

In Gulliver’s Travels, fantasy and adventure are more than literary devices—they are powerful satirical tools. Swift uses imaginary worlds to critique real injustices and absurdities in politics, science, and human behavior. By doing so, he invites readers not only to laugh but also to reflect, recognizing that the grotesque elements of his invented worlds are reflections of our own society.

Final Thought: