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Article Draft #2

Comic Misanthropy

Misanthropy is a theme that scholars have identified in Gulliver's Travels. Arthur Case, R.S. Crane, and Edward Stone discuss Gulliver's development of misanthropy and come to the consensus that this theme ought to be viewed as comical rather than cynical.

In terms of Gulliver's development of misanthropy, these three scholars point to the fourth voyage. According to Case, Gulliver is at first averse to identifying with the Yahoos, but, after he deems the Houyhnhnms superior, he comes to believe that humans (including his fellow Europeans) are Yahoos due to their shortcomings.  Perceiving the Houyhnhnms as perfect, Gulliver thus begins to perceive himself and the rest of humanity as imperfect.  According to Crane, when Gulliver develops his misanthropic mindset, he becomes ashamed of humans and views them more in line with animals. This new perception of Gulliver's, Stone claims, comes about because the Houyhnhnms' judgement pushes Gulliver to identify with the Yahoos. Along similar lines, Crane holds that Gulliver's misanthropy is developed in part when he talks to the Houyhnhnms about mankind because the discussions lead him to reflect on his previously held notion of humanity.  Specifically, Gulliver’s master, who is a Houyhnhnm, provides questions and commentary that contribute to Gulliver’s reflectiveness and subsequent development of misanthropy. However, Case points out that Gulliver's dwindling opinion of humans may be blown out of proportion due to the fact that he is no longer able to see the good qualities that humans are capable of possessing.  Gulliver’s new view of humanity, then, creates his repulsive attitude towards his fellow humans after leaving Houyhnhnmland. But in Stone's view, Gulliver’s actions and attitude upon his return can be interpreted as misanthropy that is exaggerated for comic effect rather than for a cynical effect.  Stone further suggests that Gulliver goes mentally mad and believes that this is what leads Gulliver to exaggerate the shortcomings of humankind. Over time, though, Gulliver is able to get used to humanity again.

Another aspect that Crane attributes to Gulliver’s development of misanthropy is that when in Houyhnhnmland, it is the animal-like beings (the Houyhnhnms) who exhibit reason and the human-like beings (the Yahoos) who seem devoid of reason; Crane argues that it is this switch from Gulliver’s perceived norm that leads the way for him to question his view of humanity.  As a result, Gulliver begins to identify humans as a type of Yahoo.  To this point, Crane brings up the fact that a traditional definition of man – Homo est animal rationale (Humans are rational animals) – was prominent in academia around Swift’s time.  Furthermore, Crane argues that Swift had to study this type of logic (see Porphyrian Tree) in college, so it is highly likely that he intentionally inverted this logic by placing the typically given example of irrational beings – horses – in the place of humans and vice versa.

Stone points out that Gulliver's Travels takes a cue from the genre of the travel book, which was popular during Swift's time period. From reading travel books, Swift’s contemporaries were accustomed to beast-like figures of foreign places; thus, Stone holds that the creation of the Yahoos was not out of the ordinary for the time period. From this playing off of familiar genre expectations, Stone deduces that the parallels that Swift draws between the Yahoos and humans is meant to be humorous rather than cynical.  Even though Gulliver sees Yahoos and humans as if they are one and the same, Stone argues that Swift did not intend for readers to take on Gulliver’s view; Stone states that the Yahoos’ behaviors and characteristics that set them apart from humans further supports the notion that Gulliver's identification with Yahoos is not meant to be taken to heart. Thus, Stone sees Gulliver’s perceived superiority of the Houyhnhnms and subsequent misanthropy as features that Swift used to employ the satirical and humorous elements characteristic of the Beast Fables of travel books that were popular with his contemporaries; as Swift did, these Beast Fables placed animals above humans in terms of morals and reason, but they were not meant to be taken literally.

Article Draft #1

Comic Misanthropy

Misanthropy is a theme that scholars have identified in Gulliver's Travels. Literary critics such as Arthur Case, R.S. Crane, and Edward Stone have discussed Gulliver's development of misanthropy, which each coming to the consensus that this theme ought to be viewed as comical rather than cynical.

In terms of Gulliver's development of misanthropy, these three scholars point to the fourth voyage. According to Case, Gulliver is at first averse to identifying with the Yahoos, but, after he deems the Houyhnhnms as superior, he comes to believe that humans (including his fellow Europeans) are Yahoos due to their shortcomings.  Perceiving the Houyhnhnms as perfect, Gulliver thus begins to perceive himself and the rest of humanity as imperfect.  According to Crane, when Gulliver develops his misanthropy, he becomes ashamed of humans, viewing them more in line with animals. This new perception of Gulliver's, Stone claims, comes about because the Houyhnhnms' judgement pushes Gulliver to identify with the Yahoos. Along similar lines, Crane holds that Gulliver's misanthropy is developed in part when he talks to the Houyhnhnms about mankind because the discussions lead him to reflect on his previously held notion of humanity.  Specifically, Gulliver’s master, who is a Houyhnhnm, provides questions and commentary that contribute to Gulliver’s reflectiveness and subsequent development of misanthropy. However, Case points out that Gulliver's dwindling opinion of humans may be blown out of proportion due to the fact that he is no longer able to see the good qualities that humans are capable of possessing.  Gulliver’s new view of humanity, then, creates his repulsive attitude towards his fellow humans after leaving Houyhnhnmland. But in Stone's view, Gulliver’s actions and attitude upon his return can be interpreted as misanthropy that is exaggerated for comic effect rather than for a cynical effect.  Stone further suggests that Gulliver goes mentally mad and believes that this is what leads Gulliver to exaggerate the shortcomings of humankind. Over time, though, as Case points out, Gulliver is able to get used to humanity again.

