Men and women perform actions because they are self-interested and the actions they do perform they believe will result in their benefit. Through his poem, Rochester is making jest at the moralist belief that man is governed by the faculty of reason and therefore acts in the best interest of the community. He does this by using the most powerful image of all - sex. His crude language and graphic images surely catch the attention of any reader and draws the wrath of any moralist. His words mock the very foundation of the moralist belief system. Like Rochester, Swift's uses foul images and crude language to heighten his attacks on the modern's view of progress. Swift admired the passion and imagination of the ancient world. He believed modern thoughts, particularly science, inhibited imagination and passion. He did not believe reason and science advanced society; rather, he believed such things stifled society's growth. His words were the fist that swung at the order that modern institutions attempted to force on society and culture. Similar to Rochester's style, Swift drew on images that a modern and progressive society would disdain. His masterpiece, Gulliver's Travels, contain many such images. When he is fourteen, Gulliver is taken in by a surgeon, Mr. James Bates. Mr. Bates served as Gulliver's master for four years. A more fitting title for Mr. Bates would then be Master Bates. Gulliver does later refer to his overseer as the "good master Mr. Bates." It does not take much effort of even the purest of minds to derive masturbate from "Master Bates." This is Swift's method of adding humor to his tale, while agitating "proper" individuals of that time. The surgeon's title can be seen as a derogatory reference to all those involved with science at the time. "Mr. Bates" can also be interpreted on a deeper level. Masturbation is of course a means of self-satisfaction. Swift felt those involved with sci...
