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Gulliver's Travels

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Gulliver's Travels (1726/1735) is a work of fiction pseudonymously authored by the British satirist Jonathan Swift. The first edition was published in 1726 with major changes by the publisher, since he was afraid the book in its original version would offend a lot of people. In 1735 the complete version was published.

Posing as "Dr. Lemuel Gulliver", Swift purported to report his travels to a series of strange cultures. This mimicked a style of travel reporting that was common at the time, including the outright invention of outlandish and "savage" cultures deliberately designed to give Englishmen a critical point of view of their own society and habits. The book followed in the direction set by Daniel Defoe's travel fantasy Robinson Crusoe, which had been published only a few years previously, to universal acclaim.

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"Travels into Several Remote nations of the World by 'English sea-captain Lemuel Gulliver'", or Gulliver's Travels was, during the 20th century, often perceived as a story for children, although children's versions just tend to include the first two parts. It is widely thought, by people who have not read the full version, to be concerned with Lemuel Gulliver's adventures in Lilliput and Blefuscu, where the protagonist is surrounded by people 6 inches tall (15 cm). This, however, is a supreme irony since this overlooks the fact that this is one of the most incisive satires on morals and behaviour ever written. It still stands as one of the great and timeless satires of all time, and one of the best primers ever written on political science, such as it exists. It anticipated many current debates in law (versus precedent), philosophy of mathematics, the seeking of human immortality, manhood, and the rights of inferiors, including animals.

The Travels

Part I: A Voyage to Lilliput

Lilliput, the first part, is concerned with Gulliver's supposed adventure in a land where everyone is small, and their concerns very small and petty, but are relatively morally upright, God-fearing, and honest, like the stereotype of English country people of Swift's time.

The society and the political system in Lilliput represents that of the British Empire of the 18th century. As in England, there are two parties: The "High-Heels", representing the Tories, and the "Low-Heels", representing the Whigs.

Lilliput has been at war with its neighbouring island Blefuscu for two generations. As Blefuscu represents France, Swift shows the current international relations between the two countries at that time. The reason for the war between Lilliput and Blefusu is a difference of opinion about whether the right way to crack an egg is from the big or the small end.

The war between Lilliput and Blefuscu stands for the war between the Anglican church and the Catholics in England, that started with Henry VIII and led to executions and exiles. The egg represents Christianity or christian belief (as a symbol of Easter, the highest catholic holiday). The "Big-Endians" are a depiction of the Catholics, the "Small-Endians" represent the Anglicans. By ridiculing the cause of the dispute Swift shows that there can be several different ways of interpretations to the Bible. However this account can also apply as a general metaphor (not only as a specific allegory), serving to satirise how great conflicts rise from trivial things (see also The Rape of the Lock).

Although Gulliver is a giant to the small Lilliputians, he does not try to free himself or destroy the people. After being treated well, he feels obligated to protect the country, settling the war with Blefuscu by capturing their fleet. Some think that Swift was idealizing the role of Britain and its sea power in the world as it was then, in the 18th century, not very long after the beginnings of the British Empire.

When the Emperor of Lilliput wants to make Blefuscu a Lilliputian province, however, Gulliver refuses to destroy the Blefuscians. This act, combined with the fact that he extinguishes a fire in the Royal Palace by urinating on it, prompts the Emperor of Lilliput to attempt to have Gulliver punished by blinding and starving him or poisoning him to death, which is considered by the government to be a humane and kind punishment. When Gulliver learns about this, he flees to Blefuscu, where he finds a wrecked boat washed ashore and returns to England.

Part II: A Voyage to Brobdingnag

In the second part, Gulliver lands in Brobdingnag, a realm of giants where everything is huge. Here the relations are now exactly opposite to Gulliver's adventure in Lilliput. Now he is the dwarf, while everyone else is large. He is captured by a farmer who first shows him around like a circus attraction and later sells him to the Queen. She grows very fond of him and treats him very nicely, although always like some sort of pet or doll, giving him a wooden box furnished like a dollhouse to live in. Gulliver does not realise that he is being used as a toy and, like in his journey to Lilliput, thinks of himself as being far more important than he really is.

When Gulliver is entertained by the Queen, he is often visited by ladies of the court. Swift manages to convey his disgust for women once again by describing how foul and vile the ladies-in-waiting of Brobdingnag really are in their usage of him as a sexual toy.

