The two main characters in ‘Gulliver’s Travels’ and
‘Robinson Crusoe’ both experience isolation, a condition that we are all
experiencing right now.
In particular Robinson Crusoe, the protagonist, at 19
years old decides to leave his home and travel around the world, experiencing a
condition that was completely different from the one he was used to. His first
voyage leads him to Guinea and then back to England; in his second voyage he is
captured by Moorish pirates but manages to escape, then he is rescued by a
Portuguese ship and brought to Brazil. Afterwards he becomes the owner of a
plantation and decides to leave for Africa to get more slaves for labour but
during this journey he is shipwrecked on a desert island where he remains for
28 years. Here he gradually rebuilds a society. After 12 years, in which he has
been alone, he finds a human print, bones and flesh on the shore. Then he sees
cannibals that are eating some flesh, so he decides to attack them making them
leave one of their captives, Friday. Then together they attack another cannibal
freeing two other prisoners one of whom is Friday’s father. Finally, Robinson
returns to England and discovers that his plantation in Brazil has prospered
and made him rich.
So as I said, Robinson Crusoe experiences isolation
and solitude, two of the main themes of Defoe’s masterpiece. Being alone is
probably what Robinson wants. He is so restless and eager to leave his
comfortable house and start a new journey, in order to be free and not tied to
a specific class or condition. During his isolation he manages to survive and
becomes self-sufficient, being able to provide for himself without any kind of
material or moral help. He dissociates completely from society and turns into a
better person.
In a similar way Gulliver experiences a different kind
of dimension: he finds himself in several situations and locations related to
the imaginary and to fantasy. Therefore he is isolated from society, as
Robinson was, but still encounters many strange and new characters, while
Robinson on the island only met Friday and two other people.
In particular, during the first voyage of four, that
began on 4th May, he finds himself upon the shore of Lilliput after his ship
was wrecked by a storm. Here he meets the Lilliputians and learns their
language, customs and institutions managing to return to England after gaining
the favour of the king. Afterwards, on 20th June 1702, Gulliver sets off for
India, his second voyage, but finds
himself abandoned on the island of Brobdingnag, whose inhabitants are giants. Next
he is sold to the queen and has some discussion about the political situation
in Europe with the king. Afterwards he leaves the island by mistake because,
being carried around in a cage, this was picked by an eagle which drops it in
the middle of the ocean. He is then rescued by a ship and returns to England.
While fleeing from some pirates during his third voyage, Gulliver lands on the
island of Laputa, which a flying island thanks to magnetism whose capital is
Lagado. Lagado is populated by astronomers, philosophers and scientists that
carry out absurd experiments. The inhabitants of Laputa have heads bent to one
side, and eye turned inward, live in badly built houses and have a knowledge
that is only theoretical and abstract. Then the island drops Gulliver on Japan
from which he manages to return to England. Gulliver’s last voyage leads him to
a land ruled by intelligent horses who call themselves the Houynhnms, which is
also the name of the island. These horses are served by a bestial subhuman race
called the Yahoos. The Houyhnhnms are a rational and perfect race, while the
Yahoos are rude and monstrous. Gulliver is banished by the horses as he is very
much like Yahoos and horses cannot tolerate the presence of a Yahoo among them,
so he returns to England.
I think that Gulliver finds himself completely lost as
during his four voyages he accepts every identity that is “proposed” to him: turning
from a giant to a little human. He wants to identify himself with another
society whichever it is because he wants to be part of something, no matter
what. In addition Swift, author of ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, presents his character
as always displaced: first in relation to the little men and then to the big
ones and in the end also in the comparison with animals.
During Gulliver’s isolation from society a
transformation takes place in him, especially when he is forced to think. In
fact during this period he develops a critical awareness of the limitations
of the European values, but this is
temporary because after his first voyage he fits into European life. Then in
his second voyage, through the king’s speech European values are questioned as
well as the usefulness of wars involving England at his time. In the end in the
fourth voyage his transformation is
complete because he can no longer take part in the European society.
So we can compare Gulliver’s and Robinson Crusoe's
condition to ours in this exact moment. We are isolated from society and a
transformation may take place in us during this long and exhausting period of
unwanted solitude. We are disconnected from our everyday reality, from our
friends, from our activities, and more in general from the lives that we were
used to have.
But there are certainly numerous similarities and
differences with the two protagonists of the novels being examined. First of
all we are just partially disconnected from other people thanks to technology,
an element that is undoubtedly essential in this moment of history. It allows
us to maintain some kind of relationship with people, even though only virtual.
So we are not totally separated from what is going on in the “outside world”
whereas Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver are completely dissociated from reality,
being transported into other dimensions that are not the ones they are used to.
Similarly, we experience solitude, that is both
physical and metaphorical: we feel like we are not connected to our everyday
reality because from one day to another our lives were completely transformed.
It feels like we were taken to a parallel reality that is the not the one that
we want. But sometimes we can find answers in solitude because we have more
time for ourselves, we dedicate more to what really matters in our life and we
become more conscious on what really matters.
I also personally think that, excluding all
the negative elements of this terrible situation, we can can learn how to
believe in ourselves because depending on the presence of a crowd is weakness,
while being able to count only on yourself is a strength. It is important to embrace
our individuality and solitude, always looking for the positive elements in our
lives, even during a catastrophe such as this.
Anna Maria Monti - IV scientifico B
