| Gulliver's Travels bridges a gap between narrative styles that is reminiscent of the shift from print text to online texts that we see today. Jonathan Swift relied on readers' acceptance of his text as just another travel narrative and used their expectation to push the boundary of the Travels into the realm of the fantasy story. He also relied on the unknown. This thesis investigates the social and literary contexts of Swift's publishing to illuminate how the text crosses the borders between realist and fantasy narrative. While Swift wrote to cause perpetual debate about his text, that debate has stagnated due a persistent focus on Swift's personality rather than the narrative of the Travels itself. Using the analytical tools provided by Hilary Dannenberg's Coincidence and Counterfactuality, the thesis brings the focus back to Swift's narrative tactics and strategic goal. |
