Gulliver’s Travels

Talking about Budha, Swami Vivekanda mentions the irony of Budha, who stood against idol worship all his life, only to be he himself made an idol and worshipped after his death.’ Gulliver’s travels ‘presents a similar irony. A misanthropic work seeking to bring out the failings of human civilization ended up delighting children for centuries. Not that Jonathan Swift did a bad job of it. He rather did a too good job of it. He has given much attention to details and written so lovingly that people can’t help falling in love with the book, satire though it is.

Most books have a general purpose: to entertain, to put across a point, to educate etc. At the outset, it may seem fantasy would always serve only to entertain. Nothing can be farther from the truth. Fantasy provides much more scope that any other literary genre to explain complex or abstract concepts and to prove a point. For instance an ‘Animal Farm’ can teach you what is communism better than any political science text book. Similarly fantasy is a very good tool to examine the current social conditions form a detached stand point. Aesop’s parables and Panchatantra are classic examples of social messages conveyed through intelligent animal societies. ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ can be counted in their ranks as it tries to illustrate the vanity, frailty and baseness of human spirit in general through fantasy.

Through the lands of Lilliput and Brobdingnag, Swift tries to bring out how all the self effacing actions of the so called high and mighty would seem trivial and mean to someone viewing from a point of higher vantage.  Gulliver find the actions of the little Lilliput so mean and vicious only to later find the huge Brobdingnag King viewing human society in similar light. If one were to set aside the allegorical aspect and the philosophical discussions, reading about Gulliver’s adventures would be like seeing the movie ‘Honey I shrunk those kids’. From an imagination perspective however, the lands of Laputa, Balnibari, Luggnag and Glubbdubdrib take the cake, each of which can be  subject of an entire book in their own right. Each of these lands has a fascinating society with its own fascinating customs and traditions. In one of the lands, you need to pay respect to the king by licking the dust on the floor. Another king does not interest himself in anything that is not mathematics or music. Then there is this land of scientists and their comical inventions. Consider for instance this particular invention in Jonathan Swift’s own words

“A Device of plowing the Ground with Hogs, to save the Charges of Plows, Cattle, and Labour. The Method in this: In an Acre of Ground you bury at six Inches Distance, and eight deep, a Quantity of Acorns, Dates, Chestnuts, and other  Maste or Vegetables whereof these Animals are fondest; then you drive six Hundred or more of them into the Field, where in a few Days they will root up the whole ground in search of their Food, and make it fit for sowing, at the same time manuring it with their Dung.“

In the final episode in the land of Houyhnhnms, we encounter Jonathan Swift’s ideal world, a world as fascinating as Thomas Moore’s Eutopia or Plato’s republic. However instead of detailing it more rigorously, he prefers to use print space to vent his ire on the human race by bringing in the humanoid race called Yahoos that represent all the worst characteristics of humans.  This is where one can markedly see Swift’s misanthropic tendencies.

The aspect that is glaring by its absence throughout the book is characterization. Gulliver is the only prominent character running through the book. And Swift really makes no attempt to develop Gulliver’s character either. The various lands provide different experiences many of which show humanity in bad light.They could have been used effectively to gradually develop Gulliver’s misanthropic tendencies. However one sees no evidence of any such attempt by the author. Instead it comes on suddenly towards the end of the book, making it seem rather contrived just to deny the reader a happy ending.

Overall this book is what the reader wants to make of it. If one wants, one can ignore the satire and just enjoy the fantastic lands. One the other hand one can chose to marvel at the allegories and derive intellectual satisfaction. For yet another it may lead to deep soul searching regarding the direction mankind is heading towards.

Alice in Wonderland

“I just did what I do best. I took your little plan and I turned it on itself. Look what I did to this city with a few drums of gas and a couple of bullets. Hmmm? You know… You know what I’ve noticed? Nobody panics when things go “according to plan.” Even if the plan is horrifying! If, tomorrow, I tell the press that, like, a gang banger will get shot, or a truckload of soldiers will be blown up, nobody panics, because it’s all “part of the plan.” But when I say that one little old mayor will die, well then everyone loses their minds! “

The above words from Joker in the movie ‘Dark Knight’ best summarize the effect Alice in Wonderland had on me when I read it the first time at the age of 12.

