In his novel, Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift uses techniques of distortion to develop the central theme of the novel, which is a savage satire on the complacent pride we have in ourselves. Through his techniques of distortion-diminution, magnification, and the use of a beast fable- Swift allows us to see our flaws better by varying our perspective on ourselves.
             Swift uses diminution as a technique of distortion to attack the pride we have in human grandeur. In Book I of Gulliver's Travels, Swift pictures the Lilliputians as diminutive mortals to make the pride in them seem ridiculous and contemptible. Swift pictures the king of Lilliput as a powerful, greedy man who is very proud of himself. It is ironic because kings are often pictured as huge symbols of power and grandeur, yet Swift ridicules the king of Lilliput because, even though he is only six inches tall, he still believes he has more power than Gulliver, who is six feet tall.
             Through their physical smallness, Swift also emphasizes the Lilliputians' pettiness and moral smallness. Swift shows the Lilliputians' pettiness by describing them as being very close-minded. They are close-minded when they fail to imagine Gulliver's world simply because it is different from their own. Swift also makes their pettiness visible when they conspire against Gulliver and make him leave the island after being charged with treason. Swift attacks the Lilliputians' moral smallness by describing how they engage in wars simply to decide on which side of the egg to break first. Their moral smallness is also seen in the way in which they make each other walk on a tight rope, limbo, and do tricks in order to determine who is going to obtain a job.
             In Book II, Swift uses diminution by making Gulliver the small one in Brobdingnag. He does this to crush the pride Gulliver has in his manhood and in his great accomplishments. After becoming a Nardac and savior of the...