A satire is defined as a story or parody that pokes fun at a problem or situation in order to provoke a thought or solution. Sometimes these satires can be funny and amusing, but at the same time, serious. Satirists tend to make fun of important events and people, and they use the same situation from everyday life, but in a more amusing manner. There are many famous satirists, but one that has been remembered for centuries is Jonathon Swift. Jonathon Swift was a master satirist of the Eighteenth century. He was considered one of English literature's greatest. Swift wrote many satires, including A Modest Proposal and the famous Gulliver's Travels. Jonathon Swift poked fun at many things from the starvation in Ireland to the royalty in Britain. Gulliver's Travels is considered Swift's satiric masterpiece because it contains many examples of brilliant, serious, and amusing satire. .
Gulliver's Travels is a satire that not only tells an imaginative story, but also explains the background of the English history. Jonathon Swift pokes fun at many things in this book, especially the British royalty. While Gulliver is in Lilliput, he notices many things that they did that were similar to what Britain did. To get a name in the Emperor's Castle, or even to be noticed by the emperor, the Lilliputians have to tight rope walk. They had to impress the Emperor with their skills to get a place in government. If anyone falls off of the rope, they do not receive a place in the castle. "They (the Lilliputians) are trained in this art from their youth, and are not always of noble birth, or liberal education, when a great office if vacant either by death of disgrace (which often happens) five or six of those candidates petition the Emperor to entertain his majesty and the court with a dance on the rope, and whoever jumps the highest without falling succeeds in the office" (54-55). In this scene, Swift is describing what they have to do to get in office.
