Novel Review: Gulliver’s Travels
By: Prince 01514811119
The novel is about the journeys undertaken by a man named Gulliver, a
physician who takes the sea when his land activity fails. We notice the
author’s contempt for the animal man. The writer, Jonathan Swift wants
to demonstrate the contradictions of the civilization of his time to
condemn false values and prejudices .
Each of the journeys lived by Gulliver becomes the story, from time to
time, the judicial system, the mechanisms of power or the warlike
politics of that European period. The adventure takes place in remote
parts of the world, where he travels to different parts of the world and
the author makes the metaphor to reveal the corruption in the most real
world. The novel is more about moral teaching to keep and consider.
Trip to Lilliput
The first voyage tells readers how Gulliver, sacked by the British city of
Bristol, after a shipwreck, finds himself on the beach of Lilliput. Here he
finds himself surrounded by tiny little men (about 15 centimetres in
height) who have tied him with a thousand nets. In fact, the Lilliputians
are a very hospitable people: they lead him to the city, offer him
hospitality and feed him. Gulliver also has a very friendly meeting with
Lilliput Emperor, who decides to use it as a weapon against the island
of Blefuscu.
The two clans are divided mainly by a controversy: from what end to
split an egg. Soon, Gulliver starts to learn the language of the Liliputians,
but unfortunately he is used by the Emperor as a secret weapon against
another realm.In this part of the book, Swift criticizes the futile motives
England (and Europe in general) waged, and also demonstrated how
easy it is to subjugate others when one is ‘superior’ to others (physically
or economically).
Journey to Brobdingnag
The second voyage was opposite and mirrored at first: Gulliver embarks
again but after a storm, he is abandoned on an island while his comrades
are looking for food. Here Gulliver meets giants, Brobdingnag .Two
months after arriving in his homeland, Gulliver embarks again on his
second trip this time bound for Surat. Due to a storm, he is accidentally
taken to the island of Broddingnog, which is inhabited by a race of
giants.
Frightened by the size of the giants he fears being swallowed by
them. However, Grilbrig, a farmer, takes him to his house and with the
intention of making profits and also to boast, he shows everyone his find:
a strange animal that speaks and imitates all his acts. On the journey to
Brobdingnag, there is a reversal of character sizes. Now the land is
inhabited by giants who make Gulliver a toy and an attraction for them.
Through the conversations between the sailor and the king of
Brobdingnag, the author criticizes the usefulness of the armies, the
massacres, the wars and historical conspiracies, and the English
government.
Trip to Laputa
At the invitation of Captain William Robson, Gulliver embarks on a
voyage to the East Indies as commander of a sloop. He learns that the
island’s name was Laputa “Flying or Floating Island”. The inhabitants
there lived on a ship and were only concerned of logic (Mathematics)
and harmony (music), not interested in any other branch of knowledge.
Laputa’s scientists dedicate themselves to absurd experiments and very
unlikely searches (such as extracting sunshine from pumpkins or
building homes from the roof), which showcases that theoretical
knowledge is useless if it does not apply in real life.
Tired of dying in Laputa, Gulliver thinks about returning to England, but
the lack of a ship makes him visit an island called Glubboubdrib, which
means “Island of sorcerers or magicians.” On this island, the governor
has the power to call among the dead what he wants and to demand
services for not more than 24 hours. At first Gulliver was frightened, but
soon became familiar with the environment and took the opportunity to
call the spirits of many personalities like Alexander the Great, Caesar,
Pompey, Brito, Homer, Aristotle with the intention of clarifying some
doubts about the old and modern stories.
Houyhnhnms And Yahoo
During the fourth and final voyage, Gulliver is again in the grip with a
maritime misfortune: the mutiny of his crew. He arrives on the land
of Houyhnhnms, horses with rationality, and their servants, the Yahoo,
who are humans in appearance but weird in body and spirit. Gulliver
soon befriends Houyhnhnms, learns their language and explains to them
the English Constitution.
The society of Houyhnhnms is based on the principles of the purest
values: they have no religion and do not know the pain of death, their
social structure is based on family. There are no terms like feelings,
falsehood, hypocrisy. Which gives a taste of the most abstract society
possible.
Hence, the novel covers every aspect of the society, criticising the
illogical policies and customs by the government, proving to be one of
the greatest satire together with being funny and enternaining.
