The Smaller Side of The Egg

The beginning of English fictional writing in novel form happened much after Chaucer and Shakespeare. Most of these early writings occurred some three hundred years back in early eighteenth century. One great writing of that time was Jonathan Swift’s ‘Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World’, which later became popularly known as ‘Gulliver’s Travels’. The Book One of the novel is mostly remembered as children’s tale of Lilliput. But the book is from no angle a children’s fable; it is in fact an interesting satire over the political and social system of that time. Swift intelligently disguised these into the acts and customs of six inches high natives of Lilliput and neighbouring Blefuscu. The low heights of the characters represent the low mentality of the people in general. They could not think or use their intelligence beyond a point. They quarrelled over trivial issues, which even lead to frictions between various groups and war between the nations.

The main theme of the satire has not evaporated even today. Humans continue to get divided not only over major political, social or economical issues but also on minor issues not even worth a small dispute. Though there are people on whom this satire doesn’t apply, as they are decent and intelligent enough to avoid controversies over trivial issues, but a good number of people fall victim of mentality of getting into fights over absolutely minor and inconsequential matters, which can be easily avoided if a little bit of brain is used. But persons with six inches height will have relatively smaller brain. And such people practically reduce themselves to that small a being, at least mentally.

Lilliputian groups fought among themselves over the size of heels of their shoes. They got divided between the groups wearing high or low heels, and were called by these names too. ‘High heels’ were are war footing with ‘low heels’, both sides not seeing eye to eye with each other. They avoided speaking to each other and even found it lowly to have meal with persons of other group. We can find such examples even today, between groups, between houses, between erstwhile best of friends and even between lovers and spouses.

Lilliputians did not stop there; they developed further differences among these groups as such. The more serious differences occurred over a more trivial and more stupid matter. The traditional Lilliputians believed in breaking the egg from its larger side, while a decree by a king changed it that it should be broken from its smaller side only. This was not accepted to traditionalists and it resulted in their being declared outcastes and banished from the society, later escaping to the neighbouring island of Blefuscu, which was at war with Lilliput.

Though Swift made a satire on two political parties of his time, but his idea is applicable to any group or persons of any time and anywhere. Today we can see people in severe arguments or disputes all around, at home, in office, on the street or at any place where one can go. Friends part, relationships get disturbed, lovers break up, businesses get divided over issues as small as simply being late or not been able to take a call at a particular time, or matters as inconsequential as breaking the egg from a particular side. Then instead of resolving the difference, people make it a permanent point to keep the difference alive. Naturally, their quarter of an inch size brains, of their six inches bodies will not permit them the ability to think of anything better.
But anyone with a normal human brain can simply fair better in resolving any difference that would have occurred in past. On looking back most of the humans will find, that they did get into differences over really small matters, distancing themselves from their loved ones and likeminded people. And they will not lose anything in going back and resolving the matter, rather than to wait for a Gulliver to appear for resolving it. And off course it will be a kindness to oneself, one’s friends, loved ones, colleges, and any other person one happens to meet, if one avoids fighting and wasting energies over trivial issues like breaking the egg only from the smaller side.

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