【正文】 ridicule, to reward me for my good intentions. ”It is important to note in the above quotation that Jonathan Swift says the satirists aim “to mend the world as far as they are able”, not that they hope for any kind of perfection or believe in the plete corrigibility of any man. Obviously, the purpose of the satire in Gulliver’s Travels is to mend vices and folly and seek to establish proper moral attitudes toward those vices. Object Reason—The Background of Gulliver’s TravelsGulliver’s Travels was written in about 1720—1725 when Jonathan Swift was taking part in the struggle of resisting colonial rule of the British. The big social environment is that the enlightenment began to sprout and the British were in turbulent political situation.People were in pursuit of freedom and knowledge. In this atmosphere, science and literature developed fast. And the regime of the British changed just some forty years ago. In 1688, the outbreak of the so called” glorious revolution” overthrew the reactionary Stuarts, but could not destroy the deeprooted feudal forces. In this situation, bourgeoisie had no choice but established the bourgeoisie regime of constitutional monarchy. This regime is the product of prise to aristocrat. After the regime was set, the two partiesthe Whig and the Tory came into charge in turn. They peted with each other with faction, resulting into corruption、fraud、bribery and so on. The social atmosphere was being worse and worse. The new regime motivated the development of the capitalism while the residuary influence of the feudalism still existed. So, the main stream of the eighteenth century—development was mixed with the corruption of majesty and the social pernicious habit of the capitalism.Religious struggles still existed and resulted into religious wars occasionally which are without any sense. What’s more, the British had colonial domination to the Ireland. Under the oppression, people in Ireland lived terribly and miserably. Foreign wars were waved occasionally and the domestic partisan struggles are sharper and sharper. The social contradictions are more and more obvious. People lived in a mass. And the faster the capitalism developed, the more humanity problems appeared. People are in pursuit of fortune and fame, in some distinct they lost their ethics. The society was filled with corruption, fraud, bribery, hypocrisy and so on.In this situation, under the influence of the enlightenment, more and more writers came out to seek freedom, humanity and purity, which were showed mostly in their works, so did Jonathan Swift. And Jonathan Swift had some political connections at this time and could feel the ill political and religious atmosphere more vividly than others. When Jonathan Swift was exiled by Queen Anne, he felt wearied and disappointed from the bottom of his heart. Under this circumstance, he wanted to shout the illness of this society and mend the vices and folly of the society, here came the great satire masterpiece—Gulliver’s Travels.4 The significance of Satire in Gulliver’s Travels Its Significance at That TimeJust like Jonathan Swift’s purpose of using the satire, this novel successfully works. It has great influence on the politics, religion, literature, capitalism development and society.At that time, the politics in British was full of corruption and the society morality was in a mass. Undoubtedly satires in Gulliver’s Travels expose the scandals and inability of the government and further point out the imperfection of the election system and parliament system. Gulliver’s Travels partly urges the improvement and enhance of the British politics. The satire make the British minister confess its domestic partisan struggles (between the Whigs and the Tory) and its religious depute. According to the use of those satires, the novel tells people rulers must love their people and rule for their people. Only the rulers consider the situation of their people, there could have a nice future not only in politics but also in society. A reasonable ruler could bring a group of reasonable ministers and contribute to a reasonable nation. Furthermore it arouses Ireland people’s struggle courage to the colonial oppression of the British. To some extent, it also knocks the alarm to the development of science. It criticizes the fantasy seeking in science and philosophy. The science and history should depend on the reality. Scientists, philosopher and historian must base on the needs of people and make some practical contribution. Any science or history without bases will be useless that cannot do any contribution to the development of human being.For the humanity, it made people survey themselves anew. This novel appeared in the time when satire was reaching its summit. And it promotes the development and the place of the satire in the progress of literature development. What’s more, this novel also depicts an ideal world in which people are free and equal and kind, in which is without corruption, brutal, greed and hypocrisy. This is a Utopian which makes ordinary people who works hard and lives hard have good wishes of the future and their country. It aroused people’s seek of freedom, light, justice, truth and ideal life. The ideal world gives them hope and expectation. Its Significance for the FollowingThe satire in Gulliver’s Travels not only has great influence on its current time, but also has permanent significance for the following. The Contribution to the Rhetoric—Satire Jonathan Swift, a thinker and writer, is a forerunner of his time. He inherited literary heritage and on the base he made great contribution to the literature, especially in the use of the rhetoric—satire. Gulliver’s Travels is a allegorical novel in which we could see the bud and the rudiment of ridicule, black humor and even the modern science fiction. The author used exaggerated description, sharp parison and profound sarcasm to make the