Reviews for Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels

The average rating for Jonathan Swift: Gulliver's Travels based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2013-01-18 00:00:00 Donna M Roach Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence is the story of the attachment of a mother with her son, and her pervasive influence on his life. Mrs. Morel is a married woman with four children, and a miner husband who often quarrels with his wife and spends the little money he makes on alcohol. The children grow up in an atmosphere of discord and sometimes abuse, hating their father for mistreating their mother and at the same time, developing a deep reverence for their mother, the only real parent they have. Mrs. Morel loves all her children dearly and hopes to live some of her dreams through her children William, Annie, Paul and the youngest Arthur. Particularly attached to the eldest child William, Mrs. Morel influences his life and his choices, including the women in his life. Life seems to be getting better for the Morels with William supporting the family financially when tragedy strikes and William passes away. The entire family is shattered, Mrs. Morel most of all. At this point, Paul takes the place of William in Mrs. Morel�s life and she begins to live vicariously through him. She takes him to a factory and gets him a job as a clerk. Paul is completely dependent on his mother, and loves her to the point of reverence. At sixteen, Paul meets Miriam, a shy, diffident girl who falls in love with him completely and hopelessly. Although Paul also begins to love Miriam at some level, he despises her at the same time. Firstly, Mrs. Morel does not approve of her and secondly, Paul is unable to give himself completely to her, because of which he feels guilty and despises her for making him feel so. Throughout the story, Paul fails to understand why he cannot give himself completely to any woman. He sees love as bondage and he is unable to be bonded to anyone. Miriam hates Paul when he is cruel to her, but she is unable to leave him. Meanwhile, Paul breaks off with Miriam because he cannot marry her and meets Clara, an older married woman who is separated from her husband. Paul�s passion for Clara is far greater than what he felt for Miriam, but he is again unable to love her completely. It is as if until his mother is in his life, he cannot completely give himself to any other woman because he feels he belongs to his mother first. Clara is also hurt by Paul�s cruelty, and refuses to divorce her husband, and finally reunites with him as Paul walks out of her life too. In the end, Mrs. Morel is very sick and suffering from an incurable tumor. She is about to die but is suffering. Paul and his sister Annie euthanize their mother by an overdose of morphine because they are not able to see her suffer anymore. Paul is now all alone with his mother dead and both the women in his life gone. He is broken at losing his mother but he also feels a sense of freedom from the bondage of love. He is finally free. If the theme of the novel could be summed up in one sentence, it would be �Love as bondage�. Unknowingly and unintentionally, Paul Morel views all his relationships with the women in his life as bondage. He feels that as long as his mother is alive, he cannot give himself completely to any other woman. Although he loves both Miriam and Clara at one point of time, he is often cruel to them. At the same time, his love is passionate, but often turns into guilt and scorn. He despises Miriam because his mother doesn�t approve of her. He is sometimes snappish with his mother when she expresses his displeasure over him spending time with Miriam. He hates Miriam because she makes him feel guilty for treating her badly. It is also possible that the way Paul feels about the women in his life, is a reflection of his subdued feelings towards his mother, whom he never openly challenges even if there is a disagreement. He loves his mother dearly, but on some level, he unknowingly despises her for exerting such a powerful influence on his life, making it impossible for him to develop a healthy and lasting relationship with any woman. But since he cannot express these feelings to his mother, he directs them at Miriam and Clara who often have to face his coolness and cruelty. It also makes one question Paul�s motive behind putting his mother to sleep. Consciously, he was being kind to her by putting an end to her suffering. But it is possible that without knowing, Paul wanted to rid himself of his mother�s paralyzing influence on his life, which led him to put her to sleep. At last, Paul is alone, happy and sad at the same time. The novel captures the essence of relationships of the primary characters very well. The reader is able to experience the conflicts and emotions of the characters. Although the novel is written very well, but I feel it is on the longish side with 484 pages (by Collins Classics). The story and the mood are mostly dark, but I was compelled to finish the book. Patience is a must to read this book, but finally it culminates well.

Review # 2 was written on 2009-02-05 00:00:00 Derek Devine Paul Paul Paul are you a psychotic narcissist or a raging-oedipal-cum-misogynistic-moron... I can't quite tell. And the Lamia-like/Vampiric women who surround you, manipulate you, gorge you inside out, twist and are twisted by you, are they real? Needless to say Lawrence has created a piece of literature which is haunting in its subtle and sinister allusions of the dark, morbid recesses and workings of the human mind. Paul is the true embodiment of the modern hero. There are certain passages towards the end which are startling in their bitter truth: "The days passed, the weeks. But everything seemed to have fused, gone into a conglomerated mass. He could not tell one day from another, one week from another, hardly one place from another. Nothing was distinct or distinguishable. Often he lost himself for an hour at a time, could not remember what he had done." He must be the first hero I have come to have empathy for but not sympathy. This fundamental divide in the states of our physical and spiritual existence is what lies at the heart of Sons and Lovers. No character seeks a union therein and those that do strive ultimately fail. Is it possible then that Paul as he walks towards the light at the end can ever fully attain it? He's damaged and broken without quite being able to realize why.