Jonathan Swift’s Ambivalent Attitudes Toward Eurocentrism In Gulliver’s Travels

Most of Jonathan Swift’s works were composed to criticise the social evils in the eighteenth century Britain. His masterpiece, Gulliver’s Travels, has been studied since it was published mainly, in China and abroad, from the perspective of Swift’s satire, social ideals and his inclinations of misanthropy. However, the attitude of Jonathan Swift to Eurocentrism has not been fully discussed. Therefore, the theme of Eurocentrism is studied on the basis of post-colonial theories and textual analyses in the thesis.Through the criticism and satire on manifestations of Eurocentrism in economy, politics and knowledge, the criticism of Eurocentrism in Gulliver’s Travels is revealed in the thesis. Furthermore, through the analysis of colonial discourse, the model of "Centre (Self)/Periphery (Other)" and the concept of wealth, Swift’s approval of Eurocentrism in Gulliver s Travels is also discussed in the thesis. Finally, a conclusion is drawn from the arguments that Eurocentrism is both criticised and approved in Gulliver’s Travels.