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Some might call this a bold claim, but I think Jonathan Swift might very well be the greatest satirist of all time. While Stephen Colbert and John Stewart might come close with their brilliant political commentaries, they both lack the subtlety and pseudo seriousness of Swift’s social satires. Plus, Swift’s writing embodies a certain eloquence that the crass left-wingers do their best to avoid. With his novel Gulliver’s Travels, Swift is able to critique the English government and European colonialism in what could just as easily be a children’s story as a social commentary. The same cannot be said for Colbert or Stewart, whose rants are thinly veiled critiques of 21^st century politics and society best saved for a 14A audience (for whatever that’s worth).

This makes me wonder; is the art of satire lost to us in the modern day? In an era where people are constantly looking for instant gratification, I’m not sure that the average person is willing to put in the thought necessary to truly appreciate a well-disguised social or political commentary. Hollywood movies are dominated by massive explosions and scantily clad women, while films that do try to critique American politics and culture do so quite bluntly. In terms of books, well… does anyone even read books anymore? I got my younger sister a box set of The Hunger Games for her birthday in August; when I last visited home the plastic wrap still hadn’t been removed, despite the fact that she loved the movies. If anyone is going to be able to revive the art of satire, I strongly believe that it’s going to have to come from audio/video type media. To those who are brave enough to try I say good luck, not with creating clever satire but with getting funding for your project!

Colonialism is a central theme in several of the pieces I have read this term for my English literature class; this is not surprising considering many of them were written during an era where this was actively happening. While colonising foreign lands is a thing of the past, the impacts of the colonial legacy are still being felt today, perhaps nowhere more so than in Africa. This being said, political and military interventions in former colonies are still common practice, although whether or not they are any more welcome than the original colonists is a different story. According to French president Francois Hollande, however, military intervention is necessary to deescalate the current situation in the Central African Republic (CAR), where Christian groups are rebelling against the successful coup of Muslim (former) rebels.

Reading this news story, I was instantly reminded of the war between Lilliput and the Blefuscu in Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. The situation in the CAR is proof that the petty, religion based wars Swift showed so much disdain for are still a major source of conflict in the world today. Just like the war between the states of miniature people, this conflict is essentially being caused by two different interpretations of the same basic story. The only distinguishing factor between the two groups fighting in the CAR is their religion, just like the Lilliputians and the Blefuscans. At the end of the day, the biggest difference between Christianity and Islam is who the prophet of God was, while for the Lilliputians and Blefuscans the issue was “which end of an egg is the convenient one.” Instead of military intervention, maybe the French should provide the CAR with a couple million copies of The Life of Pi.

As a massive Tolkien nerd with the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug only a few weeks away, I’ve caught myself watching a few trailers while trying to study for my English final. It wasn’t until I re-read Beowulf that I realized how much the two tales have in common.. Any chance Tolkien read the epic and used it as a source of inspiration for his writing? First of all, the plot of both these stories is driven by the desire for vengeance, though not for wrongs directly impacting either of the heroes. Beowulf is seeking vengeance for the wrongs done to Hrothgar’s people by Grendel, while the unlikely hero Bilbo is seeking vengeance for the wrongs done to Thorin’s people by Smaug.

This brings in the question of motivation for each of the heroes; why do they feel the need to help the others achieve vengeance over their enemies? I think the simple answer is that their actions represent a desire for adventure and honour. While both Bilbo and Beowulf receive treasure as a reward for their roles, this is likely a secondary motivator, as both were quite well-off before their quests. Honour, however, can only be gained through valorous acts, which both heroes eventually achieve. While both pieces are purely fictional, the heroes are immortalized for every as symbols of both courage and honour.

Milton wrote and published his biblical epic Paradise Lost while he was completely blind, dictating the poem to others who would copy the words down for him. Similarly, Beethoven composed his celebrated 9^th symphony while completely deaf. As a result, neither of these seminal artists was able to appreciate their (arguably) greatest pieces of work for themselves, at least in the way they were meant to be enjoyed. It is remarkable to me that these two artists were able to complete their final works without use of the primary sense involved in creating them. Sure, Milton could have the poem read out to him and make changes based on what he heard, and Beethoven could allegedly feel the vibrations of the notes in the floor and “hear” his symphony like this. Still, it would seem to me that these disabilities would make for an incredibly daunting and challenging task.

I think that both of these men’s ability to overcome such adversity and still achieve greatness in their respective fields is a testament to their mastery of these disciplines. Some say that after 10,000 hours of doing anything one becomes a master of it, and these two certainly make a case for that argument. Their completion of these works in the face of such adversity is also a testament to the merit of determination. At the end of my university career, this makes me wonder if I could type without my sense of sight… Hopefully I’ll never have to find out!

William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest is probably the most influential piece of writing in the entire “trapped in the wilderness” genre. Aside from Homer’s Odyssey, The Tempest is also one of the first pieces to detail such a scenario, inspiring works such as Defoe’s William Crusoe, Gelding’s Lord of the Flies and hundreds more. These works have romanticized the concept of being lost and alone in the wilderness to the point where some people have literally tried to “lose themselves” in the woods. Take Christopher McCandless, for example, the young man who attempted to survive on his own in the harsh Alaskan winter, using an abandoned bus in the woods for shelter. He made a go of it for a while but eventually got some sort of food poisoning and eventually died, although his story was immortalized by John Krakauer’s book Into the Wild and a feature length film of the same name.

While most people have the good sense not to try and create such a life for themselves they are still fascinated by this concept, as is apparent by the countless fictional stories about such individuals. As an avid outdoors-person, I’ve often thought about what it would be like to live off the land in an isolated shelter in the woods, but I’m pretty sure that I would go insane if I never got to see other people. Humans are inherently social creatures and I think it is safe to say that long-term isolation would have devastating effects on any person’s mental health; possibly even driving them talk to and make friends with inanimate objects like volleyballs. While this kind of a lifestyle might not be realistically possible, reading and fantasizing about it certainly provides a break from the hustle and bustle of day to day life.