Gulliver’s Travels is a classic novel by Jonathan Swift, is a satirist and a clergyman who lived in the 17th and 18th centuries. The novel is a parody of the Travel narratives that were popular at the time as well as a critic of the human nature and the society of his era. The novel follows the adventures of Lemuel Gulliver, a surgeon and a sailor who travels to 4 different lands and encounters various people and creatures. The novel is divided into four parts, each with a different theam and tone.
The first part of the novel is called A Voyage to Liliput, and it tells the story of Gulliver’s shipwreck and his capture by the Lilliputian’s, a race of tiny people who live on an island. Gulliver learns about their culture, politics and religion and finds them to be petty, vain and absurd. He also gets involved in their war with their neighbours, the Blefuscudians, who differ from them only in the way they break their eggs. Gulliver helps the Lilliputians defeat the Blefuscudians, but he also angers the Lilliputian emperor by refusing to enslave them. He is accused of treason and sentenced to death, but he manages to escape and return to England. This part of the novel is satire of the European politics and the religious conflicts of Swift’s time, as well as a mockery of the human pride and ambition.
The second part of the novel is called a Voyage to Brobdignag and it tells the story of Gulliver’s voyage to a land of giants where he is treated as curiosity and a toy. He is taken by a farmer and his daughter who sell him to the Queen of Brobdingnag. He is entertained by the king and the court, but he also faces many dangers and humiliations.
Humiliations he tries to impress the king with his knowledge of England and Europe and he only exposed their flaws and corruptions. He also meets a dwarf who becomes his enemy and a monkey who almost kills him. He is eventually rescued by a bird who carries him to the sea, where he picked up by a ship and taken back to England.
This part of the novel is a contrast to the first part as it shows the human weakness and insignificance, as well as the moral superiority of the Brobdingnagians, who are simple, honest and virtuous.
The third part of the novel is called a voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib and Japan and it tells the story of Gulliver’s voyage to various islands where he encounters different kinds of people and phenomena. He visits Laputa, a flying island inhabited by philosophers and scientists, who are obsessed with abstract and useless knowledge, and neglect the practical affairs of life.
He also visits Balnibarbie, a land ruled by Laputa, where he sees the disastrous effects of their experiments and projects.
He then visits, Lugging, a land where some people are immortal, but they are miserable and decrepit.
He also visits a land where he can summon the ghosts of the past and learn from them. He finally visits Japan, where he is allowed to leave after he pretends to be a Dutchman and renounces his Christian faith.
This part of the novel is a satire of the scientific and philosophical theories and inventions of his time as well as a commentary of the human mortality and history.
The fourth and final part of the novel is called a Voyage to the country of Houyhnhnms, and it tells the story of Gulliver’s voyage to a land where horses are the rational and civilised beings, and humans are the savage and brutish creatures.
He is taken in by a horse who speaks and acts like a human and who teaches him about their society and values. He also meets the yahoos human like animals who are filthy, violent and greedy. He is disgusted by them and ashamed of his own kind. He tries to become like the Houhnhnms, but he is rejected by them and expelled from their land.
He returns to England, but he is unable to adjust to the human society. He becomes a misanthrope and a recluse, and prefers the company of horses.
This part of the novel is the most serious and pessimistic, as it shows the human, depravity and corruption, and the ideal of reason and virtue.
Gulliver’s Travels is a novel that challenges the reader to question the assumptions and values of their own culture and society and to reflect on the human condition and the nature of reality. It is a novel that uses humour and irony to expose the folly and viice of humanity, and to propose a vision of a better and more rational world. It is a novel that has influenced many writers and artists and has become a universal symbol of human imagination and creativity.
Jonathan swift was an English writer and clergyman who lived in 17th and 18 centuries. He is best known for his satirical works such as Gulliver’s Travels, A Modest Proposal and A Tale of a Tub. He was also a political pamphleteer, a poet and a dean of Saint Patricks Cathedral in Dublin. Heas is regarded as one of the greatest prose satirists in English Language and, his works have influenced many writers and artists.