I was stressed out from studying for my annual exams and was looking for a light children’s fantasy to de-stress. Having seen bits and pieces of Alice in Wonderland on TV and from the cover illustrations, it seemed exactly what I was looking for. But it turned out to be an experience akin to that of the beggar shivering in cold who was delighted to see a blanket floating in the water. The beggar jumped into the water gleefully. But before he can grab the blanket, the blanket grabs him for it turns out to be not a blanket but a big bad bear. The book threw me into depression for 3 whole days. None of the elements in the story by themselves are scary. But all put together creates a surreal horror of living through a nightmare. Everything is so unpredictable and illogical that one gets a feeling of not only living among lunatics in a mental asylum but of oneself being one too.

The story has no plot, no plan, no direction. Things just keep happening. The characters are all shallow, self centered and dehumanized. Most of the fantasy elements have an element of unpleasantness packed into them- the pool of tears for instance. Alice is nothing like the typical sweet and innocent female protagonist of most children’s novels. She is more like a feminine and younger version of Holden Caulfield in J D Salinger’s Catcher in the rye – of a dry and sarcastic temperament. One can find humor in the ridiculousness of the whole thing but the humor is definitely of the darker kind. Not something one would typically look for in a children’s’ fantasy.

Going by what has been said so far, one might wonder why at all have the books been popular and that too over time. Of course the easiest explanation would be that this kind of darker fiction has its own following. But the aspect that really sets it apart and makes it appealing to all kinds of readers is the clever, quirky and though provoking conversations and quotes. The conversation between Alice and the Cheshire cat is a classic example.

Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?”

That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,’ said the Cat.

‘I don’t much care where –’ said Alice.’

Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,’ said the Cat.

‘–so long as I get somewhere,’ Alice added as an explanation.

There are many such gems sprinkled generously all over the book.

The Alice series – consisting of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, ‘Through the Looking Glass’ and ‘What Alice found there’ is not definitely not a ‘feel good’ fiction and not at all recommended for children and the faint hearted. However the elements of satire and allegories can provide a simulating intellectual experience for an adult reader if the expectations are set correctly right at the beginning.

The wonderful land of Oz

The image of a young girl, a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion gamboling merrily along the yellow brick road has been immortalized by the 1939 MGM musical ‘The Wizard of Oz’. No other fantasy film captured the audience imagination like that until the ‘Lord of the Rings’ saga. The Oz books are no less enthralling. There are 14 of them written by Frank Baum. Due to its popularity the series is being continued even after his death. But I wouldn’t really consider them part of the series.

One fascinating aspect of the OZ series is its independence from any kind of Tolkienian influence. Understandably so given the fact that Tolkien must have still been at his nursery when the first Oz book was published. Most of the post Tolkien fantasy finds it difficult to go beyond elves, dwarves and goblins. The most endearing aspect of the Oz  series is the gradual unraveling of the myriad of wonders of the Land of Oz. We travel to curious regions in the hinterlands of Oz and meet their equally curious inhabitants. We are introduced to races such as ‘The Flatheads’, ‘The Cutenclips’, ‘The Living Utensils of Utensia’, ‘The Fuddles’, ‘The China People’ and many others. The books also has an element of myth, with each new book revealing more about the history of the land of Oz.

Most of the Oz books are structured on a quest framework, wherein a fellowship is formed and travels to distant lands to accomplish a quest. Strange lands and their denizens are introduced as part of adventures encountered by the fellowship en route to the quest. The quest presents some intriguing challenges. The fellowship manages to overcome the challenges through a combination of courage, team work and innovation. The character of protagonists and their relationship usually evolves as a result of these experiences and finally there is a happy ending. This particular aspect does not come out really strongly in the Oz series. Each character has his or her own idiosyncrasies which they retain throughout and all the members of the fellowship are just good friends. However there is definitely a happy ending as a result of which all characters live happily till the nest book.

The series also has the popular good versus evil theme. But it is all laid out in black and white. A deeper exploration of values and ethical conflicts is definitely missing. Usually fantasy provides a fertile ground for exploration of value systems in an unbiased manner independent of the noise arising out of inbuilt prejudices  due to the social engineering. But Frank Baum stays clear of this area. He is clear as to who his audience is and what he wants to achieve. Children are his audience and he wants to entertain. That he does well.

Overall I would say nothing like a dose of Oz to come out of one’s blues. Just go on a happy go lucky quest in the wonderful land of Oz and have fun.