#4 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

  Also known as, Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships.

Welllll, I can't look at the word Yahoo the same anymore. And honestly, I have no idea how to start with such a powerful book, so here goes.

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is definitely a masterpiece. It's the kind of writing that inspires real thought and retrospection into the human condition. The satire side is amusing and sometimes gross, but it does give you something to laugh about until you realize what you are laughing at is the reality around us.

The various fantasy worlds with each their own culture and flaws differing from Gulliver's own country of origin are only exaggerated forms of societies which exist in our own world even today.

It's amazing that Gulliver is so indifferent to most of these accounts to the point that he shares his experiences in a relatively impersonal, narrative form. Throughout the journeys Gulliver finds himself first at a position of power over the Lilliputians due to his gigantic size, then in Brobdingnag just the opposite where he has now become the tiny man. 

Though between his positions of power and belittling, Gulliver keeps his morality and reason about him.  This idea that morality should be above all other things as social standard is a primary theme in this story. After all, it is a play on how things that may not be commonly referred to as vices are actually such when viewed from an outsider's perspective. 

The floating islands of Laputa symbolize the institution of government floating in isolation above the city. Then, the result is the impractical implications of science which completely fails to improve the disastrous conditions of the citizens living impoverished in their country below. And no matter where Gulliver travels, he will find something wrong with society. 

Laputa: Castle in the Sky, 1986 film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Until, he meets the Houyhnhnms which hold virtues of reason and kindness. Although they seem superior to all the nations already described, they will believe it only reasonable to enslave the Yahoos which are a violent race of brutes. But then they reason Gulliver is no different than a Yahoo and he is exiled from the only society that he ever wished to call his home.

In the end, this is the destruction of Gulliver's outlook on humanity. He will even look at his own reflection with disgust at the ideology of perfection which was the Houyhnhnm way of life. 

It is sad but true to understand the human condition in such a way. There is so much idiocy in everyday life that I sometimes suppress the urge to shout in public places (or stoplights where roundabouts would've been more intelligent, c'mon even Tijuana knows that). 

But it is really a burden to look at so many people with contempt, so Gulliver makes his final action. He will try his best to suppress his disgust and teach his family what he had learned. This is the real treasure to be taken from this story, because Gulliver has in the end, taken action. And for once, he is left stepping in the right direction. 

 

"I considered how all these pure native virtues were prostituted for a piece of money by their grand-children; who, in selling their votes and managing at elections, have acquired every vice and corruption that can possibly be learned in a court." -Lemuel Gulliver

Jonathan Swift, Gulliver's Travels (Ann Arbor:  J.W. Edwards, Inc., 2006), 178.

The Eighteenth Century, Political Satire

Gulliver looking like a giant in Lilliput

 In honor of my upcoming trip to Ireland, I've decided to cover some well known Irish authors in the next three weeks.  One of my favorites by one of my favorites.  

#4 Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

For those who don't know, Gulliver is an Englishman who journey's to far off places and records the various cultures and societies he encounters, and each world has its own fantasy twist.

 In one land, the people are small enough to fit in his hand, and another the people look like giants and he can see all of the blemishes on their skin. And then, there are the floating islands in the sky.  All the while, he has left his wife and kids at home, and upon his return with all of these crazy stories, they begin to suspect his mental health is suffering.

Since I read it way back in high school, I've forgotten a lot of the specifics. And actually, it can be quite difficult to understand at times, given it's packed with political themes. Things that your average high school student hasn't thought about much. But I'm back prepared after studying history in college, and funny enough, it makes much more sense!
 

The point that most will fail to see in comparing these different worlds is that it is for the sake understanding the good and bad of society. Or to venture into what makes a true 'utopian' society. This theme is very common to the 18^th century.

James Gillray's The King of Brobdingnag and Gulliver

For the first time, new political ideals were explored with the establishment of new governments which popped up all over the vast uncharted continents and islands that make up the Americas. (for the Old World at least) And, people were throwing around theories about how to go about it all.

The book is just the same. It's bold for its time and satire at its best. 

Original Picture

#3 The Sword and the Stone by T.H.White

 This first part of The Once and Future King is a wide introduction. The story begins with a young boy Wart who meets Merlyn an old man with a talent for magic. Merlyn guides Wart through a series of lessons, some of which he is transfigured into a certain animal (like a fish or an ant) and converses with the other animals of his kind. Other times, he meets up with people for a journey or the hunt.
 

Wart is an ‘improper child’ and often admires friend Kay who is destined to become ‘Sir Kay’ the owner of the estate and an honorable knight. Oh, but irony would have it that at the end of part one, the destined ruler of the land with the ability to pull the famous sword from the stone and succeed the throne upon the death of the King Uther Pendragon is in fact, Wart aka Art or just, Arthur.

This telling is surprisingly more colorful and silly than I had expected. Sometimes it screams J.K. Rowling to me, which is more accurately described as the other way around. I see now that the Harry Potter series holds various ties to the world of magic inside Arthurian legend. The talking owl Archimedes, the hedge-pig, and the badger vaguely feel as if they fall under the same umbrella category, though these are distant resounding themes. Not to mention Dumbledore is obviously the archetype formerly established by the powerful and wise wizard of the more common spelling, Merlin.

