Gulliver’s Alienation from A Total Rationalist

周月

【Abstract】Taken the historical background of this novel into consideration， the present essay presents a text-based analysis of Gullivers alienation. It analyzes the process of Gullivers alienation from a total rationalist to an anti-rationalist. Gullivers alienation shows Swifts his deep reflection on the 18th Century total rationalism.

【Key words】Gulliver； Alienation； Total rationalism

Jonathan Swifts masterpiece Gullivers Travels is a most amusing yet meaningful work. In this novel， the protagonist Lemuel Gulliver is at first a typical rationalist of Swifts age： he praises and embraces all the scientific progress in his homeland. But later， Gulliver gradually alienates from his former identity of a rationalist and his European fellows， and turns to worship Houyhnhnms morality and rationality instead of Europeans instrumental rationality. It is in Gullivers alienation that Swifts profound reflection on the 18th Century Rationalism lies.

1 Rationalism in the 18th Century Europe

The 18th Century in Europe is also called the Age of Reason. Human ration is considered as the only authority. Rationalists advocate science， encourage thinking and questioning， and trust human judge （Ralph 10）. The spirit of instrumental rationality sweeps around the whole Europe at that time. This kind of spirit greatly influences all every social activities in that age， such as political governing， colonization， business and trade， scientific studies， even human morality.

2 Gulliver as a Total Rationalist

In Gullivers Travels， Gulliver is a total rationalist at the beginning. Like the rationalists in the 18th Century Europe， Gulliver has the typical rationalistic spirit. He is very confident in his reason， and he believes his reason can allow him to obtain the ultimate objective truth about the whole university of reality. As a ratioalist， Gulliver optimistically believes his scientific knowledge. He views every problem in a rationalistic perspective， the following excerpt shows how he looks at the flies in the island Brobdingnag：

Sometimes they would fix upon my nose or forehead， where they stung me to the quick， smelling very offensively， and I could easily trace that viscous matter， which our naturalists tells us enables those creatures to walk with their feet upwards upon a ceiling. （Swift， 90）

This is a very amusing yet bitterly satirical description of Gullivers rationalism. In his first two voyages to Lilliput and Brobdingnag， Gulliver can be understood as a total rationalist. But in Part III and Part IV of this novel， Gullivers rationalistic spirit and the scientific progress of which he feels proud are doubted and criticized. And that brings forth the alienation of Gulliver from a rationalist.

3 Gullivers Experiences of Being Doubted and Criticized

Since all the Europeans are bathed in the rationalism and they are driven by the material interests on the influence of the instrumental rationalism， Gulliver can only be waken up by the inhabitants on the remote island. Later in the island of Laputa ，and especially the country of the Houyhnhnms， Gulliver observes the morbid overuse of rationality， and he receives bitter criticism on the social progress and science technology in his motherland. The proud rationalist gradually realizes the truth of war， colonization， colonial business and the degradation of human beings.

Gulliver supposes the king would feel quite interesting to his amazing technology and give him his royal favor and protection. But the king is struck with horror and asserts that “some evil genius， enemy to mankind， must have been the first contriver"（115）. The cruelty of gunpowder and the war itself is revealed to Gulliver in this way. When Gulliver is on the island of Laputa， he is permitted to visit the Grand Academy of Lagada. Gulliver finds the shocking overuse of rationality by the scientists there. All these experiments exposes that the instrumental rationality which aims to seek out all the rule of nature neglects the metaphysical and intrinsic？property of things， and the general relationship between things.

After a long time voyages out of Europe， and more importantly， out of the domination of rationalistic spirit， Gulliver gradually realizes the dark nature of many so-called social progress， scientific achievements， and colonization. The doubts and questioning he receives on his rationalism forces him to examine the true color of the rationalism which he worships and to rethink his identity of a rationalist.

4 Gullivers Ending of Alienation

Gulliver， the total rationalist at first， has realized the nature of his rationalistic doctrine. To Gulliver， Houyhnhnms ration is perfect， because their ration goes hand in hand with morality and virtues. Gulliver “admired the strength， comeliness， and speed of the inhabitants； and such a constellation of virtues， in such amiable persons， produces in me the highest veneration”. However，the arrogant rationalists of his countrymen， worse than the Yahoos here，“making no other use of reason， than to improve and multiply those vices”.

Gulliver， in the end， has to leave the country of Houyhnhnms， but he still wants to live like a Houyhnhnm. He has completely alienated from the former one he was. He is even willing to live in solitude to “enjoy my own thoughts， and reflect with delight on the virtues of those inimitable Houyhnhnms， without an opportunity of degenerating into the vices and corruptions of my own species”（263）. When he is back in Europe， he cannot live happily with his European fellows. He takes them as Yahoos which he himself does not belong to. He does not want to talk with them， and he “was ready to faint at the very smell” of his countrymen.（266） Gulliver is totally alienated from who himself formerly was and from his human fellows.

Gullivers exotic adventures and his dynamic images implies the authors serious reflection and bitter satire. Gullivers alienation from a total rationalist reveals Swifts strong criticism on the instrumental rationalism in the 18th Century Europe. Without virtue and morality， rationality is in nature savageness. It cannot bring happiness to people and harmony to the society. So， writing Gullivers Travels in the age of reason， Swift expressed his deep reflection on the rationalism and calls for virtue to go hand in hand with ration.

【參考文獻】

[1]Booth， C Wayne. The Rhetoric of Fiction.[Z] Chicago：Chicago University Press，1962.

[2]Swift， Jonathan. Gullivers Travels[Z]. Nanjing：Yiin Press， 2012.

[責任編輯：鄧麗麗]