Writing Style

Jonathan Swift brings quite an absurd writing style for "Gulliver's Travels". A lot of Swift's humor comes from his surprising twists and turns as a writer. Gulliver spends a lot of his time dwelling on minor disgressions, such as how he arranges to pee when he is kept inside a giant's home during his first night in Brobdingnag (shmoop). Throughout the entire book, there were numerous bathroom jokes mentioned. It keeps the readers interested in what is about to happen next. Here are two examples of his nice bathroom joke and an interesting line:

• I hope the gentle reader will excuse me for dwelling on these and the like particulars, which, however insignificant they may appear to groveling vulgar minds, yet will certainly help a philosopher to enlarge his thoughts and imagination, and apply them to the benefit of public as well as private life, which was my sole design in presenting this and other accounts of my travels to the world; wherein I have been chiefly studious of truth, without affecting any ornaments of learning or of style. (2.1.16)

• But my good master Bates dying in two years after, and I having few friends, my business began to fail; for my conscience would not suffer me to imitate the bad practice of too many among my brethren. (1. 1. 4)