Merlyn is the character who makes the story most quirky and is essential to the incorporation of fantasy into Arthur's tale. This introduction really captures Merlyn's character when he meets Wart at first by chance. But Merlyn already knew to set breakfast for two. Wart asks him how he could have known and Merlyn explains,

“....Now ordinary people are born forwards in Time, if you understand what I mean, and nearly everything in the world goes forward too. This makes it quite easy for the ordinary people to live, just as it would be easy to join those five dots of a W if you were allowed to look at them forwards, instead of backwards and inside out. But I unfortunately was born at the wrong end of time, and I have to live backwards from in front, while surrounded by a lot of people living forwards from behind. Some people call it having second sight.”

Merlyn is not the only recognizable mention, insofar. Wart and friend Kay are sent to Robin Hood for a lesson, and informed by Little John that his name was never 'Hood' at all. It was, Robin Wood. Maid Marian is mentioned as Wart describes a “golden vixen” and she is a female outlaw who wriggles like a snake, faster than most the others walked. And plus she wields a bow, which gives her an extra tray of brownie points, in my opinion.

At this point though, I'm almost convinced this particular telling is the very one which inspired most of Disney's The Sword in the Stone. Though, I'm not sure how much weight this version holds to the whole of Arthurian legend and immortality of this story. I mean it was written in the 20^th Century.  So, although it is a great read for those unacquainted with Arthur, it is actually just the tip of the iceberg when it a comes to generations of folklore dating back to the Middle Ages and the global audience backing the legend of King Arthur.

And by global I mean BBC's Merlin in 180 countries.

T.H. White.  The Once and Future King.  (New York:  Ace Books, 1987), 35, 107.

On to Arthurian Legend

#3  The Sword and the Stone by T.H. White

"King Arthur" by Charles Ernest Butl

 This is the beginning to the legendary tale of King Arthur and his knights.  It’s a later adaptation written by English author T.H. White in the 1930s and later published as the novel The Once and Future King.  This telling is dubbed a ‘classic of the fantasy genre’ and is well renowned in the literary world as one of, if not the most beloved of the tales of King Arthur.

Taking all of this into consideration, I picked it up and started to read.  But unfortunately, my own knowledge of Arthurian legend being the BBC show Merlin and some Disney movie (which I vaguely remember watching as a child) made this story somewhat difficult to follow. *Disney's The Sword and the Stone

The narrative is definitely of a past generation when you could openly make connections between the fantasy world in the book and the present real world.  Comparing sounds or objects to things that wouldn’t exist like the sun to a copper penny, for instance.  (though an automobile would be worse)

It made me realize how distracting this imagery on two 'planes' can sometimes be, and how the novel in general has come a long way in the past century.  

But, don’t get me wrong.  The story itself paints a beautiful picture.  The language is very intricately detailed and thoughtful.  Almost a little too thoughtful compared to the junk that makes it on the shelves nowadays.

You really have to stop and imagine as you go, and this takes a little extra time and mental energy.  After I began to rush to read through it, (it’s a pretty big book, 640 pg) it started to become a chore.  Instead, I decided to read each of the four parts in a week to really take the time to understand the story better.  It is a relatively rich legend, and requires this extra attention.

And so far, I found it most interesting that while reading, old memories of  the film The Sword in the Stone have resurfaced.  Mainly, I just recall the scene of them singing and swimming around as fish.  Here it is.

Original Picture

#2 Shibumi by Trevanian

 Shibumi lives up to its name in the way it unveils an array of unusual topics.  Among these topics are ideas which most people stray from mentioning.

 

Through a horrendous series of circumstances involving the duty that comes with a warrior's honor and the evils of World War II, Nicholai Hel winds up tortured and imprisoned.

A linguistic genius, he acquires a way to study and train in solitude. His goal of Shibumi and mystic sense of proximity allows him to find purpose in the seemingly meaningless activity of decoding anything he can get his hands on.

Nicholai seeks to perfect skills which at first, appear almost silly repetitions. Though, understanding Basque (language), becomes one of his greatest assets in life. Through it he acquires his loyal friend, Beñat Le Cagot.

For a moment, I griped at Nicholai’s arrogance. Though he understands he is intelligent and others may never see things his way, he fails to recognize this fatal concept, just so.  He hides from the outside like a disease, and this is where we get our antihero.

Nicholai has been trained to kill with ordinary household objects like pencils or drinking straws.  This man is a mystic, a genius, the most artful lover, and he knows it. The modesty factor is only slightly lacking.  But, his opinionated thinking provokes a strong reaction from the world. And as it is, Nicholai Hel exists either as a highly admired or hated man.

Kishikawa-san says to Nicholai, “....You will have to live in this future, my son. It will do you no good to dismiss the American with disgust. You must seek to understand him, if only to avoid being harmed by him.”

This wisdom really applies to all. If you know your perception of the world is different than a large percentage of the population, then you still must strive to understand them. It is for your own benefit that you use your intellect to understand other people.

The author Trevanian has a good bit to say about the world, and his views should not be taken as nonsense. There is certain truth about the illusions of government and the corruption that comes with capitalism. And there are several philosophic lessons amongst the superficial concepts that paint the ultimate escape through a tunnel of racing waters beneath a bottomless cave.

Most of all, I appreciate the mentioning that most main characters have become a genre of mediocrity. Between your average mistake-stricken hero and your mystical super-genius assassin, we may just have, the protagonist of absolute greatness.

And for the record, I really enjoyed Le Cagot's character.

Trevanian.  Shibumi (New York:  Broadway Paperbacks, 2005), 104.