Friday, May 30, 2014
Immortality
The Struldbrugs of Laputa have the very unique opportunity/chance of being immortal. "that sometimes, though very rarely, a child happened to be born in a family, with a red circular spot in the forehead, directly over the left eyebrow, which was an infallible mark that it should never die" (153). As Gulliver discovered it is more of a curse than a blessing. The Struldbrugs were prone to depression, I mean who wouldn't be if you were watching loved ones die around you but you could not die too. Swift uses satirizes the English culture/views on immortality by implicitly saying that it is better to seize each day than to live for ever depressed. On each of his travels, Gulliver has learn something from the inhabitants of country which he visits, which he then brings back to compare to similar aspects in England.
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It is likely that the aspects of life that Gulliver brings back from his travels are what are missing from his own country's views.
ReplyDeleteGulliver has gained so much knowledge on this great journey. The fact that a child could be born immortal is quite unique. Though, being immortal is not that bad as you will be able to see the the world change with your own eyes, but like what Gulliver discovered, it is more of a curse than a blessing. While you are the only one not aging, the rest of your close friends and family are all aging and slowing dying. Though the child can live on and make new friends, the child will not have a family that he can go to anymore after they die. That's just my opinion on immortality.
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