Graded Reader Adaptations of Jonathan Swift’s “Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms” Compared to the Original: Transformations in Content, Emphasis and Interpretability of a Multi-Layered Text in the Abridgement Process

Mgr. Tatiana Malatincová, Ph.D.

Bachelor's thesis

Abstract:

The thesis deals with the issue of simplification of multi-layered classic literary texts into graded reader abridgements. Gulliver's Travels is a book frequently simplified for readers for whom the original is inaccessible in terms of comprehension. On the other hand, it is also a typical example of a critically unresolved work of literature. A number of critics agree that its meaning can - even must - be perceived on many levels. The thesis introduces an analysis of the accessible published criticism written on Book IV of Gulliver's Travels, as well as of two accessible graded reader versions, comparing them according to the information, i.e. content, they "use" from the original, in order to reveal any fundamental discrepancies between the interpretability of the original as viewed by critics, and of the graded reader versions as viewed by their authors. The passages quoted by and referred to by critics have been compared to those used in the abridgement process by graded reader authors, in order to describe and contrast the two information patterns. The hypothesis has been proved that the two abridged versions can no longer be interpreted in similar way as the original, but may imply a totally different primary meaning.

Abstract:

The thesis deals with the issue of simplification of multi-layered classic literary texts into graded reader abridgements. Gulliver's Travels is a book frequently simplified for readers for whom the original is inaccessible in terms of comprehension. On the other hand, it is also a typical example of a critically unresolved work of literature. A number of critics agree that its meaning can - even must - be perceived on many levels. The thesis introduces an analysis of the accessible published criticism written on Book IV of Gulliver's Travels, as well as of two accessible graded reader versions, comparing them according to the information, i.e. content, they "use" from the original, in order to reveal any fundamental discrepancies between the interpretability of the original as viewed by critics, and of the graded reader versions as viewed by their authors. The passages quoted by and referred to by critics have been compared to those used in the abridgement process by graded reader authors, in order to describe and contrast the two information patterns. The hypothesis has been proved that the two abridged versions can no longer be interpreted in similar way as the original, but may imply a totally different primary meaning.

Keywords

Gulliver's Travels, Jonathan Swift, Yahoos, Houyhnhnms, satire, misanthropy, literary criticism, interpretability, graded readers, simplification, simplified texts, abridgements

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 19. 1. 2009

Thesis defence

• Date of defence: 27. 1. 2009
• Supervisor: Mgr. Klára Kolinská, M.A.

Masaryk University

Faculty of Arts

Bachelor programme / field:
Philology / English Language and Literature