The King of Brobdingnag is also curious about this strange creature and has Gulliver tell him everything about English society, warfare, justice, and its financial system. By having the King ask detailed questions, Swift reveals the problems of the British Empire and criticises the ways they are dealt with in England. The king of Brobdingnag is especially appalled by Gulliver's offer to show him how to make gun powder, the concept of which inspires him to consider mankind the most pathetic race of creatures ever placed on the earth.

When taken on a trip to the country, an eagle snatches Gulliver's box and lets him fall into the ocean, where he is found by an English ship and returned home.

In short, the size of the people of Brobdingnag is, once again, related to their level of moral sophistication. However, even the Brobdingnaggians are found to be relatively corrupt when the actions of the ladies-in-waiting and the farmer are taken into account. They are still too human to be perfect.

Part III: A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan

Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan are all covered in the third book, which satirizes, among other things, academia and science. It is widely supposed that Laputa was a strict satire of the Royal Society, which Isaac Newton also despised.

In Laputa everybody is a scientist. Although seemingly enlightened, their science is done only for its own sake: Laputians who invent something that has actual practical value are expelled from society. With this, Swift criticises the scientific movement of the Enlightenment. He was not generally opposed to science, but was of the opinion that science should serve humanity; therefore, hypothetical scientific knowledge that does not directly serve us, in Swift's mind, is useless and should not waste time and funds being pursued.

When Gulliver travels to Glubbdubdrib, he encounters a race of sorcerers. Using their magic, he is able to conjure up famous figures from history, and as a result learns how corrupt and horrible they are. With this account of "corrected" history, Swift intends to show us how humanity's corruption has run deep for many generations. By showing human development as a degeneration from a nobler time, Swift may have been trying to say that, although mankind is corrupt now, it was less before and could still be saved.

Part IV: A Voyage to the Country of the Houyhnhnms

Houyhnhnm, the final book, relates the story of the author among a race of noble and intelligent horses, whose society is peaceful and apparently very rational. They have no war, disease, and no great sadness, but they also have a rigid racial caste system, are elitist, indecisive, bureaucratic, and lack creativity. It has been posited that they are a satire on the British aristocracy, in speech, manner, and physiogomy.

This is contrasted to the dirty, foul, hairy creatures called Yahoos, who plague them, and who are a catagorically negative distortion of the human race itself - as size is magnified in the Brobdingnags, so is human degeneracy in the Yahoos. They have something like alcoholism, in an intoxicating root, constantly fight, and covet worthless, shiny stones. Gulliver and the horses he befriends compare notes on humanity, and find parallels such as lawyers (two Yahoos fight over a shiny object, and a third robs them both of it) and soldiers ("A soldier is a Yahoo hired to kill in cold blood as many of his own species, who have never offended him, as possibly he can.")

Though Yahoos are physically different from humans, with their hairy bodies and claw-like fingernails, Gulliver believes he is a Yahoo after a female of the species tries to have sex with him. Thereafter, he aspires to Houyhnhnm-ness, and explains how enlightened he is becoming; however, the subtext shows he is being driven mad by this environment and longs for human companionship. Still, upon returning home, he finds himself totally alienated from humanity, and even prefers the smell of horse manure to his own wife.

One key aspect of his return home to England, his rescue by the Portuguese, is often overlooked. The Portuguese captain that takes Gulliver in onboard his ship, Captain Pedro de Mendez, can be regarded as the most noble example of a human being in the entire novel. Mendez takes Gulliver in, Mendez gives Gulliver his own quarters on his ship, his finest clothes, and allows him to stay as a guest in his own house when they return to Lisbon. Although this character is the best example of humanity in the novel, it is often overlooked because of Gulliver's description of him as a Yahoo. Swift may have intended this character as an example of the fact that there may be some hope yet for humanity.

Adaptions

Gulliver's Travels has been adapted several times for film and television.

  • Gulliver's Travels (1996): Live-action television mini-series starring Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. In this version Dr. Gulliver has returned to his family from a long absence. The action shifts back and forth between flashbacks of his travels and the present where he is telling the story of his travel and has been committed to an asylum. This version is widely considered to be the best and most accurate adaption of the novel.
  • Gulliver's Travels (2005): 3-D IMAX film still in production.

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