He could not forbear taking me up in his right hand, and stroking me gently with the other; after an hearty Fit of laughing, asked me whether I were a Whig or a Tory.

He could not forbear taking me up in his right hand, and stroking me gently with the other; after an hearty Fit of laughing, asked me whether I were a Whig or a Tory.

Answer: These lines are taken from Chapter 3, Part 2 of Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Here the King of Brobdingnag wishes to know about the politics in Gulliver’s England. Swift seeks here to portray the chaotic political atmosphere of England during the years of 1708-1715 A.D. when the Whigs and the Tories struggled for power.

The king finds great pleasure in conversing with Gulliver about political matters. He inquires about the way of life and the system of government in European countries. Gulliver gives the account with a claim of dignity and grandeur. Listening to the account, the king strokes him gently and after laughing heartily puts the question of whether he is a Whig or a Tory. Whig and Tory were the two political parties of England. They were inimical and fought against each other to win political power. From the English political history, we come to know that when the Tory government fell in 1714, they were attacked by the Whigs for political blunders and were accused of making intrigues with the Stuarts. Thus, Swift expresses his reaction or outlook on English politics through the portrayal of the character of the king of Brobdingnag. Swift’s experience and expertise in English political tactics is disclosed through the lines above. The Brobdingnagian king cannot think of such antagonism Between political parties. They are fighting in the interest of the parties, not in the interest of the people of the country. This is a cutting satire of the parties who are politically motivated to work for their end. So the King puts the question to Gulliver satirically

The King’s reaction to Gulliver’s account is rather contemptuous because he thinks it insulting to his own nation that people of such diminutive size should claim dignity and grandeur for which they are not fit. So with this question, he satirizes the politics prevailing in Gulliver’s country. Swift exhibits his attitude toward the political parties of his own country.