Irony In Gulliver's Travels And Flowers In The Mirror

This thesis is intended to study the phenomenon of irony in two novels, Gulliver's Travels by the English writer Jonathan Swift and Flowers in the Mirror by the Chinese writer Li Ru-zhen. Irony has been a slippery concept and it will be a worthwhile attempt in comparative studies and critical sphere to survey the ironies and ironic spirit in two works from different literary traditions. It is in common knowledge that Swift is a great ironist and his ironic strength does not fail in Gulliver's Travels; Flowers in the Mirror is a Chinese novel with avowedly resemblance to Gulliver's Travels, but there is not yet any serious work devoted to the irony in Flowers in the Mirror, let alone the simultaneous investigation of irony in both works. The theories of irony come from various sources, but mainly from the works by D. C. Murcke and Wayne C. Booth. The thesis contains five chapters: Chapter One introduces the concept of irony, the contents of these two works in question, and lays out my survey method. Chapter Two presents theories concerning irony, critical responses to these two novels, and a glimpse of the ironic spirit in them. Chapter Three and Chapter Four give descriptions of irony in Gulliver's Travels and Flowers in the Mirror respectively; the treatment accorded to each is largely similar, and meanwhile attention is paid to their singularities. Chapter Five offers a brief conclusion. As a bold and inconclusive attempt, this paper hopes to throw light on further studies in this area and awaits improvement by others.