Abstract

This thesis focuses on the comparative study between Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe. Both born in 18th century, when Great Britain underwent a transition from the old to the new and thus a variety of big changes, Gulliver’s Travels and Robinson Crusoe share numerous similarities and differences. In the adoption of the writing techniques, Swift and Defoe focus on realism and moral aesthetics. The form of travel literature is employed to preach their moral teachings and the liner measurement of a thing will often be given by two authors through different terms to tell the reader how small or large a thing is. In the respect of the themes, two authors both present their ideal societies in their masterpieces. Defoe declares his faith in all imaginable matters unceasingly, whereas Swift only attacks the oppression and hypocrisy of the Church of England in a few sentences. In addition, Defoe insists on preaching European Reason and gives backing to the pursuit of wealth and colonization in Robinson Crusoe, yet Gulliver’s Travels is Swift’s scathing criticism on money worship, Reason and colonialism espoused by Europeans.

KEYWORDS:Gulliver’s Travels; Robinson Crusoe; comparison; writing techniques; themes

摘  要

本文对《格列佛游记》与《鲁滨逊漂流记》二书进行了对比研究。18世纪的英国新旧更替、风云巨变，诞生在这样的时代背景下，这两部小说有着许多相似点和不同点。在写作手法上，斯威夫特和笛福都注重小说的真实性和道德寓意，都采用了游记文学的形式来对读者寓教于乐，又总会通过不同的测量标准告诉读者书中事物的大小。关于小说主题，除了两位作者都在书中展示了他们理想的社会之外，两书有许多迥然不同的观点。无时无地，笛福总在不停地宣扬自己的信仰，而斯威夫特只是在字里行间里嘲讽英国国教的压迫和虚伪。在《鲁滨逊漂流记中》，笛福坚定地鼓吹理性，大力支持人们追求财富，对外进行殖民扩张。而《格列佛游记》则是斯威夫特对欧洲人信奉不已的金钱至上，理性万能，殖民扩张的尖锐批评和讽刺。

关键词:格利佛游记；鲁滨逊漂流记；对比研究；写作手法；小说主题

1. Introduction
1.1 About Jonathan Swift and Gulliver’s Travels
Jonathan Swift（1667—1745）, an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for Whigs, then for Tories), poet and cleric who later became the Dean of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, is regarded by many people as the literary king of his day. He wrote a lot of powerful satirical essays and books, lashing out at the injustice and corruption of the English society. His major works include his caustic satire, The Battle of the Books, aiming a satire at the sham scholarship of his day; A Tale of a Tub, an attack on the church; pamphlets like The Irish Drapier’s Letters, which helped foil the Irish government’s smug plan of copper coinage; A Modest Proposal, in which Swift bitterly criticized Britain’s devastating exploitation of the Irish poor.