Gulliver's Travels (Chinese-English Edition) (With CD-ROM)

Author: (English) Jonathan Swift
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Gulliver's Travels is narrated in the first person by Captain Lemuel Gulliver, recounting his experiences during his travels around the world. Its thematic idea is: Through Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput, Brobdingnag, the Flying Islands, and the Land of the Houyhnhnms, it reflects some contradictions of British society in the first half of the 18th century, exposing and critiquing the corruption and evil of the British ruling class. The depth and power of the work lie in its exposure and critique of the meaningless factional struggles in the British Parliament, the stupidity, corruption, and profit-seeking of the ruling group, and the brutal and ruthless nature of colonial wars. At the same time, it praises, to some extent, the heroic struggles of the people in the colonies against their rulers. Gulliver's Travels not only has profound ideological content but also has a relatively perfect artistic form. Swift's artistic techniques offer many points worth learning from. First, he uses fictional plots and fantastical methods to portray the reality of Britain at the time; second, he creates a rich and colorful, fairy-tale-like fantasy world based on the reality of Britain at the time. The satirical art of Gulliver's Travels is outstanding, and the author's satirical techniques are also diverse. He uses the exaggerated techniques of caricature to create some repulsive and absurd figures, such as Yahoos, the Flying Island people, and the Immortals, and so on. He also portrays the life and struggles in the Lilliputian society with a seemingly serious attitude and detailed, realistic descriptions, successfully reflecting the reality of Britain at the time.