From An Economic Being To A Political Being

Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels, two typical adventure novels in the 18^th century, have occupied very important positions in the English literary history. Much attention has been given to the analyses of Robinson Crusoe in terms of theme, religion and postcolonialism. Comments on Gulliver's Travels focus on the work's satirical art, mostly ignoring the widespread alienation of the characters. This thesis applies Lacan's theory of the mirror image to the analysis of Gulliver's alienation from an "economic being" into a "political being," in comparison with Robinson as a thorough "economic being," and points out Gulliver's transcendence over Robinson.The thesis consists of the introduction, the body and the conclusion. The introduction concerns Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. It includes a general survey of the criticisms on these novels, as well as the objectives of the research and the theoretic perspective employed in the thesis.Chapter One first analyzes the influence of the bourgeois revolution and the Enlightenment on English literature. Then it points out that Robinson is in essence a rational economic individualist, and discusses the alienation of Gulliver as an "economic being."Chapter Two is devoted to the discussion of Gulliver's alienation into a "political being." The analysis is arranged mostly in accordance with Lacan's theory of the mirror image. To be specific, it deals with such aspects as passive alienation, unacceptable alienation and alienating identification. Then it highlights the political intention of Gulliver as a latent "political being."Chapter Three goes further to explore the completion of Gulliver's alienation into a "political being." It makes a sharp comparison between Robinson and Gulliver on the basis of their colonial perspectives, their attitudes towards the utility of science and reason, and their narrative styles.The Conclusion restates the main idea of the thesis. Furthermore, it points out that this analysis of the process of Gulliver's alienation can provide us a more subtle understanding of Swift's enormous power in observing people's spiritual situation in the capitalist society, and show his worries about the plights of human beings. Moreover, the study of Gulliver's alienation can serve as a window through which we can see and then study the alienation of human beings in modern novels.