Abstract
This presentation analyzes the texts of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust, and Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan to examine a common, satirized human flaw. Despite the varied social realms in which the works exist, prevalent in all three is the theme of human detachment, exemplified by characters whose thoughts and actions reveal an emotional disconnect from their respective realities. The reactions of various characters to crucial plot events exhibit this disconnect, with displays of indifference toward poverty, war, and in the extreme, death. This essay illustrates how, through satirical content, the authors highlight behavioral factors that contribute to societal disconnect, such as apathy, ignorance, and morality bred from self-interest. The characters in each novel who perpetrate this phenomenon of disinterest all inhabit the upper echelons of their respective societies; their elevated socioeconomic status is analogous to their perception of themselves in society. Yet, the satirical interpretations of this “above-it-all” attitude illuminate the detrimental consequences of such disregard.
Faculty Sponsors
Dr. Lynn Wolf
Project Type
Event
Location
Alvin Sherman Library
Start Date
4-12-2013 1:00 PM
End Date
4-12-2013 5:30 PM
Up in the Clouds: An Analysis of Detachment
Alvin Sherman Library
This presentation analyzes the texts of Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels, Evelyn Waugh’s A Handful of Dust, and Gary Shteyngart’s Absurdistan to examine a common, satirized human flaw. Despite the varied social realms in which the works exist, prevalent in all three is the theme of human detachment, exemplified by characters whose thoughts and actions reveal an emotional disconnect from their respective realities. The reactions of various characters to crucial plot events exhibit this disconnect, with displays of indifference toward poverty, war, and in the extreme, death. This essay illustrates how, through satirical content, the authors highlight behavioral factors that contribute to societal disconnect, such as apathy, ignorance, and morality bred from self-interest. The characters in each novel who perpetrate this phenomenon of disinterest all inhabit the upper echelons of their respective societies; their elevated socioeconomic status is analogous to their perception of themselves in society. Yet, the satirical interpretations of this “above-it-all” attitude illuminate the detrimental consequences of such disregard.