Another aspect that Crane attributes to Gulliver’s development of misanthropy is that when in Houyhnhnmland, it is the animal-like beings (the Houyhnhnms) who exhibit reason and the human-like beings (the Yahoos) who seem devoid of reason; Crane argues that it is this switch from Gulliver’s perceived norm that leads the way for him to question his view of humanity.  As a result, Gulliver begins to identify humans as a type of Yahoo.  To this point, Crane brings up the fact that a traditional definition of man – Homo est animal rationale (Humans are rational animals) – was prominent in academia around Swift’s time.  Furthermore, Crane argues that Swift had to study this type of logic (see Porphyrian Tree) in college, so it is highly likely that he intentionally inverted this logic by placing the typically given example of irrational beings – horses – in the place of humans and vice versa.

Stone points out that Gulliver's Travels takes a cue from the genre of the travel book, which was popular during Swift's time period. From reading travel books, Swift’s contemporaries were accustomed to beast-like figures of foreign places; thus, Stone holds that the creation of the Yahoos was not out of the ordinary for the time period. From this playing off of familiar genre expectations, Stone deduces that the parallels that Swift draws between the Yahoos and humans is meant to be humorous rather than cynical.  Even though Gulliver sees Yahoos and humans as if they are one and the same, Stone argues that Swift did not intend for readers to take on Gulliver’s view; Stone states that the Yahoos’ behaviors and characteristics that set them apart from humans further supports the notion that Gulliver's identification with Yahoos is not meant to be taken to heart. Thus, Stone sees Gulliver’s perceived superiority of the Houyhnhnms and subsequent misanthropy as features that Swift used to employ the satirical and humorous elements characteristic of the Beast Fables of travel books that were popular with his contemporaries; as Swift did, these Beast Fables placed animals above humans in terms of morals and reason, but they were not meant to be taken literally.

Plan of Action for Improving an Article: Absalom, Absalom!

• What content would you want to contribute?

The Light in August article has sections for characters, style and structure, themes, and reception, whereas the Absalom, Absalom! article does not. Out of the missing categories for Absalom, Absalom!, I would want to contribute information on the reception of the article from the general public as well as more information about the critical reception of the book. The article for Light in August has a whole section about the reception of the novel, both when it was first published and how the public reacted as well as how critics have perceived it, whereas the article for Absalom, Absalom! has very little in regards to critical reception; there is a little in regards to critical reception under the analysis section, but it is not clearly delineated, and the influence and significance section only beings to hit at the general public reception.

• What research steps would you take to get that information?

In order to get the information, I would look for book chapters or sections, journal articles, and reviews, and maybe newspaper articles in regards to both general and critical reception. I would look at databases like MLA International Bibliography and Literature Criticism Online, do searches on Valpo's database, and see what my public library has.

• What recommendations would you propose to the style or organization?

In terms of organization, I would recommend adding more to the lede to give it more substance and balance, as it is the shortest of the sections. I would also recommend adding more sections similar to the Light in August article. And this is probably petty, but I would rename the "Notes" section "References."

Article Evaluation (Wikipedia's article on Feed)

• Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?

Everything in the article is relevant to the topic, and the categories are well delineated.

• Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?

There is a possibility that there is bias in the plot, synopsis, and authority sections because no references are cited.

• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?

The article relies heavily on the plot summary and synopsis, which do not have any references.

• Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?

The link for citation 12 does not work; when I click on it, it says "Page not found." The links for citations 9-11 work though. These links are for the "Awards and nominations" section, so their purpose is not to support the claims in the article. The other sources that do support the claims in the article are from scholarly journals and other credible outlets.

• Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?

The overview, plot, synopsis, and authority sections do not have any reference links. But the other sections have reliable references to support the facts, and the information comes from scholarly sources like journal articles.

• Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?

The information is not out of date, and the page was last edited on 28 March 2018. I do not think that anything is missing.

• Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?

There is a section on the Talk page about words used in the novel, multiple sections for edit plans, feedback sections, and modified links sections. One of the main concerns is the overrepresentation of plot and the lack of references for some sections.

• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?

The article is part of Wikiproject Novels and is rated C-class and mid-importance.

• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

The article's discussion of the novel aligns pretty well to how we talked about it in class, but the authority section differs a bit by portraying Titus as basically having no authority.